Specialist lender Market Financial Solutions has added insurance to a number of its mortgage deals to reduce the need for property searches and speed up the purchase process.

Title insurance is a type of indemnity that protects the lender against the type of problems relating to the land or building that would normally be uncovered by detailed searches.

By adding the indemnity to certain mortgages, MFS says it can cut down the underwriting and application process.

The lender is initially launching title insurance for residential buy-to-let remortgages and bridging refinancing up to a loan size of £1m.

Recently-built properties, certain foreign nationals and offshore corporate structures will be included.

It plans to add the cover to other products across its range in the future.

MFS chief executive Paresh Raja says: “Brokers and borrowers are often looking for speed when approaching a specialist lender.

“We’re always looking at ways that we can responsibly reduce the time it takes to deliver loans to clients, and this is a positive step forward for us in that regard.

“Using Westcor’s title insurance proposition is very useful in reducing the time-consuming tasks involved in the initial underwriting of a loan, as well as accelerating the conveyancing process thereafter.

“We’re confident that brokers and borrowers will respond well to this addition to MFS’s offering, and we expect to make title insurance more widely available across our bridging and BTL mortgage products in the coming year.”