The Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation records, 1939 to 1979, consists of title insurance policy files primarily for Savannah and Chatham County, but also include Camden County, Bryan County, Bulloch County, Effingham County, Emanuel County, Evans County, Glynn County, Jeff Davis County, Liberty County, McIntosh County, Tattnall County and other Georgia locations. Also included in the collection is a map book for the city of Savannah, order books, index lists, and property and name index cards. The insurance policy files contain the original policies along with accompanying material such as correspondence and in some cases land plats. The records are divided into four series: Individual Policies, Master Policies, Urban Renewal Projects, and Atlanta Title and Trust Company. Title insurance "protects the insured against loss due to previously unreported land title defects, such as forgeries, claims by missing heirs, recording errors, etc." These are not insurance policies on properties, they are insurance policies on the titles of the properties. The policies may include preliminary reports on the property, such as blueprints, annotations on the condition of the property, or other building attributes. The policies often list the owner(s) of the property for which there is title insurance. Urban Renewal Project files are title insurance records on properties acquired by the mayor and aldermen of Savannah for the purpose of creating public housing projects. Currently, there is no index to individual properties, though the records are open for research. Atlanta Title and Trust Company records, 1922 to 1923, are for select Savannah properties and often include the title searches, blueprints of properties, and other information regarding the property or owner. To access policies for property in the City of Savannah, researchers must first locate the property in the Lot and Block Atlas of Savannah, Georgia (published by Dolph Map Co., November 1949) or in the name indexes (if the property owner's name is known). The map book is arranged by ward and only covers Savannah. If there is a handwritten number on a particular property in the map book, there is a policy for it (if there is no number, there is no policy). Note the handwritten number on the property in the map book and go to the property index cards. The index cards are arranged in numerical order corresponding to the map pages. Locate the correct numerical section of the cards and find the card corresponding to the handwritten number on the property map. Note the title insurance policy number on the card and consult the inventory to determine in which box the policy is stored. To access policies for property in areas outside of the City of Savannah, researchers must use the name index. The name index is more comprehensive than the property index. It is arranged alphabetically by surname and covers properties in Chatham County (including Savannah) and many other surrounding counties. Note the title insurance policy number on the card and consult the inventory to determine in which box the policy is stored. The policy files and indexes are arranged in the original order of the creator and largely stored in their original housing.
