TL;DR: Title insurance in Arkansas costs $956.75 for an owner's policy on Benton County's $363,000 median-priced home (NWALook, August 2026), using Stewart Title Guaranty Company's Arkansas rate manual effective March 16, 2026. Under that manual, a lender's policy issued at the same time adds a flat $50, bringing the combined total to $1,006.75. Arkansas does not set or review title insurance rates, so each underwriter publishes its own manual and your premium can depend on which company insures the policy.
How Much Does Title Insurance Cost in Arkansas?
Stewart Title Guaranty Company's Schedule of Charges for Arkansas, effective March 16, 2026, prices a standard Owner's Policy at $75 flat for the first $20,000 of coverage, then $4.00 per $1,000 from $20,000 to $50,000, $3.40 per $1,000 from $50,000 to $100,000, and $2.25 per $1,000 from $100,000 to $500,000. The manual rounds any fractional thousand up to the next whole $1,000 before applying those rates. Stewart describes these as recommended minimum charges, with additional charges for unusual title conditions or special risks. The charges cover the policy premium only; search, abstract, closing and escrow fees are billed separately.
Do Title Insurance Rates Vary by Company in Arkansas?
They can. Arkansas is not a promulgated-rate state, where a regulator sets one price for everyone, and it does not require insurers to file title rates for review. The Arkansas Insurance Department's title insurance rule, 23 CAR § 204-116, states that Arkansas Code § 23-67-203 prohibits the Insurance Commissioner from requiring title insurance rates or premiums to be filed or reviewed, with one exception: informational filings of the fees charged for closing protection letters. Each underwriter publishes its own Arkansas rate manual and updates it on its own schedule. Stewart's bulletin AR2025003, dated December 15, 2025, announced new recommended minimum rates effective January 12, 2026, and bulletin AR2026001 revised the manual again effective March 16, 2026 to correct its closing protection letter language.
Manuals can match on some lines and differ on others. Southwest Title Insurance Company's Arkansas rate chart, effective March 1, 2020, lists the same basic owner's premium as Stewart's schedule at the amounts we checked, including $815 at $300,000 and $1,040 at $400,000. The two differ on the ALTA Homeowner's Policy: Southwest's chart prices it at 125% of its basic rate ($1,300 at $400,000), while Stewart's manual sets it at 120% of the owner's rate, or $1,148.10 on $363,000 of coverage.
How Does the Simultaneous-Issue Discount Work?
A financed purchase can involve two policies. Stewart's manual defines an Owner's Policy as one insuring an owner and a Loan Policy as one insuring a lender. Section E of Stewart's Arkansas manual (effective March 16, 2026) sets the simultaneous-issuance charges: when a Standard Loan Policy is issued with a Standard Owner's Policy in an amount not exceeding the Owner's Policy, the Owner's Policy is charged 100% of the basic schedule and the Loan Policy is charged a flat $50. If the loan amount is greater than the owner's coverage, the charge is $50 plus the loan-schedule premium on the excess. Issued on its own, a Loan Policy is priced on Stewart's separate loan schedule: $75 up to $20,000, then $2.80, $2.25 and $2.00 per $1,000 through $500,000. Confirm with your closing agent that both policies are being issued simultaneously so the $50 charge is applied.
What Does This Add Up to on a Median-Priced NWA Home?
Benton County's median home sold price was $363,000 in August 2026, down from $393,337 in August 2025 (NWALook, Northwest Arkansas Housing Market Update, citing ArkansasONE MLS data, published September 10, 2026). Running that price through Stewart's Owner's Policy schedule: $75 + ($30,000 x $4.00/1,000) + ($50,000 x $3.40/1,000) + ($263,000 x $2.25/1,000) = $75 + $120 + $170 + $591.75 = $956.75. With a simultaneously issued Loan Policy at $50, the combined premium is $1,006.75.
Washington County's median sold price was $398,450 in August 2026, up from $363,455 in August 2025 (NWALook). Because Stewart's manual rounds up to the next whole $1,000, the owner's premium is calculated on $399,000: $75 + $120 + $170 + ($299,000 x $2.25/1,000) = $75 + $120 + $170 + $672.75 = $1,037.75. Adding the $50 simultaneous Loan Policy brings the combined premium to $1,087.75.
How Does Arkansas Compare on Total Closing Costs?
Title insurance is one line item inside closing costs. LodeStar Software Solutions' 2026 Purchase Mortgage Closing Cost Data Report, published April 27, 2026 and based on more than 620,000 purchase quotes from January through December 2025, put Arkansas's average purchase closing costs at $2,666, about 0.87% of a $305,565 average sale price, versus a national average of $4,528, or 1.04%. LodeStar's measure includes settlement, closing and escrow fees, owner's and lender's title policies, recording charges and transfer taxes, so treat it as a benchmark for fees rather than a quote. For relocators comparing states, the Urban Institute's January 7, 2025 analysis of loans between $400,000 and $500,000 found median lender's title and title insurance-related fees ranging from $358 in Missouri to $3,496 in Pennsylvania. For the rest of the fee sheet, see our Arkansas closing costs breakdown, and budget separately for homeowners insurance in Arkansas.
What Should You Do With These Numbers?
- Ask each title company which underwriter it is issuing through, and ask it to show the premium calculation from that underwriter's current Arkansas rate manual.
- Budget from your county's figure rather than a generic percentage of price: a $956.75 owner's premium on Benton County's $363,000 median or $1,037.75 on Washington County's $398,450 median (Stewart manual effective March 16, 2026; NWALook, August 2026).
- Confirm the lender's policy is being issued simultaneously so the $50 charge applies, and check whether your loan amount exceeds your owner's coverage.
- If you are still choosing where to buy, compare communities on our Discover Northwest Arkansas guide.
- Call Mason Capital Group at 479-925-3333 before you go under contract so your closing cost estimate reflects your underwriter's current Arkansas rates and your specific price point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the title insurance rate in Arkansas negotiable?
Not in the usual sense: each underwriter's Arkansas rate manual sets the charge, but because Arkansas does not set or review title insurance rates, manuals can differ between underwriters, so asking which underwriter is issuing the policy and comparing its schedule can change the premium.
How much is title insurance on a $363,000 home in Arkansas?
Under Stewart's Arkansas manual effective March 16, 2026, an Owner's Policy on $363,000 of coverage costs $956.75, and a simultaneously issued Loan Policy adds $50, for $1,006.75 combined. Another underwriter's manual could produce a different figure.
What is the difference between an owner's policy and a lender's policy?
Stewart's Arkansas manual defines an Owner's Policy as insuring an owner and a Loan Policy as insuring a lender. Whether your loan requires a Loan Policy is a question for your lender. When both are issued together and the loan amount does not exceed the owner's coverage, Stewart charges the Loan Policy a flat $50.
Is Arkansas cheaper than other states for closing costs?
On average, yes. LodeStar's 2026 report (April 27, 2026) put Arkansas purchase closing costs at $2,666, or 0.87% of the average sale price, compared with $4,528, or 1.04%, nationally. That figure covers all purchase closing costs, not just title insurance.
Your title premium depends on which underwriter's Arkansas manual your title company uses, your final purchase price, your loan amount and whether simultaneous issuance applies. In a first conversation, Mason Capital Group will run your actual numbers - a written estimate of your owner's and lender's title premiums alongside your other closing costs for the price range you're targeting. Call 479-925-3333 to get that estimate before you write an offer.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity.
Figures in this article are drawn from Stewart Title Guaranty Company's Schedule of Charges for Use in the State of Arkansas (effective March 16, 2026) and Stewart bulletins AR2025003 (December 15, 2025) and AR2026001 (March 16, 2026); the Arkansas Insurance Department's rule 23 CAR § 204-116 and Arkansas Code § 23-67-203 (as accessed September 15, 2026); Southwest Title Insurance Company's Arkansas Title Insurance Rates chart (effective March 1, 2020); NWALook's Northwest Arkansas Housing Market Update (August 2026 data, published September 10, 2026, citing ArkansasONE MLS data); LodeStar Software Solutions' 2026 Purchase Mortgage Closing Cost Data Report (April 27, 2026); and the Urban Institute's "Why Do Closing Costs Differ between States?" (January 7, 2025).