Usually hiring a reputable law firm is cheaper.
As for the usefulness of title insurance, it depends on the company and the exceptions listed in the policy. I have seen many policies full of exceptions which are useless.
Title insurance is not that common in the Dominican Republic.
However, if I might interject something here.
My understanding is that most law firms will research on the title through the Land Court only. They are focused on whether the Land Court knows of any liens or other encumbrances in addition to ensuring the title is "real". They are looking at it from the legal perspective.
That is to say, is the property accurate and legally transferable?
A title insurance company such as Stewart Title looks at the title in a slightly different way. They look at it to determine if it is insurable. So, obviously the legal aspects above are included, but also included are anything which might place the insurance at risk.
That is to say, is the property accurate, legally transferable and without any insurable risks?
For example, a pending lawsuit active in court against a piece of property would be unlikely to be noticed by an attorney researching the title. The lawsuit is still pending which means no judgment has taken place which means there is no record of it in the Land Court.
But Stewart Title looks into what "risks" are involved. It would be a clear risk to purchase a property with a pending legal action against it. So in that case the title company might well trump the legal establishment in locating a heretofore unknown risk you were also taking on.
...at least this is all my understanding.
