This paper proposes that a primary goal for any functioning system of land holdings should be to ensure that land can be transferred and held with certainty and predictability. In order to achieving maximum certainty and predictability, land holdings systems should contain both 1) a method to determine existing rights and 2) a method to protect against loss that could occur. Both requirements, a determination of existing rights and protection from loss, begin with an effective land title recording system, which could take one of a few forms and which, I propose, could potentially blur the traditional divide between the public and private sectors. Specifically, throughout this paper, I will explore how private title insurance can play an important role in both of these goals by establishing such a title records system (even when the records are part of a public system) and by providing certainty for holders and investors through insurance protection. I use India as a case study to demonstrate how title insurance could offer benefits in both of the prevalent methods of land recording systems – the recording systems and the Torrens system – and in a country with imperfect land records in place.