What potential risk does title insurance protect buyers against?

Title insurance serves a crucial role in real estate transactions by protecting buyers from specific risks associated with property ownership. Among these risks, ownership disputes are significant. This is because title insurance safeguards against issues related to the legal ownership of a property, including claims and disputes that may arise after the purchase, such as liens, fraud, or errors in public records that could affect the buyer's right to the property.

In the context of the other options, investment instability refers to market fluctuations and economic factors, which title insurance does not address. Inaccurate property appraisals concern the assessment of property value, impacting how much a buyer is willing to pay but does not affect the legal ownership aspect covered by title insurance. Neighborhood crime rates relate to the overall desirability and perceived value of a location, which is a different type of risk altogether and is not a factor that title insurance mitigates. Thus, the protection against losses due to ownership disputes is the key function of title insurance, making it the correct answer.