Title Law Associates™

EDUCATION

TLA© recognizes that continuing education is essential in the ever changing title insurance industry. TLA© is committed to sponsoring and participating in educational services provided for the benefit of the legal community and the title insurance industry. We are committed to providing our customers with the most current and comprehensive information available on matters relating to changes in industry forms, industry standards, industry trends and regulatory or risk issues as they develop. We encourage our customers to remain current with regard to developing title insurance case law by subscribing to one or both of the title insurance newsletters listed in the bibliography.

In keeping with our philosophy regarding the importance of continuing education we have undertaken to add a number of additional links outlining The Title Insurance Underwriting Process. With that thought in mind we recommend that, in the event this website is used for educational purposes, the following links should be reviewed in the order as suggested:

Please note:  The links below contain reference to e-mailing Title Law Associates™.  Effective February 28, 2002, please direct all e-mail correspondence to: 

1. Underwriting Process Link - Lecture 1 on the Commitment to Insure;

2. Policy Format Link, which is a discussion of the ALTA Title Insurance Owner's and Loan Policy with particular emphasis on the Insuring Clauses; the Exclusions from Coverage; and the Conditions and Stipulations; together with a Comparison and Evolution of the Various ALTA Policy Forms, selected cases, ALR Annotations and Texts;

3. Underwriting Process Link: Lectures 2, 3, 4 & 5 which contain commentary on the Insuring Clauses and the issues which should be undertaken in consideration thereof;

4. New Expanded Policy Coverages: An article prepared by Clifford L. Morgan of Firstam appearing in the January/February 2002 issue of ALTA Title News with underwriting guidelines and requirements appearing on the Stewart Title Guaranty Company website located at www.stewart.com/virtualunderwriter <http://www.stewart.com/virtualunderwriter>

4. The Endorsement Link: which includes a discussion of the issues and considerations to be evaluated when it is the intention of the title underwriter to alter or modify the provisions of the policy so that insured receives greater coverage than existed under the "Standard Coverage" Policy;

5. New ALTA Leasehold Endorsements, prepared by Jack Murray, comparing the coverage benefits and differences between the new endorsement forms and the those available under the 1975 leasehold policy forms. The article appears on the firtsam website located at http://ul.firstam.com/landsakes/ALTAadopts.pdf
The background surrounding the leasehold policy withdrawal and coverage replacement via the 2001 ALTA Leasehold Endorsement Forms may be found on page 4 of The Title Law Associates™ Newsletter Vol.1 No. 6, a copy of which is attached and may be viewed by clicking here. Harris Ominsky's original article entitled "Title Insurance Doesn't work for Leases" follows this Introductory Background and has been converted to a .pdf format. Harris Ominsky's last leasehold article entitled "Leasehold Title Insurance Worth a Look" [New Endorsements Increase Amount, Scope of Coverage] is also attached and conclude our presentation. To reach Mr. Ominsky's last article please click here.

6. The Endorsement Link: which includes a discussion of the issues and considerations to be evaluated when it is the intention of the title underwriter to alter or modify the provisions of the policy so that insured receives greater coverage than existed under the "Standard Coverage" Policy;

7. The Reinsurance Link: which examines the issues to be considered in the Determination of Title Insurer Liability Retention Limits;

8. The Title Law Seminar Link: which examines how the insured and its counsel may undertake to Maximize the Benefits of their Title Insurance Coverage.

1. Rader, Closing Protection Letters, The Insurance Law Committee Newsletter (Summer 1996) is a review of litigation interpreting the "insured closing 3. Davis, The Law of Closing Protection Letters, appears in the Spring 2001 Issue of the Tort and Insurance Law Journal, Volume 36, Number 3. This follows his earlier article cited above. It is heavily annotated and recommended reading for all underwriters and title insurance claims litigation counsel. A copy also appears as a supplement to the Spring ALTA Title Counsel Agenda

NB Mr. Davis may be contacted at bdavis@beankinney.com mailto:bdavis@beankinney.com