Bulletin: SLS2012002

Dear Associates:

Effective January 1, 2012, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) will require every Title Insurance Underwriter to collect data for reporting in their annual statements the type of property covered by each policy reported. For policies issued in Stewart’s name we ask you to classify whether the property is "residential" or "commercial." The NAIC’s definition of residential is as follows:

"Residential policies mean title insurance policies that insure the title to real property having a house, individual condominium unit, mobile home permanently affixed to real estate, or other dwelling unit intended principally for the occupancy of from one to four (1-4) families, but does not include multi-family structures intended for the use of 5+ families, undeveloped lots, or real estate intended principally for business, commercial, industrial, religious, educational or agricultural purposes even if some portion of the real estate is used for residential purposes." 

If you are currently reporting policy data to Stewart with the preexisting property types (C – Commercial; R –Residential 1-4 Family; O – Other Residential; L – Land; U – Unknown or Other) please report the property types R – Residential or C – Commercial only with the policy data. 

If you have not been reporting policy data to Stewart with the preexisting property types, you should designate the property as R – Residential if it fits the definition above or C – Commercial if it does not.   

Guidelines for designating property types when reporting policies to Stewart Policy Services Center.  If you report policies via: 

• AIM+ or AIM for Windows:  Use the available data field to enter the property type
• PCRWin:  Use the available data field to enter the property type
• PRISM:  Use the available data field to enter the property type
• Stewart Policy Exchange (SPX):  Use the available data field to enter the property type
• Format B:  Enter the property code in column R (PropType) in the existing Excel spreadsheet
• A software provider (SoftPro, Ramquest) or your own internal production system:  Contact the provider or update your system as soon as possible to accommodate the NAIC requirement
• Policies reported without a Register Report:  Group policies and designate each group as either Residential or Commercial.
• Other reporting methods:  Please include the property type when reporting.  

Keep in mind that your designation of a property’s character is FOR DATA COLLECTION PURPOSES ONLY AND THE ISSUANCE OF OUR POLICY DOES NOT INSURE OR COVER THAT DESIGNATION.

Please contact Policy Services Customer Care Center at 800-729-1905 or psccc@stewart.com if you have any questions regarding this matter.

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