Bulletin: MT2016003

Dear Associates:

A new Rate Manual has been filed with the Montana Department of Insurance. The new Manual will go into effect on January 13, 2017. Numerous changes were made to the Rate Manual. Set forth below is a summary of the changes.

Section B-4. h. Water Rights. This paragraph was deleted. Stewart is no longer offering insurance for interests in water.

Section B-6. Lender’s Policies. The first two sentences of paragraph 6 dealing with the charges for a standard and extended lender’s policy have been deleted.

Section B-6. e. ALTA Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy. Several new versions of this form of policy have been added. These policies are available only on one-to-four family residential structures. The policies provide coverage found in the ALTA 4, 5, 6, 8.1 and 9 endorsements. There are now five versions of the policy. 1) ALTA Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy - Assessments Priority. 2) ALTA Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy - Current Assessments. 3) Short Form Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy. 4) ALTA Short Form Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy - Assessments Priority. 5) ALTA Short Form Expanded Coverage Residential Loan Policy- Current Assessments. An explanation of the coverages under each of the forms is set out in this section of the Manual.

Section B-6. h. ALTA Short Form Residential Loan Policy - Current Violations.  The ALTA Short Form Residential Loan Policy - Current Violations policy form has been added. This form is similar to the ALTA Short Form Residential Policy. It is issued to a lender making a loan secured by a one-to-four family residential lot or condominium and insures against violations of covenants, conditions, or restrictions at Date of Policy.

Section B-11 ALTA Residential Limited Coverage Mortgage Modification Policy. This policy has been added. The policy may be issued in connection with a modification of a mortgage by an institutional lender covering one-to-four residential real property or condominiums. It can be used instead of an ALTA 11-06 Modification Endorsement. The charge is $150.

Section B-12. List of Forms. A new commitment form has been added. This form was created by the ALTA forms committee August 1, 2016. This is a link to the form http://www.vuwriter.com/en/forms/2016-7/alta-commitment-for-title-insurance-6-17-06-revised--08-01-16-.html. You are encouraged to use this form as the default form of commitment.

Section C.  Endorsements.

The following endorsements were added. ALTA 9.6.1, 18.2, 19.2, 28.3, 36.7, 36.8, 40, 40.1, 45 and 46.

Most of the new endorsements are variations of existing endorsements. However the ALTA 45 and 46 are new endorsements providing coverage not previously provided in an ALTA form.

The ALTA 45 is a Pari Passu Mortgage endorsement available for use with a loan policy. This endorsement is designed for situations where two or more lenders make different loans secured by the same Land (which may be one or more properties) and where the mortgages or deeds of trust securing the loans are of equal lien priority. The loans may differ in amounts, terms, etc. The transaction often involves a credit facility.

The ALTA 46 is an Option Endorsement. This endorsement insures against loss or damage sustained by the Insured by reason of: (a) any defect in the execution of an option to purchase real property resulting from: (i) forgery, incompetency, incapacity, or impersonation of the optionor; (ii) failure of the optionor to have authorized the option; or (iii) the option not being properly signed, witnessed, sealed, acknowledged, notarized, or delivered by the optionor; and (b) any right to acquire an estate or interest in the option parcel granted to another person in a document recorded in the Public Records at Date of Policy if the document is not excepted in Schedule B.

The endorsement can be used in situations where the insured named in a policy is the holder of a specific option identified in the endorsement. This endorsement does not insure the validity, priority or enforceability of the option. This endorsement can be issued with either an ALTA Loan Policy 2006 or an ALTA Owner's Policy 2006.

The ALTA 2 was decertified by ALTA and is no longer available.

As a reminder, other forms should not be used if a comparable ALTA version is available. If a comparable ALTA version is available, the most current version of the ALTA form available in each state should be used, unless approved by a Stewart underwriter.  

Agents please contact PropertyInfo Customer Care or your title production software vendor to get the new rates/forms changes implemented in your system. 

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

For on-line viewing of this and other bulletins, please log onto www.vuwriter.com.