Bulletin: OR2012001

This Bulletin is sent to advise you of recent amendments to the OTIRO Rating Manual, in effect as of March 19, 2012, for all Oregon title insurance agents.  Please note that while the changes took effect upon approval, existing forms may be used for up to 90 days thereafter during a transition period.  The changes are outlined as follows: 

• Revision to Section 3.010 – Owner’s Policy Following the Issuance of a Foreclosure Guarantee.
  Subsections B, C, D and E are discontinued.  Your attention is specifically called to the elimination of Section C, which provides for a 65% discount rate for an owner’s policy following issuance of a foreclosure guarantee.
• Revision to Section 10.208 – Environmental Protection Lien Endorsements. 
  OTIRO End 208.1-06 (Environmental Lien Endorsement) is restricted to policies on one-to-four family dwellings; for policies on all other properties, OTIRO End 208.2-06 (Commercial Environmental Lien Endorsement) is the only available form. 
• Revision to Section 10.223 – Co-Insurance Endorsement.
  This section is expanded to address the aggregation and apportionment aspects of the co-insurance endorsement. 
• Revision to form OTIRO Endorsement 87 – Policy Datedown Endorsement.
  The form is revised to show the through-date for the endorsement. 
• New form OTIRO Endorsement 90.2 – Substitute Insured Endorsement for Guarantee. 
  This is a new endorsement for circumstances in which the insured under a guarantee for a trust deed or mortgage foreclosure has assigned the loan and trust deed or mortgage to an assignee, recognized by the endorsement as a substitute insured.  Section 10.090 is revised to incorporate the new endorsement and to establish a charge of $100.
   
• Withdrawal of form OTIRO Endorsement 96 – Last Dollar Endorsement.
  This endorsement, adopted for the discontinued ALTA 1992 policy forms, is withdrawn.  The coverage is contained in the ALTA 2006 policy forms.
   
• New form OTIRO Endorsement 108 – Co-Insurance with Limited Joint and Several Provision Endorsement.
  This is a new endorsement that provides an alternative to OTIRO Endorsement 223-06 (Co-Insurance).  As with OTIRO Endorsement 223-06, there is no charge for this endorsement, per new Section 10.108. 

NOTE:  OTIRO Endorsement Form Number 108 was previously assigned to a Wind Energy – Personal Property Endorsement submitted through a deviated filling.  Stewart is currently working with the State to amend this form in order to correct this oversight.  Upon approval of the amended filing, the form will be referred to simply as Stewart Form 108.  A separate bulletin notifying issuing offices of this change will be submitted upon approval by the state. 

• New form OTIRO Endorsement 109(O) and 109(L) – Nonauthentication Endorsements.
  These endorsements provide an assurance that an endorsement issued concurrently with a policy is a part of the policy even if it is issued electronically or without authentication by an authorized person.  New Section 10.109 specifies no charge when the endorsement is issued with a policy on a one-to-four family dwelling and a charge of $50 when it is issued with a policy on any other property.

The endorsement forms will be made available on Virtual Underwriter in the near future.   

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.