Bulletin: NJ2021007

Dear Associates:

Changes have been made to the New Jersey Rate Manual effective December 1, 2021. Please take the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the updated Rate Manual, which the Department of Banking and Insurance has approved for use in New Jersey as of December 1, 2021. This revision includes various stylistic and grammatical updates. It also includes several new definitions in Section 1 which have been included below:

• 1.3.1 “Contemporaneously-Issued Policies” means two or more loan Policies issued at the same time, insuring more than one mortgage encumbering the same Land (or a portion or portions thereof), in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.3.4 of this Manual.
• 1.3.2 “Endorsement” means a document issued by the Insurer or Title Insurance Agent which forms a part of the Policy, amending or modifying the terms and conditions thereof or the coverage afforded thereby, and for which a change is imposed in accordance with this Manual.
• 1.6.1 “Land” means the tract(s) or parcel(s) of real property or estate(s) or interest(s) therein described in Schedule A of the Policy, as the same may be defined in the Policy.
• 1.6.2 “Policy” means the contract of insurance between the Insured and the Insurer, issued by the Insurer or Title Insurance Agent in accordance with the provisions of the Title Insurance Act, N.J.S.A. 17:46B-1 et seq., as the same may be from time to time amended, and this Manual.

Furthermore, Section 3.4.1 has been modified to read as follows and further defines how contemporaneously issued endorsements will be charged based on the aggregate amount of insurance of the contemporaneously issued Policies:

3.4.1 SIMULTANEOUSLY AND CONTEMPORANEOUSLY ISSUED POLICIES - ENDORSEMENT CHARGES

Whenever two or more Policies are to be issued simultaneously or contemporaneously, as provided in Section 3.4 or in Section 3.3.4 respectively, and the Insurer is requested to issue the same Endorsement for multiple Policies, only a single charge shall be made for the issuance of such Endorsement, except in those cases in which Sections 3.4 (with respect to enhanced coverage Policies), 4.8, 10.37, 10.38 or 10.73 applies. The single charge for any simultaneously-issued Endorsements charged under Article 10 as a percentage of the Underwriting Rate shall be based on the higher amount of insurance of the simultaneously-issued Policies. The single charge for any contemporaneously-issued Endorsements charged under Article 10 as a percentage of the Underwriting Rate shall be based on the aggregate amount of insurance of the contemporaneously-issued Policies.

Please make sure to contact whichever title production software vendor you use to get the new rates/forms updated in your systems.

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

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