Pennsylvania Title Insurance Rate Explanation
EXPLANATION OF TITLE RATES
EXPLANATION OF TITLE RATES
The following are excerpts explaining some title insurance rates as described in the Manual of the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania, as approved by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, effective March 1, 1995, and as amended through January 1, 2002.
An owner's policy issued at the time of the purchase of the property shall be based on the full consideration, including the aggregate unpaid principal sum of any mortgage(s) or other liens, claims, taxes and any other municipal charge not being paid, and any amount in excess of the full consideration the purchaser may request. In a transaction involving the sale of real estate, an owner's policy must be issued unless the new owner has waived, in writing, the purchase of an owner's policy in accordance with 31 Pa. Code § 126.1. Where an owner desires that an owner's policy be issued after acquisition of title, the rate shall be based upon any amount the owner may request but not less than the present fair market value of the property as of the time the owner's policy is issued.
A loan policy cannot be issued in an amount less than the full principal debt secured by real property unless it is issued in an amount equal to he fair market value of the real property securing the debt. A policy may be issued in an amount in excess of the debt where agreed to by the Insurer and the Insured. Where a loan policy and owner's policy are issued simultaneously on the same property, they shall be treated as a single policy and the charge shall be based on the policy with the highest limits. When separate loan policies are issued simultaneously, insuring two or more mortgages on the same property, there shall be one charge for all policies which shall be determined by the aggregate liability of the policies.
A purchaser of a title insurance policy shall be entitled to purchase this coverage at the reissue rate if the real property to be insured is identical to or is part of real property insured 10 years immediately prior to the date the insured transaction closes when evidence of the earlier policy is produced notwithstanding the amount of coverage provided by the prior policy.
When title insurance has been issued to an operative builder and within 10 years of the issuance of the title insurance policy, the operative builder sells completed units out of the subdivision, planned unit development, cooperative or condominium, the charge shall be 90% of te reissue rate when evidence of the earlier issued policy is produced. For the purpose of this section, an "operative builder" shall mean one who assembles and sells: a group of at least five units on a single tract or series of contiguous tracts; or a group of at lease five units developed pursuant to the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act or pursuant to a cooperative regime.
When a refinance or substitution loan is made within 3 years from the date of closing of a previously insured mortgage or fee interest and the premises to be insured are identical to or part of the real property previously insured and there has been no change in the fee simple ownership, the charge shall be 80% of the reissue rate.
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