Claims fall into one of two categories –

• An escrow matter (e.g., a proration error, or an unpaid invoice) can often be resolved quickly at the local office level by the closer or the office manager.
• A title matter (e.g., an unreleased lien) will usually require investigation by our title department and/or review by the policy underwriter.

Claims

A formal claim is initiated by providing written notice (“Notice of Claim”) describing the issue or issues. A Notice of Claim should include the claimant’s name, the subject property address and the file number for the transaction (located on the title commitment and most closing documents).

• For escrow matters, a Notice of Claim should be directed to the office that closed the transaction.
• For title matters, a Notice of Claim may be directed to the policy underwriter (contact information can be found on the policy jacket), or to the office that closed the transaction. A copy of the title policy should be included with a Notice of Claim related to a title matter.

Additional information may be required during the course of investigation of any claim. Please contact any of our offices for additional information about claims.

N.B. Some concerns are outside the scope of title insurance (e.g., damage to property caused by a fire is a hazard insurance matter) and some concerns that are within the purview of title are outside the scope of policy coverage (e.g., an encroachment onto an adjacent property may be a specific policy exception).