As previously written the Pennsylvania Insurance Department has approved a Title Insurance Rate Simplification, Rate Increase and Manual Revisions submitted by the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania (TIRBOP) is to become effective July 1, 2012.

PA Title Insurance will now become a single Sale Rate and a single Non-Sale Rate, meaning refinance rate. There are no longer any rules regarding the length of time since the last PA Title Insurance policy was issued. The new PA Title Insurance rates should provide consumers and lenders a quick and easy way to know the title insurance rate applicable to the transaction. You will no longer be required to determine when the title was last insured. The Sale Rate is for all sales. The Non-Sale Rate applies to all refinances, although discounts for loan modifications and assignments of mortgages are still applicable now based upon the Non-Sale rate. PA Title Insurance rates with this filing reflect a rate increase of 7%.

Moreover, a PA Title Company does not have any flexibility over the 30 Million dollar loan limits the way we did previously. There is no limit on the premium rates previously set at $30 million. Meaning for files with PA title insurance coverage for over 30 Million Dollars there was no mandated amount for the overage. Now the rate is set at $1.25 for every thousand dollars after the 30 Million Dollars of coverage. Pennsylvania Title Insurance is still a all-inclusive rate (i.e., the rate covers your search and exam work and closings held in the office during normal business hours). All the rules regarding ancillary fees remain the same-pass through charges only (i.e., tax certs, wire, overnight mailings, etc.). However, we believe in waiving all of these potential fees for the consumer. So no consumer will pay these ancillary fees with our PA Title Company.

Here is a link to the new PA Title Insurance rate manual as well as the new PA Title Insurance Rates Chart.