Title & Escrow Claims Guide

Do you need to stay updated on the latest developments in title insurance legislation? Find the latest insight on handling claims on land title insurance policies, closing protection letters, equitable subrogation and closing defects.

Published since 1996 and authored by well-recognized expert J. Bushnell Nielsen, The Title and Escrow Claims Guide is the preferred research tool for land title claims administrators and retained counsel. This two-volume treatise serves as a guide for resolving disputes about title insurance policies, real estate escrow and closings, and related issues involving title insurers, title agents, approved attorneys and escrowees.

The Claims Guide is also an excellent educational resource for title companies to use when training new employees in title insurance claims, underwriting and title examination. You can purchase this book in the digital, or the bundled digital & print version. The book includes form letters regularly used by title claims professionals, available in both the digital-only and digital & print versions.

For more information, please see the table of contents.

If you have any questions, please contact Carolina Perez at [email protected].

2025 Edition

The latest edition, the 2025 Title and Escrow Claims Guide contains 1,884 pages, with many pages of new material. The 2025 edition analyzes about 200 court decisions not found in the 2024 edition, and new analysis of a number of subjects. The new material includes the following:

• New decisions that illustrate the evolving law on wire transfer fraud, from suits against title agents, escrow companies, banks, real estate agents and fraudsters
• The important California decision on highest and best use analysis in a diminution in value appraisal, and especially what the decision does not mean
• A much-expanded discussion of proper methods in diminution in value appraisal reports, based on appraisal standards, and red flags of a flawed method
• An expanded explanation of why the insured's actual loss is always measured as diminution in value, even when the Overholtzer formula is not recited in the policy
• The highly useful decision holding that loss due to the lack of a right of access is not measured as the cost to build a driveway, and failure to prove diminution means the insured collects $1
• Several excellent decisions on the insured's duty to cooperate in clearing title
• Discussion of a strong decision construing the limited coverage under the ALTA 32 and 33 endorsements
• New decisions and discussion of how a buyer's inquiry notice relates to policy exclusions
• A distressing decision holding that a lender that closed its own loan did not have its claim barred although it permitted an obvious fraud
• A great decision holding that a second street address in Schedule A does not obligate the insurer to buy a second parcel for the insured
• Solid decisions holding that Schedule A is not a Covered Risk, and the policy does not assure the right to build on the insured lots or sell them separately
• An excellent Nevada decision holding that the CLTA 115.3 endorsement does not protect against post-policy HOA assessments
• The very useful Illinois decision holding that a bona fide encumbrancer takes free of a released mortgage even if the release was not authorized
• Several new common sense rulings about marketability of title
• A decision holding that the policy protected against an attack on an access easement not listed in Schedule A, and when insured had access over his other parcel
• Discussion of excellent new decisions explaining the limits of an escrowee's fiduciary duty, and defeating claims that a fiduciary duty imposes responsibilities on subjects not addressed in the instructions
• The new decision holding that an escrow officer disclosed a possible fraudulent transfer by listing the deed in the title insurance commitment
• Important new decisions defining escrow, construing holdback escrows, holding that the closing statement is the only disbursement instruction, stating that an escrow officer has no duty to deliver non-closing documents to the escrow parties or to hire a sign language interpreter for closing, and stating that an escrowee owes no duties to people to be paid from closing