ALTA Board Approves Revisions to Co-Insurance Endorsement, Arbitration Rules
July 11, 2017
During its 2017 Summer Meeting, ALTA’s Board of Governors approved revisions to ALTA Endorsement 23.1-06 (Co-Insurance – Multiple Policies) and the ALTA Title Insurance Arbitration Rules.
The Endorsement form is currently posted for industry comment on ALTA’s website and is subject to change. The public comment period is open until July 28. A preview of the Arbitration Rules is also available. Upon review of comments and final publication on or about Aug. 1, any prior version(s) of revised forms which may exist will be moved to the archives of the ALTA Policy Forms collection.
As always, the forms have been developed by the ALTA Forms Committee and approved by the ALTA Board. An opportunity to review and comment is extended to ALTA Members, Policy Forms Licensees, and industry customers before final publication. The forms, in general, are made available for customer convenience. The parties are free in each case to agree to different terms and the use of these forms is voluntary unless required by law. The Forms are copyrighted and use is restricted to ALTA Policy Forms Licensees (including ALTA Members) in good standing as of the date of use. Permission to reprint may be requested by contacting [email protected].
ALTA Endorsement 23.1-06 (Co-Insurance – Multiple Policies)
The Co-Insurance endorsement describes how multiple co-insurance policies are structured. Co-insurance endorsements are often issued in commercial transactions involving multiple policies and properties. However, comments have been made that the existing ALTA Endorsement 23.1-06 (Co-Insurance – Multiple Policies) is not sufficiently clear, and needs to be further revised to address the need for separate Aggregation Endorsements for each Co-Insurer where multiple policies are issued, and ensure that the liability of each co-insurer is separately aggregated.
The endorsement as adopted does not make substantive changes to the endorsement as adopted Aug. 1, 2016, but does make some modifications, primarily in paragraph two. The endorsement as revised states that the liabilities of the issuing co-insurer and each co-insurer may be aggregated by separate Aggregation Endorsements (the ALTA 12 Series) issued by each of the co-insuring companies. This endorsement also recognizes that the policy liability of each of the co-insuring companies may not be aggregated with policy liabilities assumed by any other co-insuring company.
Arbitration Rules
The ALTA Title Insurance Arbitration Rules were originally adopted in 1987 and revised in 2000 and 2006. The 2006 amended rules incorporated the Code of Procedure of the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). The NAF has been operating under a consent agreement with the Minnesota Attorney General to cease/desist consumer arbitrations since 2009.
The approved revised rules incorporate the Consumer Arbitration Rules and Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and provide for designation of an arbitrator under The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) should the AAA be unavailable. ALTA has also engaged arbitration counsel to advise the Forms Committee about the current legal and regulatory environment with respect to mandatory arbitration and class-action arbitrations. The revision includes an explicit prohibition on class arbitrations. The rules were silent on this before.
Email questions or concerns to Kelly Romeo, ALTA staff liaison for the Forms Committee.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].