When does the reissue rate apply?

Reissue is a rate rule, not a coverage rule. The rate manual filed by TIRSA and approved by the Department of Financial Services allows a reduced premium when the same land was insured under a prior policy that can be produced and that falls inside the applicable period.

The prior policy is the proof. A settlement statement showing a premium was paid is helpful but is not the policy, and an underwriter can decline the rate without the document. Ask for it at intake rather than the week of closing, because tracking down an old policy takes time.

Where to look: the client's closing binder, the prior attorney's file, the prior lender's file on a refinance, and the prior title agent's records with the client's written consent. Long-held family properties are the hardest, and estate files sometimes hold the original.

On a refinance the analysis differs from a purchase. A refinance is insuring a new lender, so the comparison is against the prior lender's policy, and the amount of the prior policy caps the portion of the new policy eligible for the reduced rate. New money above that is written at the standard rate.

Because the manual is revised, confirm the current period and the current calculation with the underwriter for the specific file rather than relying on a remembered number. The rule to carry is procedural: ask for the prior policy on every file, every time.