Closings glossary
Underwriter (title)
The insurer whose policy is issued on a transaction. An agency prepares and issues on the underwriter's forms, and claims are ultimately paid by the underwriter.
What is a title underwriter?
Quick Answer
The full definition
The insurer whose policy is issued on a transaction. An agency prepares and issues on the underwriter's forms, and claims are ultimately paid by the underwriter.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside underwriter (title) in the same file.
- Title insurance
- Insurance against loss from title defects that existed before the policy date. New York premiums come from a filed rate schedule, so the figure is calculated rather than negotiated.
- Closing protection letter
- An underwriter's letter covering a lender or buyer against defined misconduct or error by the settlement agent handling the closing funds and documents for a transaction.
- Premium (title insurance)
- The one-time charge for a title policy, computed from the filed New York rate schedule by amount of insurance, plus any endorsement and search-related charges.
- Title officer
- The person at a title agency or underwriter with authority over what a commitment requires and excepts. Clearance decisions on a file run through this role.
- TIRSA
- The rate service organization whose filed manual sets New York title insurance premiums, endorsement charges and the reissue and simultaneous issue rules.
Where does underwriter (title) come up in a New York City closing?
A Manhattan closing runs through a local agency, but the owner's policy is issued on a national underwriter's form, and any later claim goes there.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
- What is a closing protection letter?A CPL indemnifies the lender if the settlement agent mishandles funds or ignores closing instructions. What borrowers should know about it in New Y...
- What is title insurance?Title insurance covers defects in a property's past: old liens, recording errors, forged deeds, undisclosed heirs. How the coverage works in New York.
Have a closing coming up?
Tell us about the transaction. An attorney reads every intake form and responds the same business day.
Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.