Summer 2017 Updates

Summer 2017 brings lots of things that require the attention of Fund Members! DoubleTime 7.0.6 Release, New ALTA Commitment Form, and Legislative Activity.

Dear Members,

Summer brings lots of things: heat, humidity, kids out of school, afternoon thunderstorms. But Summer 2017 brings other things that require the attention of Fund Members!

• DoubleTime 7.0.6 Release
• New ALTA Commitment Form
• Legislative Activity

Let's start with the new commitment form. First, I hope you are aware that there is one. It has been approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) and we are moving Fund Members to the new form through our branch products and DoubleTime. I hope you had a chance to participate in one of the Town Halls led by Jay Davis, Melissa Scaletta, and Maggie Thumberg of our Legal Division to learn about the new form - attendance was really high for all three. But if you did not, here is a link to the recorded presentation. I encourage you to listen in because it will get you started off on the right foot with the new form.

Use of the new form is an important aspect of your agency relationship with Old Republic. ALTA worked long and hard on this form because it was a needed revision for the industry. OIR adopted it for those same good reasons. The primary goal of the new form is to clarify the relationship between the insured and the underwriter - it is one of contract. Third parties can no longer rely on the commitment to support a cause of action against the underwriter. So, you need to get familiar with the new form and get comfortable reviewing it and explaining it to the proposed insureds. If you are a DoubleTime user, you should have already received your notification, through an email, to download the latest release - 7.0.6! This new release incorporates the new commitment form into your DoubleTime so that your use of it will be easy-peasy. If you have any questions about the download, please reach out to your MAE or to the Help Desk. Don't waste a call or email to me! I confess that I would be useless in helping you with the download.

Jumpin' Jehoshaphat Legislative Session Stuff. Didn't the 2017 session just end? We don't even know the final list of bills that have been signed or vetoed by Governor Scott! Yet I am already up to my eyeballs in possible legislative activity for 2018. I have been appointed to a committee of the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section to develop legislation addressing the reality that we must deal with remote, electronic, online notarization of documents. And we must deal with this sooner and not later. Other possible legislation that might be of interest (this is a very tentative, unconfirmed list, but these are what we are keeping our eyes on):

And speaking of legislation, you will soon be receiving a letter from me asking you to contribute to TITL. Please respond in whatever amount works for you. I need the resources to reach out to legislators over the summer and let them know that The Fund is a player in Tallahassee. Please consider an amount equal to your hourly rate or your average fee on ONE closing. Every contribution helps. I work very hard to make sure good legislation gets passed and that bad legislation gets averted or amended before a final vote.

Thanks!

You will receive this email soon after Memorial Day. Over that holiday, I hope you spent at least a moment reflecting on the sacrifices so many have made for you and for our country.

Let me know how we can help you.

• MRTA legislation/amendments
• Some type of legislative "fix" for the current rash of false information on SunBiz for corporations, LLCs, and other entities
• Ober fix - this is related to the lis pendens statute
• Condo "glitch" bill - an annual event
• Vacation rentals legislation - push/pull between state law and local control