DFR License Renewal - Action Required!

Attention Title Producers (Licensed Agents): You should have received an email from the NAIC on behalf of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation about renewing your Title Producer License (which is required if you sign title insurance policies). If you have not already renewed your license, NOW is the time to do so. Existing licenses expire on 3/31/23. The renewal period runs from 4/1/23 to 3/31/25.

You can renew your license now by going to Sircon or NIPR. Note: These are 3rd party sites over which we have no control. If you have problems renewing online, please reach out directly to DFR via email or by calling, (802) 828-3303.

For additional information please click here to visit DFR's website.

Vermont Notary Public Commissions - It's renewal time!

If you are a Vermont Notary Public you should have received an email from the Office of Professional Regulation to renew your commission. Renewal must be accomplished through your Online Services Account on or before January 31, 2023. Click here to review additional instructions from the VT SOS website. If you have any questions concerning your renewal, please email the renewal clerk.

Reminder: The Office of Professional Regulation of the Secretary of State's Office has mandated a minimum of one hour of relevant continuing education for non-attorney notaries. Click here for a list of exemptions. 

The Vermont Bar Association hosted and recorded a continuing education webinar on 10/31. Please contact the VBA for details on how to view the webinar.

WIRE FRAUD - Education + Communication = Prevention

ALTA expects the annual number of business email comprises (BECs) to more than double in the next two years. Communication, education and prevention are more important than ever.

Click here for a handout for use in mailers, waiting areas, employees' desks/offices, etc.

A successful wire fraud can be devastating for you and your clients, so please be proactive and stay on your game. Some helpful reminders:

Education:

• Advise your clients, colleagues, business referrals, etc. at the onset of your transaction to never initiate a wire without first verifying the instructions, either in person or via a phone call to a trusted and independently verified number (not a number on the letterhead or in the body of the letter, email, etc.)

• Advise your clients, business referrals, colleagues, etc., that you will follow the same instructions outlined above.

• Remember: Receiving a second set of wire instructions should always be a red flag. Treat these with suspicion and independently verify.

• Educate your staff, and regularly revisit and review your office policies and procedures for incoming and outgoing wires.

Communication:

• Prior to wiring: Independently verify the wiring instructions - not by calling the phone number on the payoff letter or the number provided in an email, etc.

• After wiring: Immediately after wiring confirm that your sent wires were received by the intended party. Again, by independently verifying the phone number.

Note: Authorities report that recovery of funds is more likely in the 24-48 hours following initiation, so the sooner a fraud attempt is known, the more likely the attempt will be thwarted.  Important: Notify the VT Underwriting Team immediately if a fraud attempt is known.

Tools & Technology:

• Make sure your equipment, security measures and technology are up to date.

• Consider using CertifID, a third-party verification service that CATIC has vetted and partnered with. CATIC Agents can access CertifID for a discounted rate. CertifID is now offering payoff protection through PayoffProtect. If you would like to schedule a no obligation demonstration, let Katie know! More information about this service can be found here.

• Consider using multi-factor authentication.

Thank you for your hard work!

1099 Season Is Here, Are You Ready?

The filing season for 1099-S forms is here. The Form 1099-S, along with the appropriate Form 1096 transmittal, must be submitted to the Internal Revenue Service no later than February 28, 2023, if filing on paper, or by March 31, 2023, if filing electronically. 

Click here to view our quick reference guide to the filing process.

**Important Reminder** When filing IRS forms, be sure to use "official forms or forms that meet the specifications for substitute forms." While CATIC's PrepExpress® software contains a Solicitation/Substitute Form 1099-S that form has NOT been approved by the IRS and therefore should NOT be used for official filing purposes.

Lane Guide Is Back!

The last year has been a challenging one for Lane Guide. Past President, Richard Lane, passed away unexpectedly in late 2021. As a result, business was disrupted for several months. Many of you were unable to renew subscriptions and lost access to the site/data.

Lane Guide has since re-organized under new management and laneguide.com, is back online and subscriptions can now be renewed or created.

With 65 years of data on over 160,000 lenders, Lane Guide remains the leading source for contact information and data on closed and merged lenders.



If you have any questions, please contact support@laneguide.com.

Lender Requests for Final Policies

There has been an increase in calls/emails from lenders requesting final policies and endorsements to policies we haven't received yet. We cannot endorse policies we don't have.

We acknowledge that the past two years have been crazy and appreciate your hard work and dedication to CATIC.

Please know that we are here to help. Just call our office and we will offer solutions so you can free up space in your filing cabinet. Common problems and issues include missing discharges and post-closing update problems.

Let's start the new year off right with getting all policies older than 3 months issued to the Insureds and remitted to our Rocky Hill office.

Lau's Corner & Title Tips

Underwriting Question? 

Please email all questions to UnderwritingVT@catic.com. Thank you!

Career Network

We often hear of firms who are hiring. While we welcome phone calls or emails, we have added a career network post under News and Announcements (bottom right-hand corner) on the VATC website.

New ALTA 2021 Forms



The American Land Title Association (“ALTA”) decertified certain existing forms on December 31, 2022. What does this mean? Technically, it means the existing forms will no longer be updated. For all practical purposes, however, this will have no immediate impact on you or the forms you will be using for at least the first few months of 2023. CATIC plans to implement the use of the 2021 Forms no later than April 2023.

In preparation for these new forms, you may want to learn about some of the changes that affect coverage, which will be a good thing for the consumer. Our recent webinar will provide you with some excellent information on the NEW ALTA Forms, along with updates and coverages. Note: You will need your CATIC.com login information to access the webinar.