Will I get the same coverage from Chicago Title if the signatures are obtained remotely?

Any title insurance policy issued by Chicago Title will be honoured if the signatures are obtained remotely as long as the documents are registrable in your provincial land registry.

Remote Signing has to be authorized in the jurisdiction where you practice. You’ll need to comply with your Codes of Conducts and Law Society regulations. Please check with your Law Society, The Society of Notaries Public of BC, the Chambre des notaires du Québec for rules and regulations on verifying ID, the remote execution of documents and the use of technology such as video-conferencing.

Will banks accept virtual signatures?

This is a decision individual banks and lenders will make for their business. It is our understanding that a number of banks are reviewing their practices. You should contact your lender representative to confirm prior to executing  mortgage documents.

Do you offer ID Verification?

We are offering our ID Verification service any time that you are uncertain about any parties to your transaction (we have a number of lawyers discussing doing this on all transactions during the crisis). There will be some instances where we will insist on this verification happening before we can provide title insurance. Just to be clear, we do not require this on all remote signing deals, only those where the Lender is private and the clients are unknown to the lawyer/notary representing them or cash purchase transactions. Therefore, when completing your applications for title insurance make a note in the order form only when the transaction is

1. private lender deal where the borrower’s lawyer or notary doesn’t know them and has never acted for them;
2. cash purchase where the vendor’s lawyer doesn’t know the vendor and has never acted for them.

If a note is added in the file that an ID was verified remotely or that the transaction was closed via video conference, we will conduct an ID verification of vendors and purchasers in case of purchase transactions and borrowers in case of refinances. Please note that there is an additional fee associated with this service.

What are some best practices to verify IDs remotely?

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada has issued a document to guide the legal professionals, and you will find useful information on pages 11 & 12 about Verifying Identity – Click here to open the document.

What protection does Gap Coverage provide when Land Registry offices are closed?

Gap Coverage is automatically included in all of our residential and commercial title insurance policies and insures both purchasers and lenders against losses due to intervening registrations on title between the date of closing and the date of registration of the documents to the Land Titles or Registry office.

Learn more about Gap Coverage.

Do I need to purchase Gap Coverage separately?

Chicago Title has Gap Coverage embedded in all residential and commercial policies. This coverage is not new, it is a coverage we had in place.

This coverage is part of the offering to our Insureds and will continue to protect purchasers and lenders during potential delays or closure of Land Titles/Registry Offices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provided the title search (and execution/judgement search where applicable) is dated within 30 days prior to the closing date, Chicago Title’s Insurance policy will protect the insureds from loss in the event there is an intervening registration between the time the closing documents are executed by all parties and their registration at the Land Titles/Registry Offices.

No need to ask for Gap Coverage, it’s included in all Commercial and Residential policies. Always, at no additional cost. 

Unknown defects, charges or liens existing as of the date of execution of the closing documents are covered by the Covered Risks of the Title Insurance policies.

For more information on Extended Gap and other coverage offered by Chicago Title, please contact your Regional Manager.

How is Chicago Title handling delays in off-title searches? (eg. taxes, status/strata certificates, building/zoning related searches, etc.)

With regards to other off-title searches, if the current situation prevents a law firm from obtaining responses from Municipalities or Government offices, please know that Chicago Title will work with you to provide title insurance coverage where we can in order to close the real estate transaction.

With the current situation, will I get my Tax Certificates on time?

Due to some changes at the municipal tax offices, there may be some impact on Chicago Title’s Tax Verification Service.

While most offices are still open and providing Tax Certificates, they may experience delays as they adjust to the measures taken against COVID-19. As a result of these changes, we may not be able to provide you with the same turnaround time that you are accustomed to. In some instances, we might not be able to provide a Tax Certificate due to the complete closure of the municipal offices.

We will continue to provide Tax Certificates as we get the information from the municipalities. We will continue to provide verbal updates, however, please note that any delay in responding is out of our control. To allow us to serve you better, please indicate the timeline you need the information by as early as possible, and we will do our very best to obtain the information in time.

If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

During this crisis, what title fraud coverage is available?

Chicago Title’s standard title fraud protection remains in effect. We anticipate the risk of fraud to be increased during this time and urge you to remain vigilant.

Are Chicago Title offices open?

Chicago Title has been classified as an essential business according to notices circulated throughout the rest of the country by the various provincial governments.

We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and are following the recommendations from global health experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Public Health Agency of Canada on preventing the spread of the virus. As part of our Business Continuity Plan (BCP), we are taking all the precautionary measures to ensure the smooth functioning of all our services.

Is Chicago Title accepting mail or couriers?

As with most businesses, Chicago Title’s employees are working remotely. We have made arrangements to collect mail; however, our ability to accept couriers is extremely limited. Contact your regional manager to setup automated payments and eliminate the need to forward physical cheques for policy remittance.