We were recently apprised of a situation in which a lender told an agent that it did not require title insurance on its proposed first trust, but that the lender did require a commitment and an insured closing letter (ICL) prior to closing.

As a reminder, our commitment is a contract with the proposed insured named on Schedule A to issue it a policy of title insurance and is issued only when a policy of title insurance is contemplated. The ICL is issued to a mortgagee "When title insurance.... is specified in connection....with closing of real estate transactions...." If no policy is contemplated, then no ICL should be issued.

You should not issue a commitment unless a title policy is ordered or an insured closing letter if you will not be issuing a Stewart Title Guaranty Company policy in connection with the transaction. If an ICL has been issued, it should be cancelled.