As global concern regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to evolve, we wanted to share with you the steps we are taking to protect the health and safety of our employees, while ensuring our continued ability to serve our clients.
We are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and putting in place the recommendations made by healthcare authorities both within Canada and globally to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees and clients. Stewart Title’s Business Continuity Plan was established to address these types of events. Our extensive contingency plans are designed to ensure all areas of our organization are prepared to maintain the delivery of products and services with minimal disruption on service levels should the outbreak require a temporary office closure.
We also wanted to take this opportunity to remind you about some tools and coverage available to assist with your upcoming real estate closings.
Smart Order Form as Alternative to Phone or Fax
If you are presently ordering your policies by phone or fax, we encourage you to switch to ordering policies using our Smart Order Form at
stewart.ca/SmartOrderForm
. This form is available anytime online and will ensure that your orders are completed with increased efficiency no matter what the situation.
Key Contact Information and Resources on Stewart.ca
A list of some of our most frequently contacted departments can be found on our
website
. Should you choose to send your inquiry by email, please include your name, contact information, Stewart file number and a brief description of your inquiry and one of our Representatives will get back to you in a timely manner.
Gap Coverage During Delays or Closure at Land Registry Offices
Gap Coverage is included in our residential and commercial title insurance policies. Gap Coverage insures both purchasers and lenders against losses due to intervening registrations on title between the date of closing and the date of registration. This means that in the event that online registration is no longer available, or land registry offices experience delays or closures due to COVID-19, transactions can close on time and funds and keys can be released to the respective parties. To benefit from Gap Coverage, please ensure
(1) you have a title search that was conducted within the last 30 days; (2) title insurance policies are ordered on or before the closing date; and (3) registration documents are submitted immediately when you have access to online registry sites or after service resumes at the land registry offices.
Please note that we continue to monitor these changing circumstances and will send further updates if our position regarding Gap Coverage needs to be modified.
We hope that by providing you with the above information, we have been able to alleviate some of your concerns during this challenging time.
We wish you, your family and your associates continued health and resilience. We will continue to be in touch as the situation evolves.
March 13, 2020
NTL (Excl. QC)
