With respect to access coverage, particular care should be exercised in the following instances:

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1 ACCESS Insuring Provision 4 of the standard ALTA owner s and loan policies provides coverage against loss or damage sustained or incurred by the insured by reason of No right of access to and from the land. As part of every title examination, therefore, it must be verified that either (1) the land being examined abuts a dedicated public street and that the insured has a legal right to use the street; or (2) that an insurable easement for access purposes exists and that the easement connects the land with a physically open public street. (See the section on Easements Insuring for more information.) The policies, unless otherwise endorsed, insure only the legal right to access. They do not insure that the access is physically open, or even that the means of ingress/egress is passable. The fact that access may be blocked by physical conditions (bodies of water, changes in elevation, etc..) ; or that access is subject to governmental regulation (requirement of permit per an unrecorded ordinance, law, etc ) does not does not require us to raise any exception. However, care should be taken if it is known that the means of access is not physically open because it increases the risk associated with the transaction. With respect to access coverage, particular care should be exercised in the following instances: When examining metes and bounds or portions of unsubdivided property. While even some subdivided lots may be landlocked, the risk is more 1 Situations arise where the access easement contains defects, but the risk factors weigh in favor of insuring access to the land. In those situations the easement should not be insured on Schedule A, but the lack of access exception is waived. This preserves our right in the event of a claim to provide access by alternative means, rather than defending an insured easement. This should only be done upon the advice of an underwriter of the company.

2 pronounced with unsubdivided properties; When the land has been recently subdivided or streets have been recently dedicated. Remember that, for example, the mere recital on a plat of subdivision that an adjoining street is hereby dedicated is not sufficient. Such dedication for street purposes must also be accepted by the appropriate governmental body (i.e. County, Township, Municipality, etc.). Approval of a subdivision plat by a municipality is not the same as acceptance of the dedication. Often the ordinance regarding the approval must be examined. Subdivisions which create private roadways (not dedicated or not accepted) do create private easements over those roadways for the benefit of the lot owners within the subdivision; When a prior/starter file covers more property than the current examination. In such an instance, it must be verified that both the break-off parcel and the remaining parcel will retain insurable access after the title to the parcels has been split; and When a prior/starter file pre-dates the 1960-form policy jackets. coverage was provided for the first time in the 1960 American Land Title Association policy jackets and therefore the question of access probably was not considered when such prior/starter examination was performed. LAND HAS NO ACCESS If the tax maps, the prior/starter file, a survey, or other information indicates that the land does not have a right of access, the customer should be contacted and the following should be raised: NOTWITHSTANDING THE INSURING PROVISIONS OR ANY OTHER PROVISION CONTAINED HEREIN, THE COMPANY DOES NOT INSURE AGAINST LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A LACK OF A RIGHT OF ACCESS TO AND FROM THE LAND. Due to the negative impact that lack of access has both on the value and use of real estate, in most instances the purchaser or lender will require that this exception be waived prior to or at the closing. Typically, this exception may be waived only after an easement examination has been performed (usually for an additional fee) and 2

3 the legal description has been amended to insure an easement parcel. (See the section on Easements Insuring for more information) LAND HAS ACCESS BUT SEARCHES DISCLOSE SEPARATE ACCESS EASEMENT If the land does have a right of access but the searches disclose an easement agreement which provides access by means of another route, the customer should be contacted to determine whether it is desired that the easement parcel be insured (and should be advised of the additional fee to be charged for the easement examination). The following exception should be raised: (A) NOTHING CONTAINED HEREIN SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS INSURING THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO AND FROM THE LAND BY MEANS OF THE EASEMENT RECORDED AS DOCUMENT NUMBER ~. (B) IF IT IS DESIRED THAT THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO AND FROM THE LAND CREATED BY THE EASEMENT BE EXAMINED FOR INSURABILITY, WE SHOULD BE SO INFORMED AND THIS COMMITMENT IS SUBJECT TO SUCH FURTHER EXCEPTIONS AS THEN MAY BE DEEMED NECESSARY. In the relatively rare event that the customer does not want the easement parcel insured, paragraph (A) typically should remain on the policy/ies and paragraph (B) should be bracketed (so that it may be raised again on a subsequent file). The name of the customer who indicated that the easement is not to be insured should be included in the brackets. MULTI PARCEL ORDERS WHERE ONE PARCEL IS LANDLOCKED BUT HAS ACCESS VIA OTHER PARCEL If the legal description is composed of two or more contiguous parcels that are owned by the same party and one or more of the parcels is/are landlocked, the following should be raised for office information purposes, so that the access issue (for the landlocked parcel) may be considered when performing a future examination: THE ONLY MEANS OF ACCESS TO PARCEL ~ OF THE LAND IS OVER PARCEL ~ OF THE LAND. AS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE, 3

4 BOTH PARCELS ARE OWNED BY THE SAME ENTITY. IF TITLE TO SAID PARCELS IS EVER SEPARATED, LACK OF ACCESS WILL BE AN EXCEPTION TO THE TITLE. PART OF LAND HAS ACCESS BUT PART DOES NOT Care should be taken to determine that all of the land described on Schedule A of the policy has access. For example if the description excepts lands conveyed to a railroad which crosses through the land it must be determined that the portions on either side of the right of way have independent access, or that an insurable crossing rights exists. If not then the exception for a lack of access should be raised as affecting part of the land. INSTRUMENT RECORDED WHICH DENIES OR LIMITS ACCESS RIGHTS If the searches disclose an instrument which denies or restricts access rights, an exception should be raised. Particular attention should be paid to deeds/dedications to the State of Illinois or other governmental bodies and to recitations on plats of subdivision which limit access rights by, for example, prohibiting or restricting the placement of driveways or curb cuts. Properties which adjoin limited access highways typically require IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) approval for such matters. The following exception should be shown: TERMS AND PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN THE AGREEMENT RECORDED AS DOCUMENT NUMBER, RESTRICTING ACCESS TO AND FROM THE LAND. ~ RISK FACTORS is a high risk area and claims associated with access tend to be of high cost. Some special risk factors to be aware of are: 1. Disputes between neighbors: is seldom the real issue. The neighbors simply do not get along and one cuts off the other. 2. Railroad/interstate/waterway crossings: Often these crossing rights require a permit which is personal and can not be assigned without the consent of the grantor. They can also be in the form of a license which does not run with the land and is not an 4

5 insurable form of access. Contact an underwriter of the company if requested to insure access by means of a permit or license. 3. Old township roads: The trend is for townships to abandon roadways, or deny that they exist. Old plat books and surveys often fail to distinguish between public and private roadways. Be careful and be certain that the road is in fact currently a public road. 4. It s been there forever : The fact that a private road exists is not, by itself, reason enough to insure access. If no easement for the benefit of the land being insured is found contact an underwriter of the company. ACCESS ENDORSEMENTS Because the access insured by the policy is a mere legal write to ingress and egress customers often ask for an Endorsement (ALTA or ALTA ). These endorsements give more coverage than the policy and insure against loss or damage in the event: (i) (ii) (iii) The land does not have both actual vehicular and pedestrian access to and from a specifically named street; The Street is not physically open and publicly maintained, or; The land has no right to use existing curb cuts or entries along that portion of the Street abutting the Land. 5