Introduction

Recently, various national title insurance companies, such as First American Title Insurance Company and the entire Fidelity National Title Group—which includes Chicago Title Insurance Company, Fidelity National Title, Ticor Title, Lawyers Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title—officially announced that, effective immediately, creditors' rights coverage will no longer be available by endorsement, affirmative coverage, issuance of the American Land Title Association (ALTA) 1970 policies or otherwise. This change affects both owner's and loan policies.

For lawyers dealing regularly with commercial secured lending, the requirement to register company fixed and floating charges has long been fraught with tension. It is a commercial necessity for charges over a company's assets to be registered in a publicly available register. Prospective creditors need to be able to establish how far the company's assets have been secured and are available to meet its commitments. Failure to register will result in the charge being invalid against any liquidator, administrator or creditor of the company if the company becomes insolvent.