H.227, the Vermont Uniform Power of Attorney Act, 14 V.S.A. Chapter 127 -- Effective Now

Governor Phil Scott signed into law H.227, the Vermont Uniform Power of Attorney Act, 14 V.S.A. Chapter 127, effective July 1, 2023.

The Act provides for two statutory Power of Attorney forms: a Vermont Statutory Form Power of Attorney pursuant to 14 V.S.A. §4051 (General POA); and a Vermont Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Real Estate Transactions pursuant to 14 V.S.A. §4052 (RE POA).

As promised, Statutory POA forms created from, and in compliance, with the Act are available above by clicking on the General POA or RE POA links in the above paragraph.

These statutory POA forms or forms substantially in the attached format must be used beginning July 1, 2023 for any POAs executed on or after July 1, 2023.

Please call or email Liz and Steve at UnderwritingVT@catic.com with any questions.

Upcoming Summer Events

CATIC's Annual Night with the Lake Monsters

Join fellow CATIC agents, their staff members, and family for a BBQ and an evening under the lights as the Lake Monsters take on the Worcester Bravehearts. 

We'll provide tickets to the game, BBQ dinner and $10 in ballpark spending money!

The details are as follows:

*We'll meet you at the gate with your tickets.

Dinner and Races - CATIC Night at Thunder Road

Have you always wanted to go to Thunder Road, the Nation’s Site of Excitement, but just haven’t gotten there (yet)? Or, are you a “regular,” craving another action-packed evening? Either way, join fellow CATIC members, staff, and their families for a free BBQ and an evening of summer, outdoor fun! We'll provide tickets to the race and will host a free BBQ under the green pavilion.

This exciting night of racing will also include the very popular “Run-What-U-Brung.”

We hope to see everyone at the “Road.” Details are as follows:

*We'll meet you at the gate next to the green pavilion.

IRS Reduces Threshold for Mandatory E-Filing of 1009-S Forms in 2024

After several attempts to reduce the e-filing threshold for 1099-S forms, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS have adopted regulations that will reduce the mandatory e-filing threshold to 10 forms, effective for returns filed in 2024. Prior to this change, 1099-S forms were required to be e-filed with the IRS if the transmitter was filing 250 or more forms. For closings occurring in 2023, transmitters must e-file with the IRS in 2024 if they are submitting more than 10 forms. 

When this change was under consideration, the IRS and the Treasury received public comment suggesting that the threshold be set at a higher level than ten, with a more gradual reduction. The IRS and Treasury rejected those suggestions and noted that the IRS “will continue to grant hardship waivers fairly and consistently and to grant reasonable-cause relief from penalties for failure to file returns electronically in appropriate cases.” In recent years there has been tremendous growth of availability of e-file services and the use of e-file across the tax filing spectrum. As such the IRS has opened a portal known as IRIS, the Information Returns Intake System, which is a free electronic filing service that is secure, accurate and requires no special software.

In order to e-file returns, firms must first obtain a transmitter control code (TCC). Instructions for obtaining this code are set forth in this IRS notice. CATIC urges you to make application as soon as possible as historically it has taken weeks for these to be processed by the IRS.

For further information, see IRS Bulletin 2023-11 and this IRS notice.

CATIC offers a 1099-S Filing Service to assist agents with this filing requirement. Please see CATIC's website for more information on the filing service. For further information about this service, contact our 1099-S Team at filings@catic.com.

Cyber & Crime Exposures - Are You Properly Covered?

Criminal attacks affecting our industry continue. Along with the security, privacy, incident response and business continuity planning that is necessary to help mitigate your risks, purchasing proper insurance coverages that meet your unique exposures may help to reduce the adverse effects as well. Looking into cyber and crime coverage options for your business and understanding the differences in what is available is important. Some things to consider include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Know there are differences between crime insurance versus cyber insurance. Both crime and cyber losses may possibly occur as a result of a computer hack, but different policies and/or coverages may control, and both types of coverages may be necessary to give you the protection you need. Very simply put and in general terms, a crime policy generally covers direct loss of money, and a cyber policy generally covers for losses dealing with loss of data and associated costs and liabilities. You may find a carrier, for example, offering coverages in both areas in one policy, and others may offer it only under separate policies. Bottomline, a detailed analysis of the differences is beyond the scope of this article, but it is important to know there are differences and to ask for a detailed explanation from a competent expert. 

• If you think you have adequate coverage under some of your existing business policies for crime and/or cyber matters, like professional liability, errors and omissions, or business owners, be sure to confirm that this is the case. For example, professional liability or errors & omissions may not provide any coverage or might not provide adequate coverage for cyber and/or crime risks. Also, consider if this is the best policy to place this coverage under because if a claim arises the policy could be subject to non-renewal or a significant premium increase. This could possibly adversely affect a policy you may need for other business reasons.

• Keep in mind some will say they have a crime policy in addition to a cyber policy, so they know they are covered for the duping schemes that businesses are experiencing where one is tricked into handing over money to a criminal. Make sure you confirm this is the case. For example, some crime policies may not include coverage for money lost due to your handing the money over unknowingly to a criminal (social engineering, duping scheme tactics). It may cover only for money taken from you not handed over by you. And even if this type of coverage is in what you are purchasing, you may find the words used to describe what schemes or scenarios are actually covered do not include your specific situation and set of facts. See, for example, The Docket: Eleventh Circuit Finds No Coverages for Fraudulent Wire Transfer Under Cybercrime Endorsement 4/18/2023, ALTA Title Online. Understanding the details is key – understand the definitions, the coverages, the limits, the sublimits, the exclusions, the risk management requirements etc. of your policies. 

• When reviewing cyber coverages, some key coverages to address include, but are not limited to: notification and credit monitoring, business interruption, dependent business interruption, ransomware/extortion, forensics, reputational harm, crisis event, damages, legal fees, fines/regulations. Some key crime coverages to address, aside from standard crime coverages like for example, employee theft and forgery/alteration, include, but are not limited to: funds transfer fraud (like a criminal hacking a system and taking money) and social engineering/wire fraud/funds transfer fraud (like you being tricked into handing money over to the criminal unknowingly).

Selection in this area for proper coverages requires due diligence; the key is working with competent experts in this area as well as confirming that you are purchasing what is necessary to properly cover you. Scrutinize the policy options and negotiate the terms of coverage before committing to a purchase. The devil is in the details. Proper insurance allows you to transfer some of the risk. Although it is not a substitute for other risk management initiatives you should plan for and implement, it can provide some protection to alleviate some of the impact of an attack. If you have questions on this article, please contact Colleen Capossela, President of CATICPro, Inc. (860-513-3131).

Lau's Corner & Title Tips

Career Network

We often hear of firms who are hiring. While we welcome phone calls or emails, we have added a career network post under News and Announcements (bottom right-hand corner) on the VATC website.

Manufactured Housing Endorsement

Reminder when issuing the Manufactured Housing Endorsement to: (a) collect the $100 endorsement fee; (b) have the MH Affidavit signed; (c) attach all endorsements when remitting policies.  If you have a simultaneous issue situation, you may attach the endorsement to an Owner Policy, too (no additional money due). 

Underwriting Question? 

To streamline underwriting, please email UnderwritingVT@catic.com for a response from Liz or Steve.

Social Media



Be sure to follow CATIC on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram!