In PA, the two main rates are the Basic rate and the Reissue rate.  If someone produces a policy showing a property has been insured in the last 10 years, they can get the reissue rate.  As an aside, most title agents can determine that a property has been insured in the last 10 years based on what they find during the search, so they don't require the policy to actually be produced.

For refinances, there are two rate that are discounts off of the reissue rate if the property was insured in the last 1-2 or 3-4 years.  There is also something call the "operative builder rate" for situations where a company is insuring several new construction sales out of a development.  This is also a discount of the Reissue rate.

What I was discovering at closings were agents who would charge the basic rate for all transactions.  This could be several hundred or even over 1,000 over the correct rate if the transaction is big enough.  I think this is the primary source of the complaints.  How much is done directly by the underwriters vs. the agents I have no idea, but I suspect it is mostly by agents in this area.  The underwriters tend to do larger commercial deals in our area and usually the buyers and the buyer's attorneys are familiar enough with the rate system to fix the premium before closing if a mistake has been made.

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