Cardinal Financial

Understanding Your Mortgagee Clause

A mortgagee clause is the exact wording your homeowners insurance policy must carry so that if the property is damaged, your lender's financial interest is protected alongside your own. It has three parts: the lender's legal name, the ISAOA/ATIMA designation, and the lender's mailing address for insurance correspondence — all three need to match what the lender has on file.

ISAOA stands for "Its Successors and/or Assigns." ATIMA stands for "As Their Interests May Appear." Together they mean that if your loan is later sold or transferred to another company — which happens often in the mortgage industry — your policy's protection automatically follows the loan to its new owner, with no need to update the policy yourself.

Getting the clause wrong is more than a paperwork issue: an insurer that can't match your policy to your lender's records may flag it as lapsed, which can trigger lender-placed (and usually far more expensive) coverage. If Cardinal Financial has sold or transferred your loan since your policy was written, double-check the clause above against your most recent mortgage statement before renewing.