News By Edition

In the third part of our mini-series on the value proposition of regional underwriters, we ask regionals about their agency portfolios. Is there more risk? Less risk? Does size of an agency really matter? And we ask about the biggest obstacles they face and how those obstacles can be overcome

The second part in our mini-series on the value proposition of regional underwriters looks at working with the smaller agent. These are agents that are not a hot commodity with the national underwriters for one reason or another, but they fit the business model for a regional. Read on for more about this dynamic and how a lack of competition from their underwriter can benefit these smaller agents.

The third quarter 2011 market share report from the American Land Title Association revealed that 39 regional underwriters held 11.8 percent of the total market share across the country. That still doesn’t match the lowest market share percentage among the big four — Old Republic International with 13 percent. Regional underwriters are slicing slivers of an already small piece of pie, but as those we spoke to pointed out, some times it’s not the size of the pie, but rather the quality of the ingredients that matter.

Before discussing all of the value propositions regional underwriters present for title agents, we need to start with a disclaimer: Not all regional underwriters are created equal, and it’s unfair to group them together across the board — a point that was made several times by those we spoke to for this article.

“All regionals aren’t McDonalds — they are not cookie cutters,” said Carole Brown, state manager for Security Title Guarantee Corp. of Baltimore. Brown has worked as a consultant for many regional underwriters, primarily within agency relations, and still closes deals herself. “Each [regional] I’ve worked for has had different strengths and weaknesses and categorizing them all together penalizes some and gives credit to others that don’t deserve it.”

It sounds obvious, but lumping all of the regional underwriters together is easily done. This is especially important considering what happened in 2011, with New Jersey Title Insurance Co. and Southern Title Insurance Corp. shutting off new business. We asked the question at the time: Are you concerned about the state of regional underwriters? And many respondents said yes, even though the unfortunate problems of one company should not cast doubt on another.

“Look at each company individually — the agent makeup, the quality of the agent portfolio and the policies and procedures,” said David Townsend, president and chief executive officer for Agents National Title Insurance Co. “The national companies are going to do what they need to do. We can just continue to get stronger and prove that we’re no greater risk and probably a better risk than a lot of them as far as quality of title work.”

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to make headlines for hirings and new forms and comment periods, title insurance agents continue to wait to see how it will all shake out. What does all of this mean? For one, the outcome of the “Know Before You Owe” process and the debut of the new mortgage disclosure forms has gained more certainty.

The Title Report contacted the principles behind the RE/MAX of New Jersey title agent sale to talk about the deal, how the new company will be structured and where the company is headed from here.

RE/MAX of New Jersey officially divested from its title insurance arm after 25 years in the business, selling its assets to an up-and-coming New Jersey competitor. Read on for more about the sale and new structure.

First American Title Insurance Co. received a vote of confidence from Fitch Ratings this week as Fitch affirmed the company’s Insurer Financial rating. Fitch said this affirmation reflects the First American’s capitalization, profitability and moderate financial leverage. Read on for more analysis from Fitch.

Fitch listed the following as key rating triggers that could lead to an upgrade:

CoreLogic released its November Home Price Index (HPI) report, which showed that home prices in the U.S. decreased 1.4 percent on a month-over-month basis, the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Read on for more data and analysis from the recent report.

Clear Capital released its monthly Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report with news of a year-over-year national price decrease in 2011 of 2.1 percent and forecast of a slight 0.2 percent gain in 2012. Read on for the local factors at play.

Last week we ran part one of our predictions for the New Year. In part 2, we bring back the same panel of experts to discuss who might be in trouble, what the key issues are in the title industry in 2012, and what advice they have for agents looking to gain market share. We also have a look at what our readers think.

Grubb & Ellis Co., a real estate services and investment firm, released its 2012 National Real Estate Forecast, which predicts a year of slow but continued growth for all commercial real estate property sectors. 

The November Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services Inc. shows that the trend toward fewer loans becoming delinquent — a trend that dominated 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 — appears to have halted.

First American Financial Corp. announced the complete set of dates on which it expects to announce its financial and operating results throughout 2012.

A Colorado title insurance shopping guide and marketing company has started a petition to try and change current business practices within the title insurance industry. Read on for details about the petition.

2012 — it has an ominous and futuristic ring to it, doesn’t it? For the title industry, it might be more ominous than futuristic though, as the past problems in the mortgage industry are still lingering and weighing down business. The Title Report reached out to several leaders in the industry for this two-part series to discuss what we should expect to see in the year to come.

After a week off, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey returned with yet another decrease in mortgage applications. Read on for more from the report.

Adeptive Software, the developer of the title, escrow, settlement and real estate software ResWare, has hired a new customer support representative with experience in the title insurance industry. Read on for more.

The national underwriter set its fourth quarter and year-end 2011 earnings report release and conference call dates. Read on for more information, including access information.

First American Title Insurance Co. debuted a new service this week in order to capitalize on the potential influx of new refinance activity from the revisions made to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Read on for more about the service, how it operates and to vote in our latest poll about the concept.

President Barack Obama kicked off 2012 by going back to consumer protection. The day after the Iowa caucuses, the president took a political leap that could land him in some hot water with Senate Republicans.

The role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been a controversial topic since the housing bubble burst and the government had to bail them out, but as the allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission show, the mortgage giants should have been under the microscope long before that. A new book actually traces these problems all the way back to 1991.

The Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) had been somewhat quiet for the previous few months, but the group recently announced a new numbering initiative in order to clear up what it sees as problematic confusion in the industry. Read on for more.

Fraud stories often seem to come out in bunches, and that’s the case with Ohio during the last few months. There was the husband and wife team from mid-December, and then the agent from Dayton, Ohio, who was part of a $5.6 million scheme. And now there is updated information on a few more bad apples in the Buckeye State.

North Carolina-based underwriter Investors Title Insurance Co. has integrated its products with TSS Software Corp.’s TitleExpress provider network, RealExpress.

Just before the New Year, the nation’s largest title insurance underwriter announced the sale of majority ownership of its personal lines business. Read on for more information about the sale.

The positive indicators keep coming from the National Association of Realtors. The real estate association is reporting that its Pending Home Sales Index — an indicator based on contract signings — is at its highest level in 19 months. Read on for more from the data.

Attorneys Title Agency LLC announced another phased of its recent expansion into new markets throughout its home base of Michigan. Read on for details on the latest announcement.

The National Association of Realtors’ revised data was released, showing close to 15 percent differences from previously reported numbers. Despite the downwardly revised benchmarks, the month-to-month characterizations and home price data points remained the same. Read on for more.

According to newly revised data from the National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Commerce Dept., November saw increases in both existing-home sales and housing production. Read on for more information from these reports.

First American Title Insurance Co. signed an agreement to acquire a Dallas-Fort Worth-based title and escrow company that will add 21 new offices to its portfolio throughout the area.

Stewart Information Services Corp. announced the appointment of a new chief compliance officer. Read on for more information.

Aklero Risk Analytics Inc., a provider of mortgage quality control software and services unveiled DQx for MERS Data and Document Validation Module. The module is part of Q-Close, their loan quality management platform. Read on for more about the module’s features.