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The Title Report Edition
June 17, 2013
Fidelity National Financial was in the news a lot the last few weeks, so we gathered all of the stories for our cover feature in this edition of The Title Report newsletter. FNF news included a reported acquisition of LPS, a ratings outlook update from Fitch and the selection of a new analytics software. Inside we have more from Fitch concerning its overall outlook of the title industry as well as the latest premiums data from the American Land Title Association. Spoiler alert: Things are going well again. Plus, part two of our look at the independent contractors portion of your E&O insurance. |
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Western Region Report: Southern California dips from 18-month high
Posted Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013
Total dollars insured in the six-county Southern California region
continues to trend upward over the past 12 months, but with some up and
down months, according to DataQuick’s Western Region Report, exclusive
to The Title Report.
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Old Republic General Insurance Group names COO
Posted Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Old Republic International Corp. announced that Craig Smiddy will join
the Old Republic General Insurance Group Inc. as chief operating
officer. Smiddy also will become a member of the Office of the Chief
Executive Officer, which is this segment’s senior policy-setting group.
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Attorneys Title Agency announces Bayview Title acquisition
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Attorneys Title Agency, a full-service
title company providing comprehensive services throughout the state of
Michigan, announced its acquisition of Petoskey-based Bayview Title
Agency.
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Title premiums up 24 percent in first quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013
2012 was a solid year in terms of title insurance industry overall
earnings and premiums written, and 2013 is off to an even better start.
The American Land Title Association, the national trade association of
the land title insurance industry, reported title insurance premium
volume rose 24 percent during the first quarter of 2013 when compared to
the same period a year ago. Read on for the break down by state and by
underwriter.
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Fidelity ratings, outlook unchanged after LPS news, says Fitch
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Fitch Ratings, after noting the much-improved performance of the title
insurance industry in 2012, affirmed the ratings of Fidelity National
Financial Inc. Read on for the affirmed ratings and an in-depth
explanation of how Fitch arrived at this conclusion, as well as the
triggers that could lead to an upgrade or downgrade in the future.
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Fitch report touts capital increases, surplus growth in title industry
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Fitch Ratings released a report to note the title insurance industry’s
huge upgrade spike in capitalization in 2012, compared to 2011. The
company cited its risk-adjusted capital measurement, which takes into
account a variety of financial and industry measures. The title
industry’s RAC score improved by nearly 20 percentage points from the
previous year. Will those trends continue into 2013? Read on for Fitch’s
rationale.
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Westcor Land Title promotes Scott Chandler
Posted Date: Friday, May 31, 2013
Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. announced the promotion of Scott Chandler to the position of executive vice president, director of agency.
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Federal Title & Escrow creates app to generate cash to close info
Posted Date: Friday, May 31, 2013
Federal Title & Escrow released a mobile app called Close It! that
produces a detailed picture of cash to close and monthly mortgage
payments for homebuyers and cash in pocket for home sellers on an
editable, shareable closing disclosure statement.
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Demotech affirms underwriter ratings in first quarter analysis
Posted Date: Friday, May 31, 2013
Demotech, Inc. has affirmed the Financial Stability Ratings assigned to
title underwriters based on its review of first quarter 2013 statutory
financial information. All FSRs were affirmed, there were no upgrades or
downgrades.
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Delaware e-records first document through Simplifile
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Simplifile was tapped to e-record the first documents in the
state of Delaware. The inaugural document recording, an electronic loan
modification agreement, took place at the Kent County recorder of deeds
office in Dover, Del.
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ONTITLE reaches tech development agreement with ClosingCorp
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
ONTITLE National Settlement Services and ClosingCorp announced that they
have signed an agreement regarding the joint development of
next‐generation automated settlement technology. ONTITLE and ClosingCorp
plan to jointly develop a self-service automated settlement generator
by each, using their core technologies and workflow capabilities.
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New-home sales up in April, mostly out West
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 2.3 percent to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 units in April, according to
newly released figures from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau. The gain
builds on a strong upward revision to sales numbers reported for the
previous month.
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Oklahoma Land Title Association taking donations to aid tornado victims
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
The devastating results from the tornados that touched down in Oklahoma
are still being processed, and the Oklahoma Land Title Association is
doing what it can to help. For those wishing to help affected members of
the title community, the OLTA has setup a PayPal account for donations.
Read on for information.
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Independent contractors and your title E&O insurance, part II
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Let’s face it, says contributor Adam Gwaltney, agent with Ritman &
Associates, most of us don’t understand our auto insurance coverage let
alone professional liability insurance coverage. You know it’s true.
Most people couldn’t even tell you whether they have towing insurance on
their auto insurance policy. When he asks prospective clients whether
they know if they have IC coverage under their E&O policy, he
invariably get a lot of “I don’t knows.” In his part one of his column,
he dealt with the basics of IC coverage. Now Adam digs a little deeper
into the language you have to watch out for.
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Fidelity reacquires LPS for estimated $2.9 billion
Posted Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF) is getting the band back
together. Fidelity, the nation’s largest title insurance underwriter,
and Lender Processing Services Inc., a leading provider of integrated
technology, services, data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate
industries, officially announced the signing of a definitive agreement
under which FNF will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of LPS
for $33.25 per common share, for a total equity value of approximately
$2.9 billion.
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Stewart sees rating upgrade after sustained operating improvements
Posted Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
Stewart Title Group and its parent company, Stewart Information Services
Corp., received revised outlooks from A.M. Best Co., bumping both
entities’ outlook to positive from stable. Read on for more information
on the rating and a lengthy explanation of the rationale from A.M. Best.
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Alliant National brings on Florida agency manager
Posted Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
Alliant National Title Insurance Co., a title insurance underwriter that
partners with independent agents to improve their competitive position
in the marketplace, announced the hire of a vice president, Tallahassee
and Northwest Florida agency manager.
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United Lender Services gets licensed in Texas
Posted Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
United Lender Services Corp., a national title insurance, settlement
services and appraisal management company announced it has expanded
their services and is now licensed in the state of Texas. With a branch
office located in San Antonio, ULS will be able to fulfill orders and
write policies throughout the state of Texas.
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Alabama title agent indicted on fraud charges
Posted Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
The owner of an Alabama title firm was arrested on several fraud-related
charges this week. He is alleged to haveturned$400,000 in payoffs due
to Wells Fargo into personal cash, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
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