The Texas Association of Business (TAB) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) on Tuesday held a press conference to call for comprehensive reform of what it called an overly regulated title insurance system in Texas.
Texas prohibits competition in the title insurance market, a mandate that forces Texans to pay among the highest title insurance rates in the country, the groups said in a news release.
In response, Texas Land Title Association President Patti Bonner said in a release that the move by the groups was an attack on the state’s title insurance system.
“I’m proud to say that competition is alive and well in the Texas title industry, and a title insurance policy in Texas costs less today than it did 20 years ago,” Bonner said in the statement. “As a matter of fact, the title industry has seen only one price increase in the last two decades. Very few industries can make that claim about their prices. By any measure, the Texas title insurance regulatory system works well for consumers. Over the past two decades, Texas title insurance rates have decreased by approximately 15 percent, while the costs of other similar goods and services have increased. A $150,000 title policy on a home today costs $1,152, while in 1991 the same policy cost $1,347.
“Simplistic comparisons to insurance premiums in other states (like those cited by the Texas Association of Business and Texas Public Policy Foundation) don’t show the full picture. In many states, while insurance premium rates may appear lower, other costs such as attorney’s fees, abstract fees and higher closing fees drive the cost up, resulting in higher total costs. Having a known, consistent premium rate, as we do in Texas, takes the guesswork out of this part of the real estate transaction.”
For more on this issue, including full details of the TAB and TPPF reform plan, TLTA’s response, and an in-depth look at the issue of state promulgated rates in Texas and the future of the system, visit TheLegalDescription.com and follow @TheLegalDesc on Twitter. Subscribers of The Legal Description will have full access to this premium content.
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