A regional underwriter in 2013 isn’t so much defined by geography as it
is by capital surplus. That surplus increases the focus on claims
response and mitigation,
on applications and audits,
and it can limit the availability of certain larger real estate deals.
But that size is also used to an underwriter’s advantage.
The core
business of the title underwriter is claims. All decision-making, in one
way or another, comes from how this will affect or is affected by the
claims experience.
“Claims is the most critical issue with our
agents,” said Dave Ginger, president of Alliant National Title Insurance
Co. “It is negative, but it’s a critical issue because we are smaller
capitalized.”
Ginger was joined by Scott Chandler, executive vice
president, director of agency at Westcor, and John Fries, executive
vice president and chief underwriting counsel at North American Title
Insurance Co., on stage, June 12, at the National Settlement Services
Summit to share the advantages, opportunities and challenges present for
regional underwriters. Part one of this panel covered
audits, applications and agent review procedures.