In today’s dynamic title insurance market, where change is the only constant, WFG National Title Insurance Company’s Agency division is taking its title agent program to the next level, extending and transcending the traditional underwriter-title agent relationship with the launch of its reimagined 2.0 model.
WFG’s innovative, new title agent program evolved from feedback received during WFG’s Agency team members’ direct engagements with their clients, and a recent survey. In Q4 2023, WFG surveyed its network of more than 1,800 title agents to determine what they viewed as their biggest challenges and greatest support needs, and the findings served as the catalyst for WFG’s revamped and expanded Agent 2.0 program.
Survey respondents collectively expressed a desire and need for hands-on support with various business and operational needs.
“Our title agents have told us that what they’re really looking for is a collaboration partner who truly understands what they’re going through, and is willing and able to provide them with blueprints and assist with their execution,” said WFG EVP of Agency Operations Gene Rebadow.
WFG EVP and Director of Strategic Initiatives Justin Tucker elaborates, “Title agents are faced with a steady stream of information intended to help them succeed -- from industry events to podcasts, blog posts to social media posts. However, more often than not, this information is theoretical rather than actionable, and they are left with more questions than answers.”
The 2.0 program transcends the conventional underwriter-title agent relationship by placing the emphasis on developing synergistic, proactive partnerships between WFG and its title agents. Not only does this new paradigm surpass the programs of other underwriters, WFG’s transformative approach is also mutually beneficial, with WFG learning from its agents just as they learn from WFG. This open sharing of information facilitates exponential growth for WFG and its title agents, making it a true win-win for both.
“With the launch of our Title Agent 2.0 program, we believe we have a model in place that provides tremendous value to our title agents, equipping them with programs and best practices they can immediately implement to enhance their businesses,” Tucker explains.
While WFG is one of just a handful of national underwriters, the company’s unique structure differs from that of other national underwriters in that its direct operations are limited to just seven western states. This means WFG isn’t operating direct operations or competing head-to-head with its title agents in the vast majority of U.S. markets.
“As a title agent, there are two ends of the underwriting spectrum,” Tucker said. “At one end, you may be working with a great underwriter, but they are running direct operations in your market and actively competing against you, giving them no incentive to share best practices with you. At the other end, you may have an underwriter who truly wants to support you, but they don’t know what you go through every day because they’re not running their own direct operations. WFG’s title agent division offers a great third option that operates somewhere in the middle. It’s also mutually beneficial. Not only do our agents learn from us, we learn from them as well.”
Because WFG runs its own direct operations, the company’s leadership team learns a lot about what works and what doesn’t, and they actively share this information with their title agents to help make them more successful.
“We are literally opening up and sharing our playbook with our title agents to help them take these best practices from concept to implementation,” said Rebadow.
WFG’s hybrid model enables the company to bring forth the best of what they do internally and empower its title agents with that knowledge.
“We will meet and support you wherever you are in the process,” Rebadow said. “If you are looking for a collaboration partner, we can be that for you. If you want to meet with our subject matter experts in a particular area, we can facilitate that, too. We can also provide you with the blueprints we’ve used within our own operations for you to replicate, and if you want us to get involved at a deeper level with more hands-on assistance, we are happy to support you with that as well.”
Tucker elaborates, “It’s a model that other national underwriters can’t easily replicate because it involves tapping the business leaders within our direct operations and having them share their operational best practices, something most underwriters can’t or won’t do.”
WFG Agency’s intentional shift from offering its title agents theoretical insights to providing them with ready-to-implement plans or, as Tucker likes to say, moving ‘from theories to blueprints,’ is an actionable example of the four corporate cornerstones on which WFG was founded as well as the recently added fifth cornerstone:
- “Everything We Do is Because of You”
- “Take Time and Cost Out of the Real Estate Transaction”
- “Communicate, Collaborate, and Co-exist”
- “Obsess About Service”
- Added in 2023: “Reimagine the Customer Experience”
With Agency 2.0, WFG Agency is not proposing a minor adjustment but rather a full-scale evolution. WFG’s Corporate and Agency leadership team members, including Tucker and Rebadow, are genuinely willing to delve into the depths of their operations, offering tangible insights in all operational areas. The company’s unique approach illustrates the authenticity of WFG Agency’s commitment to its title agents: a fully transparent sharing of ‘the good, the bad, the ugly.’ It is also a testament to WFG’s commitment to not merely guide its title agents to success but also grow alongside them.
"We’re moving from being an underwriting partner that just shares ideas with our title agents to one that provides them personalized assistance to implement new programs and practices within their own businesses," Tucker explains. “Whether that’s help with productivity, market share growth, enhancing the customer experience, training, recruitment, employee retention, or policies and procedures, nothing is off limits, and we will do whatever we can and bring whoever we need to the table in order to help you.”
Through the 2.0 program, WFG’s subject matter experts, including its top-performing direct operations executives, openly share their knowledge with the company’s title agents. This unique, synergistic approach is backed up through personalized engagements, ranging from one-on-one and small group information-sharing ‘how-to’ sessions to hands-on joint implementation efforts.
Rebadow expresses the philosophy: “Since we don’t directly compete with our title agents, we can align with them, and we make it our mission to help them grow. And when they make more money, we make more money. It’s synergistic and good for all of us.”
According to Tucker and Rebadow, reimagining the underwriter-title agent relationship is not about rewriting a rulebook; it’s about discarding it altogether in favor of a customized blueprint that caters to the intricate needs of each individual title agent. To this end, WFG doesn’t view its title agents as clients but as integral contributors to their collective success. By embracing this paradigm shift, WFG and its title agents can engage in productive conversations through which ideas flow freely, influencing strategies and inspiring innovation within WFG Agency and its title agents’ operations.
Through this unique collaborative relationship, WFG Agency is establishing itself not only as a champion of change but also as a devoted partner, bringing forth expertise and innovation to elevate the performance of each title agent partner.
The WFG Executive Summit Launch
In March, WFG is launching its first-ever Agency Executive Summit, an invitation-only event open to executives of existing and prospective customers within the company’s Agency Network. The official kick-off event for WFG’s companywide shift to the Agency 2.0 program, the Executive Summit will serve as a hub for thought leadership, providing a deep dive into cutting-edge discussions led by industry luminaries. It will also enable the company’s title agent leaders to collaborate and engage in interactive roundtable sessions with fellow executives, exchange game-changing ideas, forge new partnerships, and unlock fresh perspectives to help them stand out from the competition. The Executive Summit will also feature WFG’s first-ever in-person session of WFG’s hugely popular Quarterly Economic Forecast presentation featuring WFG Chairman and Founder Patrick Stone, with a special focus on how title agents can prepare for the future. Other solutions-focused workshops and roundtable discussion topics will include:
- Reimagining the Customer Experience
- Strategic Planning
- Building a Culture of Success
- Managing Through Business Cycles
- And much more
“We’re uniquely positioned to be a true collaboration and execution partner for our title agents because we live what they live every day, and we’re willing to share literally every component of what we do to help make them more successful,” Rebadow said. “The best part of the Agent 2.0 model is that it creates a relationship that is mutually beneficial. We learn from our agents and they learn from us, which makes everyone more successful. And when they’re more successful, we’re more successful, so it’s a win-win for all!”
For more information about the WFG’s Agency Executive Summit, contact your WFG Agency Representative or email WFG’s Agency Team at [email protected].
About WFG National Title Insurance Company
Portland, Oregon-based WFG National Title Insurance Company (WFG), a Williston Financial Group company, is a leading provider of title insurance and real estate settlement services for commercial and residential transactions nationwide. One of just six truly national title underwriters, WFG accomplished its national footprint faster than any other underwriter in history.
Built around the directive to “communicate, collaborate, coexist,” WFG strives to improve the real estate process through the creation and delivery of comprehensive, innovative services and technology solutions that empower and increase transaction transparency for the title agents, real estate professionals, lenders, and consumers it serves. The company enjoys a Financial Stability Rating of A’ (A prime), as assigned by Demotech, Inc. For more information, visit www.wfgtitle.com.