WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The American Land Title Association (ALTA) reported that its 2010 Year-end and Fourth-Quarter Market Share Analysis is now final.
According to the analysis, the title insurance industry generated $9.61 billion in title insurance premiums in 2010, up 0.2 percent from 2009. Premiums were up 2.2 percent after changes in accounting principles were applied to 2009. During the fourth quarter of 2010, the industry reported $2.7 billion in title insurance premiums, up 7.6 percent from the same period in 2009.
“After four consecutive years of declining title insurance premiums written, 2010 showed a leveling off,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, chief executive officer of ALTA. “Despite the difficult operating conditions, the industry remains in a very strong financial position.”
While title insurance premiums increased slightly, total operating income fell .6 percent for the fifth consecutive year. In addition, loss and loss adjustment expense increased 9 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, while operating expenses declined only .8 percent. This left an operating loss of over $206 million in 2010 compared to an operating loss of $134 million in 2009.
“The industry’s total assets remain at over $8.8 billion with cash and invested assets growing over year-end 2009 to almost $7.7 billion,” Pfotenhauer said. “While statutory reserves fell slightly as a result of claims settlements, reserves remain at over $4.9 billion.”
On a state-by-state basis, 29 states, plus the District of Columbia, showed fourth-quarter 2010 written premiums increasing over fourth-quarter 2009 and 21 states recording decreases. Six states were up over 30 percent, five between 20 and 30 percent and eight between 10 and 20 percent. Only two states were down over 20 percent, with the remaining 19 states down less than 10 percent. The six largest states all recorded increases, with Texas (No. 2) at plus 17.6 percent and New York (No. 4) up 21.2 percent.
For the full year, 29 states recorded decreases from 2009 levels, but 20 of those declined less than 10 percent and eight of the remaining were under by less than 20 percent. Of the 21 states and the District of Columbia showing year-over-year increases, 19 were up less than 10 percent, two were up less than 20 percent and the District of Columbia recorded an increase of 34.7 percent.
Posted via email from Title Insurance JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Title insurer Fidelity National Financial on Thursday said its first-quarter profit more than doubled on strong refinance activity in the quarter, topping Wall Street’s expectations. The majority of Fidelity National’s business comes from its role as the nation’s largest provider of title insurance, which guarantees to homebuyers that there aren’t problems with a home’s ownership history and that the seller is legally able to sell the property. Its revenue in that segment edged up to $1.10 billion from $1.08 billion, as it closed 12 percent more orders than in the 2010 first quarter. That largely was the result of brisk refinance activity early in the quarter, the company said. Revenue in its specialty insurance business rose 8 percent to $96.1 million. The company also said it laid off 600 employees during the period as part of its $50 million cost savings program. For the three months ended March 31, Fidelity National said net income rose to $42.5 million, or 19 cents per share, from $16.5 million, or 7 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Revenue slipped less than a percent to $1.208 billion from $1.213 billion in the previous year. Analysts expected, on average, a profit of 11 cents per share on revenue of $1.206 billion, according to FactSet. Shares closed down 28 cents at $14.90 on Thursday. Posted via email from Title Insurance Fast-paced Title Agency in Montgomery/Bucks County Pennsylvania seeking a Title Insurance professional that possesses a Title Agent license, a clear understanding in title examining/reading, along with all facets of closings. If you can review title searches and clear title issues for residential and commercial properties (read surveys, plot out and draw descriptions a plus) and produce commitments and policies we want to talk to you! We are looking for a leader who will inspire the office to make sure we meet or beat expected turnaround time and insure that customer satisfaction is met! Qualifications should include: 5-10 years experience in the title/settlement industry, and the ability to analyze information and exercise good judgment and decision making. You must be a team player but more importantly…..we are looking for someone to drive and lead the team! The ideal candidate will have good working knowledge of Title Express, strong communication skills and the ability to get the job done in a timely fashion. Good knowledge of Pennsylvania foreclosure and REO processing is preferred. Please reply with resume, cover-letter and salary requirements to Posted via email from Title Insurance
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