The first quarter of 2011 showed improvement for the title insurance industry, according to the American Land Title Association’s (ALTA) First-Quarter Market Share Analysis.
“The industry remains in a strong financial position as operating loss for the industry decreased to $11 million in the first quarter of 2011, compared to a loss of $124 million in the first quarter of 2010,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, Chief Executive Officer of ALTA. “Meanwhile, the industry has $8.3 million in admitted assets and more than $4.75 million in statutory reserves.”
According to the Market Share Analysis, first-quarter 2011 title insurance premiums increased 8.7 percent compared to the same period in 2010 and are up 13.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009.
“After 13 consecutive quarters in which title premiums Written declined from the prior year’s equivalent quarter, the third quarter of 2009 ended this string with an increase of 1.4 percent over third quarter of 2008,” Pfotenhauer said. “Since then, quarterly premiums written have fluctuated up and down in no discernible pattern.”
The states generating the most title insurance premiums during the first quarter of 2011 were California ($307 million, up 2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010), Texas ($246 million, up 22.2 percent), New York ($165 million, up 17.7 percent), Florida ($159 million, up 6 percent) and Pennsylvania ($110 million, up 25.3 percent). Overall, 41 states and the District of Columbia reported increases in title insurance premiums written during the first three months of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010. Alaska, Kansas and West Virginia all experienced more than a 30 percent jump in title insurance premiums written during the first quarter of 2011 versus the first quarter of 2010.
In terms of market share, the Fidelity Family of title insurance underwriters captured 33.7 percent of the market during the first quarter of 2011, while the First American Family garnered 27.7 percent, the Old Republic Family recorded 13.5 percent and the Stewart Family had 12.5 percent. Meanwhile, regional underwriters held 12.6 percent of the market during the first quarter of 2011, up from 10.7 percent market share during the same period a year ago.
ALTA expects to release its second-quarter 2011 Market Share Analysis around Sept. 1. Click here to view the complete First-Quarter 2011 Market Share Analysis.
About ALTA
The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is a national trade association representing more than 3,800 title insurance companies, title agents, independent abstracters, title searchers, and attorneys. With offices throughout the United States, ALTA members conduct title searches, examinations, closings, and issue title insurance that protects real property owners and mortgage lenders against losses from defects in titles.
American Land Title Association
Jeremy Yohe, 202-261-2938
Cell: 202-590-8361
jyohe@alta.org
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Posted via email from Title Insurance Every day, consumers shopping for mortgage loans get a mortgage disclosure with basic facts about the loan they’ve applied for. You see the disclosure before you sign on the dotted line – it’s what you know before you owe. We need your help in designing a single, simpler disclosure. We’ve already had one round of feedback on our draft redesigns (Design 1, Design 2) and we received more than 10,000 comments from consumers, designers, housing counselors, lenders, and industry stakeholders across the nation. We’ll be revising these drafts, and asking for more feedback, in late June. –> For most Americans, buying a home means taking out a mortgage loan. If you recently applied for a mortgage loan, you received two forms required by federal law: A two-page Truth in Lending disclosure form and a three-page Good Faith Estimate. They’re supposed to help you pick the mortgage product that’s best for you. But if you’ve actually applied for a mortgage recently, what you probably remember most are lots of technical terms and long lists of fees. These disclosures don’t work if they give you too much information or if the information they provide isn’t what you need. They don’t work if they drown you in detail or leave out crucial information, like warnings about hidden risks. Can the cost of your loan go up? When, why, and by how much? Complicated disclosures can make it hard to answer or even ask the right questions, and many consumers don’t know what to ask until it’s too late. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the Consumer Bureau, mandated that we combine these two forms into one. It’s also because that’s what you’ve told us can help make markets work better for consumers. From our early outreach to community banks, to our discussions with everyday American families, we’ve heard that this is an area where the CFPB can make a real difference. We are making this project a priority because today, the two current forms have overlapping information and can be confusing to consumers. They also needlessly drive up costs and the regulatory burden on lenders. So, we are going to combine the two forms into one and make them simpler to understand. That’s right – fewer, simpler government forms! We’ve been talking to lots of experts about what makes a form easy to use and understand. In the end, a new disclosure will have to work for the consumers and lenders who rely on them every day. We need to hear your voice from the beginning of the process. So, as we work to create a better disclosure form, we will show you early drafts throughout the process, and give you a quick, simple way to give us your opinion on what works and what doesn’t. We know your time is valuable. There are three ways you can get involved right now: Enter your e-mail address in the form at the top of this page, and we’ll let you know when it’s time to weigh in. Do you know someone who owns a home, or may be thinking of buying one? Maybe your friend is a graphic designer who is passionate about conveying information, or your uncle is a tax attorney who knows how government forms could be made better. If you’ve reached this page, then you’ve discovered an important way for others in your life to make a real difference for consumers. Please let them know, via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail or just by talking about it at home, at school, with your faith community, or anywhere else you happen to be. Read the blog posts we’ve written about this process. Have you seen this? The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has it’s own website now. They are talking about combining forms used at closing and are asking for input. I suggest we give it to them. Posted via email from Title Insurance The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or RESPA, protects consumers against practices that make it difficult to understand the cost of settlement services and that raise the cost of these services. RESPA accomplishes this by requiring that lenders disclose their relationships with settlement service providers; disclose estimated closing costs; prohibit or limit certain fees; and create a process by which borrowers may file complaints against lenders who violate RESPA rules. RESPA applies to home mortgage loans for one- to four-family residences. Covered loans include new mortgages; assumed, or transferred loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; and property rehabilitation loans such as the Federal Housing Administration’s 203b rehab program. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development enforces RESPA. RESPA doesn’t limit or prohibit fees that lenders, settlement companies or others charge borrowers for the services they perform, nor does it address fees charged by sellers. In fact, the sales contract lists charges the seller imposes on the buyer, such as a per diem in the event that the buyer extends the closing date. The buyer accepts these charges when she signs the contract. At the onset of the loan application process, the lender must give the buyer a special information booklet that explains the real estate settlement process. The lender also prepares a good faith estimate of closing costs, which gives the borrower a close approximation of how much cash he needs to close. In addition, RESPA requires that the lender inform the buyer about whether the lender will administer the loan or transfer it to another lender. If the lender has a business relationship with the settlement company or other service providers, it must disclose the nature of the relationships. The buyer must have the option of choosing his own settlement company. RESPA prohibits kickbacks, which it defines as “anything of value in exchange for referrals of settlement service business,” for mortgages backed by the federal government. Such mortgages include those insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also prohibits service providers from charging fees unless they’ve actually provided services. Further, RESPA limits the amount that lenders can require borrowers to place in escrow accounts for fees such as property tax and homeowner’s insurance. This is true even when the lender requires escrow for these items. Posted via email from Title Insurance
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