Monthly Archives: October 2014

Title Insurance Issues

Dance till it raines

Recently, I heard a story about the tribe that confounded all anthropologists. This tribe had for a long time enjoyed 100% success with its rain dance. In comparing this tribe to other tribes who did rain dance but who did not always experience success, the experts could not find anything that differentiated this one tribe.

Like all the tribes, they sometimes danced for days, even weeks on end. At the end, an astute observer noticed something remarkable. The successful tribe did one thing different from the other tribes: it always danced until it rained!

I need that kind of persistence

Continuing Education

How to create a strong password

ALTA Best practices encourages the use of strong passwords for your computer systems. Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your computer. The stronger your password, the more protected your computer will be from hackers and malicious software. You should make sure you have strong passwords for all accounts on your computer. If you’re using a corporate network, your network administrator might require you to use a strong password.

Check the strength of your password here

What makes a password strong (or weak)?

A strong password:

  • Is at least eight characters long.

  • Does not contain your user name, real name, or company name.

  • Does not contain a complete word.

  • Is significantly different from previous passwords.

  • Contains Uppercase letters, Lowercase letters, numbers and symbols

A password might meet all the criteria above and still be a weak password. For example, No1password! meets all the criteria for a strong password listed above, but is still weak because it contains a complete word. N01 p@ssw0rd! is a stronger alternative because it replaces some of the letters in the complete word with numbers and also includes spaces.

Help yourself remember your strong password by following these tips:

  • Create an acronym from an easy-to-remember piece of information. For example, pick a phrase that is meaningful to you, such as My daughter’s birthday is 28 October, 1974. Using that phrase as your guide, you might use Mdbi28/Oct,74 for your password.

  • Substitute numbers, symbols, and misspellings for letters or words in an easy-to-remember phrase. For example, My daughter’s birthday is 28 October, 1974 could become MiDauBrthd8iz 281074 (it’s OK to use spaces in your password).

  • Relate your password to a favorite hobby or sport. For example, I love to play basketball could become ILuv2PlayB@sk3tb@ll.

If you feel you must write down your password in order to remember it, make sure you don’t label it as your password, and keep it in a safe place.

Check the strength of your password here

Continuing Education

ALTA Best Practices course available on Learntitle

Streamline logo

Stephanie Fullerton of Streamline Consulting discusses the 7 Pillars of ALTA Best Practices. Not only is each Best Practice defined but an explanation is included that gives the reasoning behind it. Steps for implementation and the cerification process are also discussed. Below is a brief outline.

This course has been approved in several states now. Most recently in Pennsylvania. Choose your state below to enroll

  • Overview   
    • ALTA
    • 7 Best Practices of Best Practices

    Best Practice #1    

    • Best Practice 1: Licensing
    • ALTA’s Policy Forms Licensing Requirement

    Best Practice #2    

    • Best Practice #2: Escrow Trust Accounting
    • Best Practice #2: Steps to Compliance

    Best Practice #3    

    • Best Practice #3: Protecting NPI
    • Best Practice #3: Steps to Compliance

    Best Practice #4    

    • Best Practice #4: Settlement Processes
    • Best Practice #4: Recording Procedures
    • Best Practice # 4:Pricing Procedure

    Best Practice #5    

    • Best Practice #5: Policy Production

    Best Practice #6    

    • Best Practice #6: Insurance Coverage

    Best Practice #7    

    • Best Practice #7: Consumer Complaints

    Implementing

    • Implementing

    Assessment    

    • Assessment Procedures
    • Assessment Preparation Workbook

    Certification   

    • Certification Package
    • Certification Package Part 1
    • Certification Package: Part 2

    Conclusion

This course has been approved in several states now. Most recently in Pennsylvania. Choose your state below to enroll

Streamline Consulting, LLC was founded in 2004, born naturally, based on the experience of its founders and a need within the industry for bridging gaps between software and title and insurance functionality. Streamline became an effective, non-biased and neutral third-party, to help make decisions, implement policies and procedures and in utilizing production software to its fullest capacity; all of which needed to be specific to the individual/respective organization.

We take the human resource and the title/escrow capabilities contained within client offices and apply them to the software to bring out the greatest utility in both. Streamline Consulting has team members and resources that focus on documents, reporting, system setup, project management solutions, data conversions, remote or on-site training and implementations, as needed. We function as the main software administrator for many of our clients, by working hand in hand with the client and applying workflow goals and management parameters to customize the software to meet your needs. Communication is not limited to just management. By sitting with client staff, we draw out the reality about how they actually spend their time, what applications they are using, how they use the production software and also work around inefficiencies.

This full bodied engagement is not necessary for everyone. Streamline is also equipped to work with clients on individual projects on an as needed basis. In addition to these professional capabilities, Streamline team members genuinely enjoy taking part in adding value to the client organization which is why we consider ourselves to be your Value Added Partner. We believe every company deserves the opportunity to shine regardless of its size and that in order to be successful, you must empower those around you to be the same. Streamline prides itself on providing innovative solutions, alternatives and opportunities for real estate title insurance companies nationally.

This course has been approved in several states now. Most recently in Pennsylvania. Choose your state below to enroll