Dear Readers,
Hard issues are hitting the title industry from all sides,
there is no question about that. The important thing is how you address those
issues that really matter.
Featured in this edition are industry members and
organizations in three states.
On page 14 is a story about how industry members changed the
minds of their regulators at the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and
Banking (DISB) in terms of what settlement discounts title agents were allowed
to provide for consumers. Many agents were concerned about a bulletin from the
department. The DISB reacted to the criticism by working with industry members
and releasing a new bulletin on Feb. 29.
Our feature on page 5 is about a bill that passed through the Florida
legislature allowing for the collection of agent data when the state’s Office
of Insurance Regulation (OIR) promulgate title insurance rates. The Florida
Land Title Association has already been working with OIR to determine the data
call.
Then of course there are the title industry members from
Louisiana, who, as you can see from our cover story, were dealing with a hot
topic on what they could or could not provide to real estate agents. They
worked with the commissioner to get answers to their questions and came to a
consensus about these practices.
“The good news is we have a really good open door policy
with the commissioner,” said Brent
Laliberte, a closing agent with Bayou Title Co. and president of the
Louisiana Land Title Association. “We said, ‘Jim, we are going to do whatever
you tell us to do, but to the extent that we can have a conversation and let
you know why we think what we think and figure out whether we can reach some
common ground, we’d love to.’ He was very receptive to that. And we’ve had a
chance to developthings and get a consensus about how we should move forward
and I think we are in good shape right now.”
These are the kinds of stories that make me so proud to be a
witness to the great things the title industry does for the real estate
industry and consumers across the country. I hope reading stories of accounts like this
encourage you when you feel the situation is hopeless, that no one will listen
to you. Many times others are ready and waiting to hear from you and work
things out, you just have to be the one to speak up.
Until next time, stay legal.