Demotech Concludes 2020 Review of Data for Title Insurance Underwriters Relating to Escrow Theft and Defalcation Prevention Measures
Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 2020: As the first to review and rate Title underwriters, Demotech, Inc. has observed and reported on the impact of defalcations and escrow theft on the Title industry, for more than 30 years. As part of its ongoing monitoring and review process, Demotech annually requests Title underwriters assigned a Financial Stability Rating® to submit information pertaining to mitigation of defalcations and escrow theft.
The information requested by Demotech consists of a questionnaire and detailed summary for each Title underwriter as well as any additional information or documentation they wish to provide. Title underwriters responded by submitting their current agent review process, defalcation prevention procedures, and any other mitigation procedures.
The information Demotech receives as part of this data request is confidential and is not shared at an individual underwriter level. Demotech has released the aggregate results of regional underwriters as it applies to their agency appointment policies as well as defalcation and escrow theft prevention measures. The information contained in the study reflects the results of 40 regional Title underwriters.
Overall, the aggregate results of regional Title underwriters seem consistent. For the period July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, only four defalcations were discovered by regional Title underwriters. For perspective, regional Title underwriters wrote over 2.6 million policies in 2019. While no system may be completely effective, it seems the processes and procedures currently in place are mitigating defalcation activity.
The full results of this data request can be found at https://www.demotech.com/pdfs/papers/2020_regional_title_underwriter_escrow_theft_defalcation_prevention_measures.pdf.
About Demotech, Inc.
Demotech, Inc. is a financial analysis firm specializing in evaluating the financial stability of regional and specialty insurers. Since 1985, Demotech has served the insurance industry by assigning accurate, reliable, and validated Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) for Property & Casualty and Title underwriters. More recently, Life and Health insurers have also been rated. Demotech was the first to review and rate independent regional and specialty insurers. Demotech’s philosophy is to review and evaluate insurers based on their area of focus and execution of their business model rather than solely on financial size. Demotech’s increasing list of accreditations and acceptances has resulted in our rating and reviewing more than 400 insurers operating in the US. Visit www.demotech.com for information.
For over 30 years, Performance of Title Insurance Companies has assisted in analyzing the Title insurance industry and its competitive landscape with industry-wide benchmarks, along with underwriters and group level analysis for competitive assessment. Representing more than 99% of the Title industry, Demotech Performance of Title Insurance Companies is the most complete and thorough industry analysis available. Order today at www.Demotech.com/PTIC in either print or electronic format.
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