New York Looks at State Run Title Insurer

Is it the End of the World as We Know It? New York is considering a state run “Title Guarantee Department” that would appoint directors who in turn would appoint and hire “officers and agents as it may require,” according to PRNewswire.com

In response, a new lobbying group has taken the initiative to attempt to stop what could be a very significant change in the way the Title Insurance industry currently works.

Steven Day, Senior Vice President for the Fidelity National Title Group, speaking for the New York Taxpayers for Economic Justice is quoted in PRNewswire, as saying

“Simply put, this proposal now being considered would endanger an entire industry, throw thousands of people out of work and place under a new and costly state bureaucracy the ability of men and women, corporations and investors to go to a real estate closing in a timely and efficient manner. This scheme is based on a fundamentally flawed understanding of the economics that drive Title Insurance and ignores the agents, underwriters, searchers, closers and attorneys who spend hours to determine title is valid before anyone invests a dime. Also ignored in this proposal is the role the industry plays in defending against fraud and the indemnification against loss or damage. This plan is repugnant to every taxpayer who believes in the strength of the private sector and wants less government and lower taxes.”