Over the last two years The Niche Report has highlighted many valuable industry companies to help you better serve your clients. This month is no exception. Entitle Direct is a national insurance company who, along with being a price leader, is working very hard to EARN our business. Tim Dwyer, CEO of Entitle Direct Group, Inc., talks about how thirty years in the insurance business has primed them to be a huge success in a turbulent market. Tell me about ENTITLE DIRECT Let me start with EnTitle Insurance Company. We?ve been writing title insurance for over thirty years. It is the only title insurance company that markets and sells title insurance direct to consumers at savings of up to 35% or more. We cut out the middleman and their high commissions. It?s a revolutionary way to purchase title insurance and it saves consumers a significant amount of money at closing. ENTITLE DIRECT is the direct channel for EnTitle Insurance Company. So how did ENTITLE DIRECT come to be? Back in 2005, I went through the real estate closing process myself when I purchased a new home in Connecticut. I knew what title insurance was, but I wasn?t prepared for the high price. Through the traditional agent model, consumers have been paying more than they need to for title insurance. It?s one of the mysteries of the mortgage process. Consumers get to the closing table like I did and they see the line item for title insurance. Many consumers probably don?t even know why they need it. Then they see the price and go into sticker shock. After closing on my home, I decided that I needed to do something. I spent time researching the industry and decided to develop a new program where the insurance is offered direct the consumer at significant savings. And how does ENTITLE DIRECT work? Our Specialist Center is located in Pittsburgh, PA. That?s where we work with mortgage and real estate professionals, attorneys and consumers, throughout the process. Our Specialists order the title search, get the title commitment, coordinate the closing with the all parties, obtain payoffs, prepare HUDs, remind everyone of important dates, schedule the closing with both the consumer and our closing agent, and ensure the closing and funding of the loan. Mortgage professionals place their orders with us and generally get their ENTITLE DIRECT title insurance commitment within 72 hours. Through our national network of closing agents ? notaries and attorneys ? consumers can close where and when they deem most appropriate. Our underwriting team is located just outside of Cleveland, OH. EnTitle Insurance Company was founded there in 1978 as Guardian National Title Insurance Company. It was originally an Ohio title insurance underwriter, but we expanded its footprint to offer an alternative to the large insurance underwriters across the country. EnTitle is currently licensed and offering policies in 32 states (as of June 2009) and is expanding to the remaining states. All the title insurance policies are underwritten and issued here. Given the state of today?s economy and the recent history of title insurance companies folding, what assurances can you give the mortgage community about EnTitle Insurance Company? We are rated A Prime (Unsurpassed) by Demotech, the leading rating source for title insurance companies. Demotech?s Financial Stability Ratings
