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Center Stage with Entitle Direct Group

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® are accepted by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and the secondary markets. All major lenders accept our title policies. We are the largest independent title insurance company in the U.S., measured by geographic coverage.

Also, we are fortunate to have Michael Waiwood as the President and CEO of EnTitle Insurance Company. He’s been in the business for over 30 years and was instrumental in setting up the Ohio Title Insurance Rating Bureau. He then served as its first President. He’s a veteran of the industry.

Ok, so why do mortgage professionals really benefit from working with you?

I think saving their borrowers hundreds, even thousands of dollars in closing costs is a huge benefit of working with ENTITLE DIRECT. Every mortgage broker and lender wants to be able to offer their borrowers the best mortgage rate, an outstanding borrower experience along with the lowest possible costs. By providing borrowers with a lower cost alternative to tradition title insurance premiums, brokers and lenders give their borrowers the added satisfaction of saving money on their closing costs. That leads to more referrals and more closed loans.

And, if they provide a "no closing cost” product to their borrowers, they’ll increase their profit margin by sourcing the title insurance from ENTITLE DIRECT.

Why are your rates so much lower than other title insurance providers?

Traditional title insurance companies work though title insurance agents. Most of the price consumers pay for the insurance goes to the agent as commission. Because we sell direct, we pass the savings along to the consumer in the form of lower premiums, which are generally 35% less than through traditional channels.

And how does ENTITLE DIRECT demystify the closing process?

Well, these days everyone is talking about transparency. ENTITLE DIRECT certainly moves the home buying and refinancing process ahead in that endeavor. We offer a patent pending “Control Panel” – an on line dashboard of sorts, where consumer can log into a secure environment and view their HUD and other loan documents prior to the time of the closing. The Control Panel also allows for consumers to create checklists and contact list related to the transaction and to share certain information with their broker/lender, real estate agent or attorney. This not only leads to a less stressful closing for consumers where they feel more in control. It also helps catch mistakes, leading to a smoother closing and funding. Let me tell you about a consumer’s experience this past May. The consumer accessed the Control Panel to review their HUD and noticed a mistake. The lender and consumer were able to resolve the discrepancy before the closing actually happened.

Have you had issues with lenders not approving you as a title insurance provider?

Even though the name EnTitle Insurance Company is new, we are veterans of the title insurance industry. There’s probably not a larger lender we haven’t worked with. We close a lot of loans with AmTrust, Bank of America/Countrywide, Chase, CitiMortgage, Provident, Taylor Bean & Whitaker, Wachovia and Wells Fargo just to name a few. We’ve worked with plenty of small lenders, community banks and credit unions as well.

What does the future hold for ENTITLE DIRECT?

We’re very excited about the future. We love educating both consumers and the mortgage community about title insurance and lower closing costs. We are working on obtaining the necessary licensing so we can expand our offering in additional states across the country. We want to make ENTITLE DIRECT as recognized for title insurance savings as GEICO is for auto insurance.

Tim Dwyer is CEO of Entitle Direct Group, Inc., parent company of EnTitle Insurance Company and ENTITLE DIRECT, the leading provider of title insurance and closing services sold directly to consumers at savings of up to 35% or more compared to the competition in 32 states. EnTitle Insurance Company is regulated by the Ohio Department of Insurance and is approved to issue title insurance by the Departments of Insurance in every state where its policies are offered. EnTitle Insurance Company is a member of the American Land Title Association, and only issues policy forms approved by the American Land Title Association and other state associations, where applicable. Reach Dwyer at tdwyer@EntitleDirect.com or 203-724-1150, or visit www.EntitleDirect.com/mortgage