PAGE 1
Insights
For Agents of Fidelity National Title Group
Vol. 7, Issue 1, Jan/Feb 2016
The Latest News and Articles for Our Agency Network
A NEW YEAR WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES
IN THIS ISSUE >
PAGE 2
Vendor Spotlight: Newly
Expanded Fidelity-Pak Program
PAGE 3
The Latest Technology
Enhancements for FNTG Agents
PAGE 4
Model Title Company
Collaborative — Sales &
Business Development Module
PAGE 5
Agency Spotlight:
• Popular Insurance Agency
• FNTG’s Franklin, Tenn., Office
PAGE 6
Agent Link Resource Page: Your
Access to Real-time Resources
by Erika Meinhardt, President,
National Agency Operations, FNTG
I
trust that you and your families
enjoyed a wonderful holiday season, and I hope that 2016 is off
to a happy, healthy and prosperous start.
With the new year under way, it’s a great
time to take a moment to evaluate goals
and strategies for you and your business.
Sometimes this requires reflecting back
on the past year to review challenges
and accomplishments.
Many things come to mind from 2015
… it’s the year that a new acronym came
to the forefront which we use almost
each and every day: TRID (TILA-RESPA
Integrated Disclosures, or what the CFPB
refers to as Know Before You Owe). If I
had to pick words to summarize the year,
I would say that 2015 was a year of learning and preparation. Of course, it also
became the year of implementation on
Oct. 3, when TRID went into effect.
At FNTG, our agency staff spent much
of the past year putting together the
Know Before You Close (KBYC) educational, training and marketing campaign
to assist you with TRID preparation.
Many agents dug deep into their business plans to ensure they were complying with the ALTA Best Practice Pillars
and were prepared for the new TRID
requirements. While it was a challenging year for us all, I am happy to report
that we accomplished our goals, and
continued on page 2 >
Shown at right is FNTG’s Internal
User Group at a recent meeting
led by Tara Asquith, National
Agency Project Manager. The
group meets regularly to review
improvements and assess the
next set of priorities for technology enhancements within FNTG
systems that are designed with
our agents’ needs in mind. See
page 3 to learn about our latest
agency technology initiatives.
nationalagency.fntg.com
© 2016 Fidelity National Financial
Send your submissions to Linda Grahovec, NTP, VP, Marketing and Communications, at linda.grahovec@fnf.com or 630.222.0778.
AGENCY INSIGHTS I VOL. 7, ISSUE 1, JAN/FEB 2016
PAGE 2
A NEW YEAR WITH
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
continued from page 1 >
our agents have stepped up
and are prepared for what the
future has to offer.
So what does 2016 hold
for our agents and industry?
That is the question on all of
our minds. We’re just three
months into TRID implementation and, in general, things
are going very well. It’s taking
longer to get to the closing
table, but we are prepared
and getting deals closed. We
are currently updating the
KBYC collateral so that you
can continue to find resources and training materials to
assist you with your business
and with your customers.
This year, our company
and agents will continue to
focus on education, marketing
and communication. We are
committed to providing agents
with the tools and resources
you need. Our knowledgeable
agency staff will continue to
offer educational opportunities
that focus on real-time needs,
“So what does 2016 hold for our agents
and industry? ... We’re just three months
into TRID implementation and, in general,
things are going very well.”
as well as easy access to our
industry-leading underwriting counsels. We will discuss
good, better and best practices
that can help agents be proactive, prepared and ready for
success. I encourage agents
to do your part by asking ques-
tions, seeking out resources
and focusing on your business. I am confident that,
together, we can successfully grow our business in the
coming year, and we at FNTG
look forward to working with
you each step of the way. n
NEWLY EXPANDED FIDELITY-PAK PROGRAM
Underwritten by Lloyd’s of London
Fidelity-Pak Offers FNTG Agents:
>Title Agents Errors & Omissions (E&O)
>Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL)
>Escrow Security Bond/Computer Crime (ESB)
>Cyber Liability (Cyber)
RECENTLY ADDED:
> CFPB Coverage
> Fraudulent Email Wire Transfer Coverage
Fidelity-Pak can assist FNTG agents in
meeting new industry challenges:
>ALTA’s Best Practices
>Lender concerns regarding third-party liabilities
>Theft of escrow funds
>Protection of consumer personal financial information
>New CFPB requirements and expansion of the rules and regulations governing the title industry
FOR MORE INFORMATION >
To obtain information regarding Fidelity-Pak or to
request an application/quote, contact Dan Riebling:
> 516.280.6761
> driebling@riallc.net.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU >
Agency Insights is produced for our valued agents and staff. We’d like to hear from you! Please
submit write-ups on individual or office accomplishments; involvement in industry-related or
community-focused events; and compliance or Best Practice success stories. Agents can send
submissions to their agency reps. Agency staff can share submissions with Linda Grahovec,
NTP, VP, Marketing and Communications, at linda.grahovec@fnf.com or 630.222.0778.
AGENCY INSIGHTS I VOL. 7, ISSUE 1, JAN/FEB 2016
PAGE 3
TECH CORNER: THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS FOR FNTG AGENTS
by Tara Asquith,
National Agency
Project Manager
A
t FNTG, we support our agents
by providing a variety of technology products and services that
have been created exclusively for you. This
article provides an overview of our key
agency technologies and also highlights
our latest initiatives and enhancements.
AGENTTRAX
agentTRAX enables FNTG agents to
issue closing protection letters; generate good-standing letters (letterTRAX);
and create policy jackets (jacketTRAX)
and other agency support documentation. The Auto Reporting feature reports
premiums due for issued policies without
having to create separate remittance
reports, while E-Pay allows for the electronic payment of the premiums due.
Activity reports are also available to
assist in tracking/reconciling accounts
receivable balances for title premiums.
Enhancements have been made to the
following components of agentTRAX:
• New search application — A new
search application was released Jan. 11
that provides users with a centralized location to find/generate letters, e-payments
and reports. Jackets will be added to the
application later this year. We are continuously working on centralizing all agency
functionality into this search application
— eliminating the need to access more
than one location for agency services.
• letterTRAX — letterTRAX offers a
friendly and intuitive environment to create letters. Features include the ability
to organize documents by file number;
generate multiple letters; edit, void and
view document history; and share documents among those with matching access.
The Jan. 11 release of letterTRAX offers
enhanced functionality, including a more
streamlined process to generate Closing
Protection Letters and Good Standing Letters. letterTRAX also provides an option
to select a Settlement Agent in addition to
the Issuing Agent on CPL letters. Another
unique feature is that the CPL letters will
dynamically update the liability amount if
the contract authorization exceeds $5M.
• E-Pay — An enhanced E-Pay application was released in DecemberAGENCY
that
allows agents to select specific files for
remittance. E-Pay allows an agent to
electronically pay the underwriter portion of the premium for both reported
and pending policies. The simple, clean
design of E-Pay expedites the agent’s
payment process and provides the history at a glance. There are just three
simple steps with E-Pay:
1.select one or many accounts to pay;
2.select the files you wish to pay; and
3.submit the transaction.
Upon submission, agents will receive
an email payment confirmation. No
more checks to cut! A separate account
enabled for Automated Clearing House
payments is required, or your trust
account can be used (if your bank provides an option to specify a vendor for
enabling electronic debits).
• jacketTRAX — Jacket integrations
have been expanded beyond SoftPro,
TitleExpress and LandTech to include
RamQuest, E-Closing and ResWare.
As a result, agents can generate jackets directly through these applications,
which eliminates rekeying data and the
need to go to the agentTRAX website.
The latest software integrations for Jacket and CPL applications are as follows: SOFTWARE INTEGRATIONS
Software:
Integrated Application:
AccuTitleCPL
E-ClosingJacket
LandTech
Jacket & CPL
RamQuest
Jacket & CPL
ResWare
Jacket & CPL
TitleExpressJacket
TitleWaveCPL
SoftPro
Jacket & CPL
NY (downstate), OH, PA, RI, TN, TX,
VA, WV and WI; and is coming soon to
SC. Additionally, data can be transferred
between TitleWave and these software
applications: AccuTitle, Closers’ Choice,
DisplaySoft, DoubleTime, E-Closing,
LandTech, QuickTitle, RamQuest,
ResWare, SoftPro, Streamline, TitleExpress, TitleSoft, TurboTitle and WinTitle.
• The latest enhancements include:
1.ability to download multiple attached
documents at one time;
2.standard text formatting options (bold, underline and italicize) in TitleWave
forms;
3.ability to hyperlink documents to excep- tions and requirements in commitments;
4.new option for Recent Orders allows
for quick retrieval of files;
5.property lookup feature enables users
to enter a name and/or address and
retrieve the property information to
populate the order form/application; and
6.ability to merge documents for email
into a single PDF format.
ACCOUNTING ENHANCEMENTS
This past October, FNTG’s internal
accounting system was changed from
posting payments at the agent-account
level to the file level. This enables FNTG
to better reconcile agent accounts and
identify any files with an outstanding
balance. The monthly statements sent
to agents have been changed to reflect
this new posting process.
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you to all of you who
responded to our survey on technology and support offerings in December. Based on your feedback, we are
on target with providing solutions that
meet your needs and will continue to
incorporate your suggestions. This year,
we will continue to focus on centralizing
agency functionality so that agents can
access services from one location. Our
goal is to move forward with technology
initiatives that can help you work more
efficiently.
TITLEWAVETM
FNTG’s TitleWave software was created to facilitate the production of title
searches for our agents. The software
FOR MORE INFORMATION
enables agents to order, track and
If you have questions, contact your
receive title search products; create
agency representative.
commitments and policies online; trans• agentTRAX — Click here for details
fer data into third-party software pack about agentTRAX and related
ages; and monitor order progress. Titleproducts.
Wave is available 24/7 via the Internet.
• TitleWave — For TitleWave support,
• Availability: The software is curemail titlewavesupport@fnf.com or
rently offered in these states: CT, DE,
call 866.472.4845. n INSIGHTS
I VOL.
1, NJ,
JANUARY 2016
FL,
GA, IN, KY,
MD, 7,
MI,ISSUE
MN, MS,
PAGE 4
MODEL TITLE COMPANY COLLABORATIVE — SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MODULE
by Ethan Powsner, Esq., VP
and Director of Compliance,
Technology & Market
Development, FNTG Midwest
Agency Department
T
he Model Title Company Collaborative
(MTCC) is a comprehensive set of business tools
for your agency that features
business metrics; escrow procedures and escrow account
controls; operational controls;
title production controls; and
sales and business development. MTCC was developed
by FNTG VP and Division 5
Regional Manager Robert
Wineman and is revised
annually. These materials are
unique because they were
compiled based on an analysis
of both independent agents
and national underwriter operations and procedures, as well
as financial measurements.
Following is an interview with
Sean Stoner, President of Title
First Agency, Inc. in Columbus,
Ohio, who provides us with a
user’s perspective on MTCC.
EP: Sean, how did you get
into the title business?
SS: I’m an attorney, and I
worked in a large law firm in
Charlotte, N.C., before moving in-house to Family Dollar
Stores’ Legal Department,
where I worked on real estate
transactions and litigation. I
later joined the operations side
of Family Dollar’s real estate
development team. At that time,
the company was opening 650
stores a year, so we created a
process for handling development on a nationwide scale. In
that role, I developed a network
of relationships with commercial
real estate agents, developers
and lawyers across the country.
About 10 years ago, the former owner of Title First Agency
wanted to grow his company
by bringing someone in with
a different perspective to run
the sales and agency operations. We were introduced,
and, as they say, “The rest is
history.” The owner’s charge
to me was to grow the agency
and increase profit margins.
He also brought his son in to
launch and operate a property
and casualty insurance company, and we worked together to
strengthen the company.
EP: How did you first hear
about MTCC, and what led
you to try it?
SS: I was at a gathering
of FNTG agents from around
the country and saw Rob
Wineman present the Business Metrics Module.
We had developed and
used a metrics system at
Family Dollar, and I was
intrigued that Rob was discussing metrics in the context
of the title agency business
— that is, the concept of
measuring key performance
indicators and using the
results to improve processes.
Obviously, what was being
measured was different, but
the goal was the same.
EP: Which modules have
you used, and what were
your first steps?
SS: We started with Business Metrics, then Escrow
Processes, and then Sales &
Business Development. We
began using them within a
several-month window.
Since I was familiar with the
use of metrics, I adopted the
materials to meet our needs
and modified our reporting
and tracking systems to properly function together. We have
three separate operating divisions, so we had to customize
the directives for each segment.
With the Sales & Business
Development Module, I did two
things. The first was to adopt
the concepts from the Metrics
AGENCY
I VOL.
module
and INSIGHTS
tailor them into
the
Sean Stoner serves as President
of Title First Agency, Inc. In this
article, he shares his perspective on the value of MTCC. To
learn more, click here to connect
to the MTCC section of FNTG’s
National Agency Website (password protected).
sales process and customer/
order tracking systems. The
second was to adapt the ideas
from the module to work in
our market. A simple example — but one that escapes
many agencies — is that we
changed from focusing on
order count per month to revenue per month, and ultimately,
revenue per week; many small
orders are less profitable than
a few larger orders.
EP: What were your results?
SS: We found a lot of
inefficiencies, such as sales
people spending too much time
chasing customers for deals
that didn’t make sense from a
whole-agency perspective. For
example, 44 deals averaging
$85,000 in insured value didn’t
make much profit after the
sales and personnel costs were
tallied. Properties in that price
range happened to have more
title defects and other issues,
so they took more time. With
our new tools and procedures,
we were able to demonstrate
this clearly. While we didn’t
reject the smaller deals, it was
clear to everyone that both they
and the agency could do better financially by targeting real
estate agents and lenders with
larger deals. These larger deals
led to an increase in margin.
EP: How did the sales people
react to the changes?
SS: They were excited to get
some clear and logical direction.
It was like a light bulb went on.
They could track themselves
on a weekly basis and better
control their sales efforts. With
our sales metrics system, they
7,can
ISSUE
1, JAN/FEB
2016
track trends
in both their
efforts and in their results. This
also has allowed us to figure
out where we have unspoken
or unresolved issues with clients. If we know someone is a
$20M producer, but we are only
getting one order from them a
month, we can focus on finding
out what challenges we need to
overcome to increase orders.
EP: What would you recommend to other agencies
about using MTCC?
SS: At a minimum, an
owner should use the Business Metrics to compare and
align the agency’s financial
ratios with the industry data
contained in the module. If
nothing else, use it to gauge
how well the agency performs
compared to industry averages. An owner can always
decide to operate outside
those parameters to accommodate a specific market.
Owners should also take at
least one module, or a portion
of a module, and apply it to
their business to measure and
compare the results. I guarantee that they will be able to
renew the staff’s interest in
why they’re doing what they
do each day. For example, in
addition to a new sense of
purpose experienced by our
sales people, the branch managers and processors found
it more gratifying to work on
larger deals. Finally, don’t be
put off by the volume of materials in MTCC. The system
is comprehensive, so review
the modules and start off in
the areas where you believe
your company needs the most
improvement. Stay the course,
and you’ll see results. n
PAGE 5
AGENCY SPOTLIGHT >
POPULAR INSURANCE LOOKS BEYOND PUERTO RICO’S HORIZON
F
NTG has agents
across the continental
United States, and we
also have agents in the U.S.
territories. The largest agency
operation in the U.S. territories is in Puerto Rico, which
yields annual gross premiums
in excess of $6 million. The
longest-standing and largest
agency is Popular Insurance
LLC (Popular), which has
been a Chicago Title agent
since 2002. Popular is a wholly owned subsidiary of Popular
Inc., a NASDAQ-traded company (Symbol: BPOP) that
also owns the largest bank in
Puerto Rico — Banco Popular
de Puerto Rico.
Popular handles the significant residential mortgage title
business generated by the
bank’s mortgage house, with a
staff of 13. The agency is also a
key player in the Puerto Rican
commercial arena, particularly
because of the experience of
the agency’s Senior Title Underwriter, Raúl de la Torre, who
has 28 years of commercial title
experience in the industry.
Popular is an all-lines
insurance agency team with
distribution in Property and
From left: Luz E. Cotto, Julia Pérez, Noelia Ortíz, Xiomara Carrasquillo, Sheily Torres,
Otto Riefkohl, Esq., Jennifer Cruise of FNTG, Raúl de la Torre, Griselle Rodríguez,
John Obzud of FNTG, Janice Quiñones, Ramón Lloveras, Esq., Bernice Rodríguez,
Esq., Gislane Diaz and Vanessa Defillo, Esq.
Casualty, Health, Life, Annuities, Surety and Title. Ramón
D. Lloveras, Esq., the agency
President, has kept the team
focused on sales as well as
compliance and regulatory
matters. Popular has been a
leader in title insurance compliance over the years and has
continued that role in the face
of the new CFPB regulations.
Popular has also assumed
a very active role in the title
insurance claims prevention
and resolution effort by work-
ing to tighten underwriting
standards and also to resolve
issues post-policy so as to
avoid claims and enhance
the customer experience. The
agency’s personnel leverage their extensive expertise
of both the legal and registry
systems in Puerto Rico to help
solve problems before they
develop into claims.
In 2016, Popular will look to
develop title insurance operations beyond Puerto Rico. The
agency is currently looking at
expanding into both New York
and Florida, which will allow
them to continue to operate in
the footprint already established by Banco Popular. John
Obzud, EVP and Regional
Manager, FNTG, said, “We
are very excited to continue to
grow with Popular Insurance
— which continues to be our
premier agent in the Caribbean — and we look forward
to assisting them as they look
beyond Puerto Rico.” n
FNTG’S FRANKLIN, TENN., OFFICE MAKES HOLIDAYS BRIGHT FOR CHILDREN IN NEED
Since 2011, FNTG’s Franklin, Tenn., office has raised
donations and money for local charities in support of its
holiday fundraising campaign. For the 2015 holiday season, the chosen charity was the Franklin Fire Department’s
Angel Tree gift-giving program, which supports children
and families in need in Williamson County. Once again,
the office rose to the challenge and, in a matter of two
days, donated gifts for more than 12 families. FNTG and
employees also donated $900 to help firefighters buy
bikes and other gifts for additional “angel” families who
hadn’t yet been selected. A thank-you goes out to the
Franklin office for giving back to the community and joining forces with its local Fire Department in such a meaningful way. Pictured with the Franklin Fire Department
are Wendie Brown, Title Assistant, and Patti Hellman,
Agency Support, who spearheaded the campaign and
worked in tandem to support the Angel Tree program for
needy families in Williamson County. n
AGENCY INSIGHTS I VOL. 7, ISSUE 1, JAN/FEB 2016
PAGE 6
AGENT LINK
RESOURCE PAGE >
Your Access to Real-time
Resources
LINKS ARE UPDATED EACH ISSUE!
TRID RESOURCES >
PREFERRED SERVICE PROVIDER LISTING >
FNTG’S DEDICATED CFPB WEBSITE:
• FNTG’s CFPB Website
Our CFPB website was created with agents’ customers in
mind. It’s a tool agents can use for customer presentations
— linking directly to the site.
• FNTG Preferred Service Provider Listing
This listing was created exclusively for our agents and
includes solutions that can streamline your business, provide
exceptional growth opportunities and, in some cases, help
your agency attain Best Practice compliance.
• New Calendar Feature
This new timing and closing calendar (found on our CFPB
website) helps real estate agents assess their potential closing dates and lets title agents/customers know when they
should receive their CD in order to close on a targeted date.
NEW TRID MARKETING TOOLS AND RESOURCES:
Be sure to share the calendar, educational ads and marketing materials with your staff and customers:
• Know Before You Close: 2016 TRID Calendar
• Owner’s Title Insurance Is Essential for Protecting Your
Rights
• 20 Important Reasons Why You Need Owner’s Title
Insurance
EDUCATIONAL LINKS FOR STAFF AND CUSTOMERS:
Learn more from Lisa Tyler, National Escrow Administrator,
in her videos discussing the following key topics:
• Closing Disclosure
• Delivery of the Closing Disclosure
• Seller’s Closing Disclosure
These Title Topics webinars are a great educational tool:
• Title Topics: Grow Your Business by Leveraging Best
Practices & CFPB Compliance
• Title Topics: Time to Buy or Merge? Key Considerations
When Wanting to Expand
FNTG NATIONAL AGENCY WEBSITE >
Check out these useful sections of FNTG’s National Agency
Website. Content is updated continually.
• CFPB Updates — Know Before You Close
This section offers training information for agents to use with
their staff and in their communication plans with customers.
• CFPB Updates — for FNTG Agents (password protected)
This section provides exclusive resources for our agents.
BEST PRACTICES WEB PAGE >
• FNTG Best Practices Web Page
Our Best Practices web page highlights the seven industry Best
Practices and explains which FNTG preferred service provider
can assist agents in attaining Best Practice compliance.
NEWSDESK >
• NewsDesk
FNTG’s NewsDesk provides industry news from a variety
of resources. It’s a simple way to boost your social media
efforts. Post one or two articles to Facebook, Twitter or
LinkedIn. We’ve done the work for you!
FRAUD INSIGHTS >
• FNF’s Fraud Insights: Vol. 11, Issue 1
Fraud Insights is produced for company staff and agents.
Click above to link to a recent issue. If you aren’t receiving
the newsletter and would like to, contact your agency rep.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES: ALTA >
• American Land Title Association Website
• Title Action Network: Get involved and join today!
• Homebuyer Outreach Program for Members: HOP can
help ALTA members easily communicate the benefits of
owner’s title insurance with homebuyers.
• Home Closing 101: This website is dedicated to
consumers and the buying process.
• Download ALTA’s Model Settlement Statements
AGENCY INSIGHTS I VOL. 7, ISSUE 1, JAN/FEB 2016