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Best Practices

Resources to Ensure Proper Licensing, Compliance

February 14, 2013

There are many steps title professionals can complete now to ensure they meet ALTA’s “Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices.” One item that title agents, settlement providers and attorneys can do is begin maintaining an electronic or hard-copy folder with up-to-date licensing information, whether it’s company or individual licenses.

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Checklists to Help You Start Implementing the Best Practices

• Click here for a checklist focusing on the best practice of having current license(s) as required to conduct the business of title insurance and settlement services.
• Click here for a checklist to help you develop a process to handle consumer complaints.

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Maintaining state mandated insurance licenses and corporate registrations (as applicable) ensures that the company remains in good standing with the state.

Procedures to meet this best practice:

• Establish and maintain applicable business license(s)
• Establish and maintain compliance with licensing, registration, or similar requirements with the applicable state regulatory department or agency
• Establish and maintain appropriate compliance with ALTA’s Policy Forms Licensing requirement

State insurance departments are a good source for company and agent licensing information. Click here to access the National Association of Insurance Commissioners map to view a particular state or jurisdiction.

Additionally, ALTA compiles details on state laws relating to the licensing and operating requirements of title insurers, title agents, abstracters, and escrow and closing agents in Title Insurance Regulatory Survey. The survey can be purchased by volume, containing the regulatory details on one of six regions of the country, or as a complete set featuring all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Also, any issuing agent of title insurance is required to hold a license for the continued use of ALTA’s policy forms. Cost of a Policy Forms License is $195. Membership with ALTA includes a Policy Forms License for no separate cost. Click here for more information about policy forms licensing. There is an occasional-use waiver for agents that handled 50 or fewer title transactions during the previous calendar year.