Florida-based Title Agency Receives Best Practices Certification
March 27, 2014
Tampa, Fla.-based Majesty Title Services LLC announced that it has been certified in regard to compliance of ALTA’s “Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices.”
Majesty Title reported it completed the assessment process and attained a pass rating for all seven pillars included in the compliance benchmarks of ALTA’s Best Practices certification.
Majesty Title began working on implementation and compliance during the summer of 2013. Compliance was attained through investing in its business with upgrades in its technology and security and by providing employee training that targets the importance of protecting Non-Public Information (NPI).
After completing an internal assessment in late 2013, Prida Guida & Company assessed the title agency on six of the seven pillars. Prida Guida & Company was selected as a result of its client diversity and their deep roots in the greater Tampa region, according to Vincent Cassidy, chief executive officer of Majesty Title. The title agency also engaged Security Compliance Associates (SCA) to perform an assessment for compliance of the third pillar of the Best Practices, which deals with protection of non-public personal information.
“We chose Prida Guida and SCA because of their independence and experience in these types of assessments,” Cassidy said. “In fact, SCA has delivered world class security assessment services for hundreds of financial institutions and healthcare practices, nationwide. SCA services have exceeded federal compliance requirements for banking regulations and HIPAA compliance mandates.”
Cassidy added that while the process was time consuming and required a sizeable financial investment, it is important to demonstrate to lender and real estate clients “that we take protecting non-public information very serious.”
“The market is changing as a result of the Dodd-Frank legislation and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” he said. “Specifically, lenders have more responsibility for the actions of their vendors, which includes title and settlement companies. Lenders will be asking for more assurances from title agencies that they can comply with industry Best Practices. Independent assessments and certifications will eventually become the minimum for title agencies to continue to do business with lenders and therefore be compliant.
In a March newsletter to its network of settlement agents, Wells Fargo said that it encourages settlement agents to implement ALTA’s Best Practices.
“Wells Fargo supports ALTA's Best Practices, and considers them to be guidelines for sound business practices that should ideally already be in place for businesses providing title and closing services for our customers,” Wells Fargo said in its newsletter.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.