As a title agent, are you obligated to ensure your service providers are in compliance? And if so, how?

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), enacted in 1999 (codified as amended at 15 U.S.C Chapter 94: Privacy), establishes basic privacy standards for “financial institutions,” which includes not only lenders, but also title insurers, title agents, and settlement/escrow agents. The CFPB expects lenders to oversee their service providers to make sure that they comply with the law to protect consumer interests; this was expressed in CFPB Bulletin 2012-03, published April 13, 2012. This duty extends to title agents and settlement service providers.

While title agents and settlement service providers are third party vendors to lenders, those who provide services to title agents and settlement service providers are fourth party vendors to lenders. The requirement to evaluate, review, and monitor qualifications and performance extends as far down the service chain as necessary to make sure that everyone complies with the rules protecting customers.

So what can you do as a title agent to make sure that your vendors are in compliance?

• You can make sure that your vendors are contractually aware of their responsibilities. There are some great sample provisions regarding “rights and responsibilities” and “confidentiality and security,” in the FDIC’s Financial Institution Letters, Guidance for Managing Third-Party Risk, which you may choose to include in your vendor contracts.
• You can establish good vendor selection and management practices:
• Designate someone within your company to provide oversight as the “vendor manager.”
• Perform background and reference checks.
• Provide due diligence questionnaires and checklists.
• Implement non-disclosure agreements.
• Train vendors on their consumer protection obligations.
• Monitor and score performance, and provide feedback; sight visits can be particularly useful.
• Provide a communication matrix or plan, and include provisions for reporting in the event of a perceived security threat or security breach.

This information is not legal, business or financial advice. It is intended only to be helpful to you and to increase awareness. There may be many ways to approach this issue, and it is always best to consult with legal counsel and subject matter experts to develop a plan that is right for you.

Here’s How to Increase Audience Engagement Via Social Media

Start by understanding which networks are available, and of those networks:

• Who is their target audience?
• What is their primary purpose?

Then, match that data to your target audience to determine which networks you should engage with to get maximize your audience engagement. Alliant National’s marketing team can help you make that determination. The most popular social networks for Alliant National’s independent agents are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Once you know which networks to join, create a strategy that includes: topics you’ll post about, as well as the frequency of your posts (2-3 times per week, consistently, is great). Here are a few tips to get the most audience engagement out of your social media activities:

Include graphics in your posts. Everyone loves graphics in social media posts. They are easy to spot when scrolling though our feeds and the more eye-catching, the better. Make sure you use clear, politically-correct and appropriately sized graphics for your post. Do a quick google search to determine size requirements. Also, be sure to give appropriate credit to each image.

#UseHashtags. Hashtags help keywords stand out in the post, and they’re also handy for tracking discussion around a specific topic and connecting with people who are searching for that particular hashtag.

Create interesting posts. Posts should be insightful, informative, fun and thought-provoking to audiences. People don’t want to be advertised to through your social media channels. Share industry-related articles, fun holidays, pictures and stories of your business supporting local charities, events happening in your community, etc. Invite your audience to share their stories and pictures and to comment on your posts.

Join the social media party. Don’t just post. Read and respond to all comments you receive on your social media networks. Comment on social media posts from business contacts. Think of it as a networking event. You have to get out there and be social in order for it to be a valuable experience.

Alliant National Named to Inc. 5000 – Inc. Magazine’s 37th Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Alliant National, who recently completed a partnership deal with Presidio Investors, Ranks No. 4811 on the 2018 Inc. 5000

LONGMONT, Colo. – Inc. Magazine recently revealed that Alliant National Title Insurance Company is No. 4811 on its 37th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy. This is the second time Alliant National has been named to the Inc. 5000.

Alliant National also recently completed its next stage of growth through a partnership with Presidio Investors, a private equity firm specializing in mid-market companies.

“Alliant National is honored to make this prestigious and highly competitive Inc. 5000 list again,” said Robert Grubb, Alliant National CEO and president. “The magnitude of strategic planning and hard work that goes into being named to this list is not lost with us.”

Regarding Alliant National’s recently completed partnership with Presidio Investors, Grubb announced to Alliant National leadership and personnel that they and their positions will remain the same. He added that, “With the help of our trusted agents and our amazing team, we’ve built a thriving company aligned with the finest independent title insurance agents in the country. Our new partner [Presidio Investments] maintains a culture that aligns well with ours, and we believe this partnership can support our plans to strengthen and expand our network of independent agents.”

Not only have the companies on the 2018 Inc. 5000 been very competitive within their markets, but the list as a whole shows staggering growth compared with prior lists. The Inc. 5000’s aggregate revenue was $206.1 billion in 2017, accounting for 664,095 jobs over the past three years. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

“If your company is on the Inc. 5000, it’s unparalleled recognition of your years of hard work and sacrifice,” says Inc. editor in chief James Ledbetter. “The lines of business may come and go, or come and stay. What doesn’t change is the way entrepreneurs create and accelerate the forces that shape our lives.”

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relations
e : cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p : 303-241-0805

About Alliant National Title Insurance Company

The Independent Underwriter for The Independent Agent®, Alliant National believes in putting other people first. The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 400+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 22 states, with annual revenues exceeding $110 million. Visit joinalliantnational.com for additional information.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

The 2018 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2014 and 2017. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2014. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2017. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2014 is $100,000; the minimum for 2017 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 5000 are featured in Inc.’s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. Inc. took home the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012. The total monthly audience reach for the brand has been growing significantly, from 2,000,000 in 2010 to more than 18,000,000 today. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

About Presidio Investors

Presidio Investors was founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing large buyout expertise to entrepreneurially-led companies. Presidio invests in talented management teams to provide resources, including operational support and capital, for these entrepreneurs to succeed. For more information on Presidio Investors, please see presidioinvestors.com.

We celebrated a major milestone today after issuing our one millionth Closing Protection Letter. We took a moment to celebrate the accomplishment with sheet cake and party poppers. Alliant National agent Texas Lone Star Title made the CPL request at 3:04 Mountain Time.

By now, you’ve probably heard the well-worn cybersecurity platitude, “it’s not if you get hacked, it’s when.” Kind of a downer.

Really, that statement is about getting us to seriously consider the “what if.” For instance, “what if I suffered a data breach;” or, “what if, despite my best efforts, a criminal somehow managed to divert a wire to a fraudulent account?”

Thinking about the “what if” is uncomfortable, particularly when it comes to wire fraud. We spend most of our time and effort figuring out how to avoid the “what if” scenario.

The thing is, when it comes to attempted wire fraud, experience tells us that title agents who’ve spent time planning for “what if” are the ones who tend to get the money back.

We continue to see claims arising out of the proper payment of HAMP loans. Click the link below for a reminder of our Claims Title Tip from January of 2017 discussing these claims and how to avoid them.

Claims Title Tip – January 9, 2017

BY MARTY SOLOMON
CLE Presented to FLTA Roundtable, April, 2018

The new American Land Title Association (ALTA) Closing Protection Letter (CPL) form recently took effect in Florida.

The new form both streamlines the previous CPL’s language and addresses and corrects many of the problems created by recent bad case law. It brings the CPL into line with longstanding understandings of CPL’s purpose and scope within the title insurance industry.

The clear and laudable aim of this new form is to create a better relationship among the contracting parties with clearer language and more sensible limitations on liability. This article summarizes revisions, with particular focus on those areas that address case law that led us astray.

BY GARY ROSNER & PAULA LEVY,
RITTER CHUSID, LLP

In the title industry, a power of attorney (“POA”) is used when one of the parties to the transaction cannot be physically present at the closing. Transactions involving a power of attorney are ripe for fraud and errors.

The following checklist can be used to determine whether or not to proceed with insuring a real property transaction involving a POA:

This is Part II on how you can get local media attention for the things you likely already do on a daily basis for your business. Getting positive media attention is easier than you may think.

By understanding the basics of creating a press release, knowing your local reporters and being aware of all activities taking place at your agency, you can create positive media attention for your business.

How many sports teams has your agency sponsored in the past year? Have you conducted any pancake breakfasts to support a community cause? Did you make any charitable donations? Did your employees take paid time off of work to volunteer in the community? Did any employees run a marathon or celebrate milestone anniversaries? Did any employees retire? Did you hire anyone?

Here’s how to turn these everyday occurrences into news that your community reporters will want to know and report.

Alliant National Title Insurance Executive Janet Minke Retires

Well-known industry veteran also retires from her industry leadership roles, and will focus on philanthropic endeavors

FORT Worth, Texas – Janet Minke recently retired as vice president, underwriting support services for Alliant National Title Insurance Company, the nation’s largest title insurance underwriter with no direct or affiliate operations. Alliant National is headquarted in Longmont, Colorado and Minke was based in the company’s Fort Worth, Texas office.

Minke’s career spanned nearly 50 years, including almost a decade with Alliant National. Alliant National hosted a retirement party in her honor, and as part of the celebration, Alliant National’s leadership team, employees and independent agents pooled funds together, totaling $20,000, to donate to the of charities Minke’s choice.

Texas Land Title Associaion (TLTA), offered Minke its congratulations and a thank you for her service: “TLTA is deeply grateful to Janet for all she has done over the years for TLTA and our industry. She will be greatly missed, but we wish her all the best in retirement. She leaves a true legacy in the vast body of work that she so generously shared through the gift of her time and talent.”

In addition to frequent speaking and instructor roles at TLTA educational events, Minke was a long-standing volunteer with the organization. She served on and/or chaired numerous TLTA committees.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relations
e : cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p : 303-241-0805

Alliant National is the largest title insurance underwriter in the country with no direct operations to compete against its agents and puts the interests of its agents first. Bolstered by financial stability, strong underwriting capability and independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets, the company has established a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced and continuously growing.

Alliant National’s CEO, Bob Grubb, can be reached at 303.682.9800 x300 or bgrubb@alliantnational.com. Visit joinalliantnational.com for additional information.

About Alliant National Title Insurance Company

The Independent Underwriter for The Independent Agent® Alliant National believes in putting other people first. The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 400+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 22 states.

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This is Part I in a multi-part series of posts on how you can get local media attention for the things you likely already do on a daily basis for your business.

And, positive media attention leads to increased awareness of your business. And that leads to more business opportunities. And those lead to business growth and increased sales. And, who wouldn’t want that?

If you are like most community businesses, you likely hire and promote people, sponsor a local school’s sports team, donate to community charities (food banks, disaster relief, cancer support groups, etc.), celebrate business and employee milestone anniversaries and have employees who have exciting extracurricular activities (marathon running, world travel, tiger-taming, etc.).

Here are four tips for turning these everyday occurrences into positive, and lucrative, media attention for your business.

Create a template for press releases. Create a general press release template, to make it efficient and easy for crafting an announcement about your company. You may want multiple templates, such as a “new hire” announcement, a “charity support” announcement, etc.

Press releases have general guidelines you should follow. Creating a template assures you’re following those guidelines without re-creating the wheel each time you make an announcement.

And, bonus! Your team at Alliant National can guide you in creating templates.

Know your local reporters and build relationships with them. Make it a point to know the editors and reporters of your local news media team.

Depending on the size of your community, this team may include a news or radio station, small community/neighborhood paper, or your area’s main publication. Get to know this team, send all press releases to them and invite them to cover your company’s special events, such as celebrations and charity fundraisers.

Send them pictures, too. Reporters love pictures.

Be mindful of opportunities. Be mindful in your daily activities by always thinking, “Is this something of interest in my community that the media would cover, and would it help portray my business in a good light, potentially creating more opportunities for my company?”

Make these practices a habit. Don’t be a “one and done” press release company. Designate a responsible and detail-oriented person on your team to manage press releases/media relations (it’s not as complicated as it sounds) for your business.

You should be sending press releases for newly-hired employees, milestone events, charitable endeavors and other newsworthy events.

One additional note: Keep in mind Alliant National can be a tremendous resource to you in getting started and staying active with your local media relations.

BY GARY ROSNER & PAULA LEVY,
RITTER CHUSID, LLP

Often, sale and refinance transactions necessitate the payoff and satisfaction of revolving lines of credit, also known as home equity lines of credit (“HELOC”).

These mortgages are loans secured by the debtor’s real property which generally allow the borrower to access the equity in their property utilizing credit devices including checks, ATM cards and credit cards.

The ease by which these accounts may be accessed, drawing up the outstanding principal balance right before, or after, the closing, may leave the agent and underwriter vulnerable to claims.

The recommended practice concerning satisfying HELOCs, and insuring without exception, are as follows:

Your business is a success. Congratulations! And why wouldn’t it be a success?

You’ve worked hard, faced and overcome many challenges, added some blood, sweat and tears, and worked many nights and weekends to ensure success.

You have professionally-designed ads throughout the community that promote your business. But, what does your personal Facebook page say about your business?

If you have crazy spring break pictures, online gaming stats, political messages and/or colorful language and extreme opinions posted on your public Facebook page, it’s likely to damage that business reputation you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Here are some best practices for your personal Facebook page:

Utilize the privacy settings. If you haven’t done so lately, take a tour of Facebook’s privacy settings. You can choose who can view your page, as well as your posts, comments and images.

Would you want current or prospective customers to see each post, comment and picture on your page? If not, make the appropriate changes. Use the privacy settings wisely.

Know what your kids are doing on your page. Do you allow your kids to play games through your Facebook page?

Or, perhaps you are playing all those farming, candy-gathering and other trendy games on Facebook. If so, update your settings so that Facebook doesn’t notify and invite all of your friends to play, too.

And, sorry folks, your Facebook friends don’t care that you plowed a new field in FarmVille.

Chain letters are still frowned upon. Don’t. Just don’t. On behalf of all your Facebook friends and future Facebook friends, please don’t send out requests for people to “share this post to 10 other friends to avoid extreme misfortune.”

Think how your clients would feel receiving all those messages from you.

Be mindful of the opinions you share. It’s true. You don’t have to share your political beliefs, Vegas trip pictures and current mood on your Facebook page.

You can also disagree with someone else’s post without actually commenting on that post. Again, keep in mind the message these posts are sending to your wide range of clients, and use the privacy settings sensibly.

One additional note: Keep in mind your employees likely have personal Facebook pages that may pose a danger to your business reputation. You should ask them to read this article.

Don’t let your personal Facebook page scar your business reputation.

Alliant National Achieves ISO27001 Certification

Alliant National is the sole title insurance underwriter to achieve this information assets security certification

LONGMONT, Colo. – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, the nation’s largest title insurance underwriter with no direct or affiliate operations, today announced another successful completion of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 certification for information assets security controls.

ISO 27001 is a specification for an information security management system (ISMS), while an ISMS is a framework of policies and procedures that includes all legal, physical and technical controls involved in an organization’s information risk management processes.

The purpose of Alliant National’s ISMS is to consistently and effectively manage and protect the non-public information (NPI) it receives and processes in the course of providing title insurance underwriting services. NPI is received from Alliant National’s agents and employees, processed and then stored with a third-party co-location.

Alliant National earned its first ISO27001 certification in March 2015 and completed successful surveillance audits conducted by an independent party affiliated with ISO in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to maintain the certification.

“Alliant National is the only title insurance underwriter in the nation to obtain an ISO27001 certification,” said David Sinclair, Alliant National’s chief operating officer. “For the fourth consecutive year, Alliant National is proud to achieve this validation that we adhere to rigorous ISO requirements.”

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relations
e : cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p : 303-241-0805

Alliant National is the largest title insurance underwriter in the country with no direct operations to compete against its agents and puts the interests of its agents first.

Bolstered by financial stability, strong underwriting capability and independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets, the company has established a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced and continuously growing.

Alliant National’s CEO, Bob Grubb, can be reached at 303.682.9800 x300 or bgrubb@alliantnational.com. Visit joinalliantnational.com for additional information.

About Alliant National Title Insurance Company

As The Independent Underwriter for The Independent Agent®, Alliant National believes in putting other people first. The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 400+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 22 states, with annual revenues exceeding $120 million.

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Everyone’s heard the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, but unfortunately not everyone is blessed with the artistic ability to create an eye-catching graphic.

While you could hire a graphic designer to overcome any artistic shortcomings of your own, as a small business owner this may not be a financially feasible option for you.

We love infographics around here, and we wanted to start incorporating more of them into our blogging routine. But we were faced with the challenge of limited graphic design resources, which led us to investigate online tools for creating infographics.

That’s how we found Piktochart. It’s free to create a Piktochart account, and a free account grants you access to a number of templates, icons, shapes and basically anything you would need to create your own compelling infographics.

Once you choose a Piktochart template to start, it’s easy to drag and drop elements into your design. The interface is intuitive, and formatting works similar to a MS Word document – including an CTRL + Z function to undo your mistakes.

You can also upload your own images into the Piktochart platform to give your infographics a more personal touch.

Once you’ve finished your Piktochart infographic, don’t limit yourself by sharing it just once. Think of how you can share your new content on all your digital marketing platforms.

Social Media

For sites like Linkedin and Facebook, it’s probably best to limit your shares to just one each. But with Twitter, you might consider pulling several take-aways from your infographic and tweeting them out along with your image at various times throughout the day and week.

If you have followings on Instagram or Pinterest, where content works best when it’s square in design, you might look for ways to crop your infographic into a series of square posts for greater impact.

Email

You should be maintaining an email database of current and prospective clients, and if you’re not, check out our article on how to harness the power of your email database.

Blog

Use your infographic to illustrate multiple blog posts around your topic. Just be sure to space out your posts so you don’t saturate your blog’s home page with the same image.

Do you know about a super cool digital marketing resource and want to share? Let us know in the comments section!

Pretty much everybody communicates via email these days. Chances are your business has built up quite a repository of contacts over the years. But now that you’ve amassed a database of contacts, what do you plan to do with them?

If you’re not keeping in regular touch with past business contacts, you’re not taking advantage of a great digital marketing opportunity. Because despite all the advances in digital communication, email remains one best ways to communicate with today’s distracted consumer.

It makes sense when you think about it. We typically only let brands and individuals we know into our inbox, and we very quickly unsubscribe from content that doesn’t keep our interest.

The first step to harnessing the power of your email database is to make sure your database is organized. Are you contacts still accurate? Are your entries complete?

At minimum, you’d like to have a complete name to go along with each email address. Add an identifier such as zip codes to your database and produce campaigns that target specific cities or regions.

A platform such as MailChimp or iContact will help you sort contact database into marketing lists. They can help you add a customized greeting to each email you send, too, such as including the recipient’s first name. An email marketing platform can also help you track the behaviors of your recipients, such as how many people opened your message or how many clicked on a particular link.

Now that you have your organized database, you can prepare to send them your first email. Ideally, each email you send should offer added value to the recipient in some way. Otherwise, your content will quickly be deemed spam and you’ll be shut out of the inbox, possibly forever.

What are some ways to add value to your recipient’s inbox? Whether your audience is a consumer or another business, will determine the best approach. Ideas to consider:

• Education
• Important announcements
• Networking opportunities
• Special promotional offers

As you’re developing your email content, it’s also good to consider how you will measure the success of your email campaign. Are you trying to drive your recipient to take a specific action such as downloading a new white paper or registering for your upcoming event? Do you simply want to keep in touch and stay top of mind with your contact?

By knowing the answers to these questions ahead of time, you’ll be able to identify some key performance metrics to determine your success and tailor an email marketing campaign that resonates with your audience. The more emails you send, the more data points you’ll acquire, allowing you to fine tune your strategy over time.

Now that you’ve got your list of contacts, a draft of your first message and a couple metrics in mind that will help you measure your success, you’re ready to take your email marketing to the next level.

In many respects an association foreclosure mirrors a bank foreclosure, with some minor differences.

Once an account is delinquent, the association is permitted under Florida Statutes to place a lien on the subject property for nonpayment of assessments.

Prior to recording this lien, the association is required to send the offending homeowner a Notice of Intent to Lien and to provide a period of time with which to bring the account current (30 days for a condominium association, 45 days for a homeowners’ association).

If the account is not brought current during this time period, the association is permitted to record its lien and institute a foreclosure action in the subject property and against the offending homeowner.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, however, the association is required to offer the offending homeowner one last chance to bring the account current.