Longmont, Colo. – (May 31, 2023) – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, the title insurer that is uniquely responsive to the needs of independent agents, is proud to announce the completion of two International Organization of Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission required annual surveillance audits – revealing no non-conformities. Successful completion of these audits enables Alliant National to maintain its coveted 27001 and 27701 certification status, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to its stakeholders by adhering to internationally-recognized standards for information security and data privacy.
The 2023 surveillance audits were conducted concurrently and involved 138 control point tests revolving around validation, reperformance and observation. By passing these assessments, Alliant National will be able to maintain its 27001 and 27701 certifications until 2024.
“We are very pleased and proud to have completed these surveillance certifications,” said Tom Weyant, Alliant National Vice President of Risk Management. “They signal to our stakeholders how Alliant National is a responsible steward of personally identifiable and confidential information, and on a broader level, how we seek to conduct our operations with the highest possible standards.”
The ISO is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards. By successfully completing its audits, Alliant National demonstrated that it meets rigorous international standards in ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and protection of non-public or personally identifiable information. Alliant National first completed the ISO 27701 audit in 2022 and remains the only title insurance underwriter to obtain and hold this new data privacy certification.
To successfully pass both ISO annual surveillance audits, Alliant National had to undergo testing of more than 130 technical and process controls within the Information Security and Privacy Management System frameworks. To obtain the two certifications there were over 170 controls tested through validation, observation, and reperformance. The audits were conducted by an ISO-licensed and accredited firm, A-lign CPAs of Tampa, Florida.
Alliant National supports its independent agents by combining expert residential and commercial underwriting with a passionate heart for service. The company delivers uncommon help that promotes the wellbeing of agents and the communities they serve.
Alliant National is on a mission to empower independent agents while protecting property owners with secure title insurance. The company partners with its agents and never competes against them with direct or affiliate operations. Alliant National serves thousands of title professionals as a licensed underwriter in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
George will help support Alliant National’s underwriting operations throughout the Midwest.
Longmont, Colo. – (May 16, 2023) – Alliant National Title Insurance Company, the title insurer that is uniquely responsive to the needs of independent agents, is pleased to announce the hiring of Julie George as Underwriting Counsel.
A seasoned title insurance veteran, George has been a fixture of the industry since 2005. She is highly experienced working within large title insurance companies. She is skilled at navigating complex organizations and building productive, cross-departmental collaborations between production and escrow teams to ensure sound underwriting decisions and seamless closings. During her career, she has also taught classes for real estate agents, lenders and title insurance professionals.
As Underwriting Counsel for Alliant National, George will have ample opportunities to apply her skills and expertise. Her responsibilities will include working directly with the underwriter’s policy-issuing agents in the Midwest to provide support, risk analysis and management, claim resolution and making insurability determinations. She will also play a role in developing underwriting resources and continuing education materials.
“Alliant National’s strong, nation-wide operations were a huge draw for me,” said George, talking about her new position. “However, Alliant National’s laser-like focus on meeting the needs of the independent agent is what truly sets it apart. I can’t wait to dig in and work with this team of incredible title professionals to deliver more value for our agents.”
“Julie is one of the best in the business,” said Jeff Stein, Chief Underwriting Counsel for Alliant National. “Given her years of experience, keen legal mind and clear passion for the industry, our agents, employees, lenders and communities all stand to gain from her being part of the Alliant National team.”
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, George graduated Cum Laude from St. Louis University with a degree in American Studies in 1999. She obtained her Juris Doctor from St. Louis University School of Law four years later. She is a winner of the Dowd Award for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy.
Today, George lives in St. Louis with her family.
Alliant National supports its independent agents by combining expert residential and commercial underwriting with a passionate heart for service. The company delivers uncommon help that promotes the wellbeing of agents and the communities they serve.
Cathie Beck Capital City Public Relations e: cathie@capitalcitypr.com p: 303-241-0805
ABOUT ALLIANT NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY
Alliant National is on a mission to empower independent agents while protecting property owners with secure title insurance. The company partners with its agents and never competes against them with direct or affiliate operations. Alliant National serves thousands of title professionals as a licensed underwriter in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
Stress can impact anyone, and workplaces are not immune.
It can be easy to minimize the impact of stress on individuals, but given how ubiquitous and harmful it can be, it’s worth taking seriously. With the real estate season heating up, let’s take a deep dive into stress, address how it shows up in the workplace and look at what organizations like Alliant National are doing to support workers.
Stress: the lesser-known facts
When you break stress down, what exactly is it? On a basic level, stress is the body’s response to a demand, the impacts of stress can be acutely felt in the workplace. Any change – good and the bad – can technically be stressful.
There are so many important things to know about stress, but some of the lesser-known facts include:
Stress affects everyone,
Not all stress is bad,
Long term stress can harm your health,
There are ways to manage stress, and
If you feel overwhelmed by stress, it’s important to reach out to a health professional.
Where does stress often show up?
While stress can be anywhere, it frequently pops up in workplaces. Stacy Stolen, HR Director for Alliant National, explains that this can have significant consequences for employees. “Workplace stress has adverse effects on workers’ mental health, with an increased risk of anxiety, burnout, depression and substance use disorders,” said Stolen. “Workers who are stressed at work are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor dietary patterns.”
The negative consequences of stress aren’t just limited to employees. It can affect businesses as well. “It decreases employee productivity,” says Stolen. “Interactions with co-workers may become strained, causing increased conflict, more complaints and grievances, health concerns and higher absenteeism.”
Reducing stress begins with awareness
Given how serious stress can be, it’s obvious that there needs to be increased cultural awareness around the topic. And according to Stolen, some things are moving in the right direction: “It has become more acceptable to ‘talk’ about stress,” says Stolen, “but companies are still struggling to manage workplace stress – especially where recent layoffs may have created more stress and burnout. Companies are starting to realize this, but perks like onsite gyms and nap rooms are not the answer to our problem. Companies must go deeper.”
How can workplaces better address stress?
So, what does it look like when workplaces get serious about addressing stress? For Stolen, it means digging into the psychological reasons that are driving a stressed-out employee. “If your employees perceive your workplace as a threat, then you cannot build the trust your team needs to collaborate and innovate effectively,” she said. “Employers need to shift from individual-level to organization-level approaches for reducing stress at work, which can foster employee well-being while simultaneously improving business performance.”
Some may be quick to say this approach is unrealistic; but rest assured, it’s not. As Stolen explains, “My years of experience have taught me that burnout prevention requires reducing workplace stress while also upping employee engagement.”
What is Alliant National’s approach to stress reduction?
Under Stolen’s leadership, Alliant National has put together a plan of action to help reduce workplace stress. While the company has not yet achieved every goal, it is making good progress toward lowering the amount of stress percolating throughout the organization.
One initiative that has been making headway is the Alliant National Employee Engagement team, which is designed to help “employees feel engaged, fairly compensated, rewarded, and personally committed to and inspired by their work.”
Another goal is to actively create a culture where employees not only feel that it is permissible – but encouraged – to take time off to rest and recharge. Part of that involves constantly reminding employees that they have the freedom to take breaks, take their accrued PTO, pursue a flexible work schedule or ask for help in managing their stress.
Stolen is also working on a mental health “challenge,” where she reaches out to managers to ascertain if their direct reports have run up large PTO balances. The intention behind this initiative is to get a better sense of whether team members are actually using the time that they have earned, and if not, to understand why. This upcoming mental health and stress reduction challenge follows on the heels of one conducted in December of 2022.
There is no magic bullet against stress; but progress is possible!
When asked about how she herself manages stress, Stolen was candid: “I have no secret sauce, but what I have learned is that I need to unplug and be able to tell my boss when I am stressed and need help – not so I feel weak, but so I can be good to myself.”
In many ways, this is an effective summary of how we can all get better about managing stress in our lives and particularly in the workplace. There is no magic bullet, but with understanding, trust and open communication, real inroads can be made toward achieving more sustainable and healthy levels of stress.
Gain new business by improving your local footprint online.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO stands for local search engine optimization. It is the process of refining and optimizing your online presence to gain local website traffic and ultimately more business. Taking advantage of local SEO best practices is particularly important for smaller businesses that rely on nearby customers for the bulk of their revenue. Here are a few ways you can use local SEO strategies for your benefit.
Google Reigns Supreme
While Google has lost some luster over the years, it still reigns supreme with local SEO. Begin your efforts by claiming and then optimizing your Google “My Business” profile. As you know, Google makes a point to identify and catalog as many businesses as it can across its services. Business leaders can claim ownership over these listings and then modify the available information fields. Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to improve how your business is displayed across one of the most popular websites in the world. Ensure that the following is complete and correct:
Business name
Address
Phone number
Website
Hours
Email
Photos
Your Google “My Business” profile will also include the option for customers to leave reviews, and it is not a bad idea to ask satisfied customers to leave a positive notice regarding your services. Responding to reviews that people leave is similarly important, as it indicates that you are a responsive organization that cares deeply about the customer experience you provide.
Deploy Location-Based Keywords
Businesses like title agencies should also incorporate location-based keywords into their web properties, as their customer base is often defined by a fixed geographical location. On your website, for example, don’t merely refer to yourself as a “title agency.” It is not specific enough and won’t do much from an SEO perspective. Instead, add in mentions of your city and state, and be sure to use a keyword explorer tool to assess metrics and get help selecting your phrases.
There are countless local directories that can be found online, and they represent another opportunity for small businesses like yours to enhance their digital presence. From Yelp and Yellow Pages to Foursquare and TripAdvisor, utilizing digital directories can boost your agency’s visibility and enhance your credibility, especially once you make sure all information is consistent and updated.
When you think about businesses that are deeply intertwined with their local communities, few spring to mind faster than title agencies. After all, these are the firms that secure the very properties that make up a community in the first place. It only makes sense, then, that title agencies should prioritize local SEO to boost awareness, position their brands and grow their profitability. And by following the best practices listed here, you’ll do exactly that.
There’s another victory to report as Alliant National partners with independent title agents in the ongoing fight against real estate fraud. Alliant National’s Crime program offers a $1,000 reward to Alliant National agents who help prevent a fraudulent transaction from closing. The program has already recognized the prevention of $2 million in attempted fraud, and recently Heritage Title of Austin was honored for stopping a fraudulent transaction from going forward.
Meet Heritage Title of Austin
Heritage Title of Austin is a leading title agency operating in the Austin metropolitan area. For more than 30 years, they have been a dependable partner for aspiring property owners who are looking to secure their investments. Having long adhered to industry best practices and the highest possible standards, Heritage Title was naturally well-positioned to respond swiftly and efficiently when an instance of attempted fraud came across their collective desks.
Obvious red flags
“The order was placed through our website, which is very rare for our company,” said Dan Elkins, Senior VP, Plant Manager, Heritage Title Company of Austin, discussing how he initially became aware of the suspicious transaction. The transaction carried other red flags as well according to Elkins, who stated, “The contract was not a standard TREC form contract. The wording in the contract was a bit unusual in a couple of places, and there was no representation listed in the contract for either party.”
Digging deeper
Once these red flags came into view, Elkins and the Heritage Title Company team began digging deeper. The contract in question only listed one woman as the seller, but an inspection of the tax rolls revealed that the woman and her husband were the owners of the property, as did the last recorded deed.
Therefore, the next step was to run the husband’s name, which unearthed that his will had been probated and explained why he had not signed the contract. The problem, according to Elkins, was that “the wife’s signature on their purchase money deed of trust also did not match the signature on the contract, which raised even more suspicion.”
Heritage Title then contacted the law firm that handled the husband’s probate to see if they could get contact information for the wife independent from the information listed in the contract. However, they were informed by the law firm that the wife had also passed away a few months earlier. This made it impossible for her signature on the contract to be authentic, as it was dated after the date of her death.
Wrapping things up
As Elkins and Heritage Title were conducting their due diligence and discovering the transaction’s clear fraudulence, Russell Gonzales, Assistant Vice President and SW Region Agency Representative at Alliant National Title Insurance Company, was on-site at Heritage Title. After Heritage Title reported the fraud to Gonzales, the company decided to alert other agencies and advise them to be on the lookout for similar scams. Gonzales then encouraged Heritage Title to apply for Alliant National’s crime watch award for having prevented a fraudulent transaction that could have proven to be costly for all involved.
Final thoughts from Heritage Title
In reflecting on the experience, Elkins noted that staying ahead of fraudsters requires a long-term outlook, a comprehensive approach and real investment. “We utilize physical access security at all our locations. We have network security installed on our networks that prevents unauthorized devices from connecting. We run very good software on all endpoints and servers to detect and contain any possible threats. We use top-of-the-line firewalls and mail filters,” he said, listing off a few of the security tools deployed by Heritage Title.
Elkins also made sure to emphasize that the human factor is equally important, and that without those two elements working together harmoniously, an agency can suffer negative financial consequences.
“The most important thing we do is train our personnel to always look for the red flags, whether it is in a phishing email or an impersonation attempt,” he said. “They are the last line of defense. You cannot spend too much on your defense and recovery plan because the monetary and reputational costs of taking even one hit can be enormous.”
This blog contains general information only, not intended to be relied upon as, nor a substitute for, specific professional advice. We accept no responsibility for loss occasioned to any purpose acting on or refraining from action as a result of any material on this blog.
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