The claims and Florida underwriting departments have collaborated to create an internship program at Alliant National to foster greater awareness and interest in our unique industry by engaging with students at local law schools.

The internship program kicked into gear last March, with the selection of the program’s first intern Kamilah Brennen.

Kamilah attended George Washington University for her undergraduate studies and is currently attending Florida A&M University College of Law. She is in the Top 5 percent of her class and graded onto the Law Review.

Raised is South Florida, Kamilah’s favorite food is Caribbean food. In her downtime, Kamilah enjoys playing softball, basketball, and mountain biking. She also enjoys reading and watching sci-fi books and movies.

We interviewed several applicants from local law schools, and Kamilah stood out to us as a very caring and bright applicant. We are very excited to have her here with us.

She will be working in our Oviedo office and will have the opportunity to shadow the underwriting and claims teams and observe other departments’ functions.

Refresh your social media strategy with these 14 ideas

Not everyone is comfortable building a social media strategy or social media platforms to promote their agency. Many businesses don’t know where to start; other businesses get it started, but can’t seem to find the wherewithal to continue.

Still others feel like they have “their arms wrapped around it” – and do it well enough – only to learn that their strategy and content is dated.

Social media is a living (almost breathing) organism. It’s something that needs tending to, needs to be revisited and, at least once a year (preferably more often) completely revisited.

The good news is that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A solid social media campaign can be refreshed with a few new thoughts.

14 things to try on social media this year
If you try new things on social this year that other brands aren’t doing, you have a better chance of surprising your audience and engaging them.

Real Estate Corner

What’s the deal with land surveys?
Land surveys are a valuable tool that help real estate deals close with confidence – for all parties. The National Society of Professional Surveys notes the value of proper land surveying.

Title insurance agents face waves of continuous technological evolutions, all designed to ease the agent’s work, but which can be glitchy enough to tempt title agents to abandon new protocols in favor of old habits.

Technology shows up in our work lives in several ways. For example, the options below are but an “initial round-up” (if you will) of many title agent’s interactions with technology:

Production Software – Often used by title agents to manage files, create documents and commitments, handle disbursements, communicate and share information with clients.

Electronic Records – While still not yet available in every county or title plant, most urban areas now have electronic records. Title professionals no longer have to drive to a set location to research property records. They can do research from a computer anywhere with an internet connection.

E-Recordings – Rather than taking the original documents to the County Register of Deeds to be put of record, recordings can be submitted online through various providers.

E-Signatures – E- Notaries/RON (remote online notarization) – This a rapidly evolving space and can be a major convenience for consumers and increase productivity for title agents.

Smart Contracts – SC’s are just beginning to become a reality. Self-executing contracts that follow an “if-this-then-that” protocol can streamline workflow and reduce errors.

Social Media – A powerful and ubiquitous vehicle that aids marketing and relationship efforts.

Technology is now a part of everything we do, and most every title agent recognizes the benefits of adopting some form of technology. Moving forward, technology is helping mitigate risks like wire fraud while helping us run more efficient businesses.

There can be a bit of tug-of-war over the adoption of new technology. The over 50-year-old work population has had to learn new technologies as adults, while Millennials grew up in the face of ever-evolving technology options, and the up-and-coming Generation Z has never known a life without the Internet.

Those from older generations have witnessed methods that were once industry best practices become obsolete in a brave new, technological world. In some cases, entire industries have had to evolve or risk becoming obsolete themselves.

The truth is the title insurance industry is behind, technologically speaking. Title insurance operates much like the check at the grocery store; although the check may remain an option for some time yet, it is not now, nor will it ever again be the dominate method of payment.

Yet our industry has been slow to adapt and embrace new technologies. Those who would drag their feet cite concerns about emerging technology, the validity of it and what the implications could be in the result of certain claims. These are valid concerns.

But a continued resistance is creating opportunity for those outside our industry to change it for us.

While the use of new technology does open doors to risk of claims or risk of being unintentionally negligent could increase, the waves of disruption don’t look to be letting up anytime soon.

To remain relevant, title agents must get on board and move full steam ahead.

There is nothing like a solid, well-built email list – one that actually has people and businesses you want to reach.

Though some consider email “old-school” in the face of social media and text messaging, beautifully built content within your enewsletters and even within simple emails, can reach your audiences in ways social media platforms might not.

To that end, you need email addresses. You also need to not engage in spam (using email addresses you’re not entitled to). Here’s a great bit on how businesses can legitimately and effectively gain new email addresses, thereby continually growing their audience reach.

15 Proven Ways to Grow Your Email List

Real Estate Corner:

As technology continues to affect nearly every corner of our lives, real estate transactions are getting done with more technological influence than ever: How Technology Is Changing The Real Estate Market.

The information provided by a land survey can make all the difference in ownership and use.

A land survey provides a visual reference to what your property looks like on the ground and who might make a claim to your ownership based upon their use or possession of part of your property.

There are many types of surveys, but to provide title insurance coverage, a  “Boundary Survey” is required.

The Boundary Survey locates the property on the globe and in relation to the property surrounding it. It also shows the improvements located on the property including fences and evidence of occupation or use.

The survey determines what is physically present on the land to be insured and locates that land in relation to other properties in the area.

Why should you care?

Because who is in possession of all or part of the land you’re buying, determines who may have a claim to it.

Possession may not be nine-tenths of the law, but it is very important. If someone possesses part of the land you’re buying, they may have a claim to ownership of that area.

Choosing a quality surveyor is a challenge just like choosing any other professional to do work for you. Possession may not be nine-tenths of the law, but it is very important. If someone possesses part of the land you’re buying, they may have a claim to ownership of that area.

There is no magic formula, but pay attention to his or her credentials,  reputation or even better, referrals from those you already know and trust.

The cost of a typical residential survey is minimal when compared with the investment in your home or property and cost ranges from a few hundred dollars to much more if dealing with commercial or large tracts.

I’ve personally spent $1,500 for a survey of ten acres by an excellent surveyor, and as little as $300 for a residential lot by an okay surveyor.

To better understand why a survey is important, there are two elements that affect ownership:

1. The land records maintained by the local government; and
2. The actual occupation of the property

For a title insurance policy to be issued, the insurer searches the land records. We don’t see the actual property, just paper describing it.

That search is examined to determine who owns the property and who has claims to it.

Since we cannot see the actual land, the title commitment and policy take exception for anything that would have been discovered with a visit to the property or with a proper survey done by a surveyor.

So, if you want coverage for what might not be in the records that could affect your ownership or rights, a survey is needed.

Parts II and III of our continuing discussion of land surveys will get further down in the weeds on land survey trip-ups and issues.

But a simple look-see at what a land survey can avoid is in this simple (yet very complicated) dilemma: A buyer agrees to buy Lot 3 – a 100-foot lot.  Research of the records shows the seller owns it. No survey was done.

Later it is discovered that the lot is only 90 feet to the neighbor’s fence.  The neighbor says that 10 feet is theirs. The exception in the title policy may prevent any claim under the policy.

(If a survey was done before closing, this issue could have been dealt with ahead of spending the money for the lot.)

Or you buy Lot 3 without a survey, but the house you were shown is really on Lot 2!  No survey, maybe no loss paid under the policy since you do own Lot 3.

Stay tuned for Parts II and III – where reliability, defendability and who owes whom what gets sorted out.