PITTSBURGH, PA (PRWEB) MARCH 08, 2017
- EnTitle Insurance Company (“Entitle Direct”), a
national title insurance company, recently performed a detailed study by using
data on residential real estate transactions, including mortgage refinances
that occurred in the state of Pennsylvania during 2015 to quantify the amount
of savings property owners and buyers in Pennsylvania could have enjoyed by
purchasing their title insurance policies from EnTitle Insurance Company.
The study compared EnTitle Insurance
Company’s title insurance premium rates relative to those offered via
the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania
(“TIRBOP”). TIRBOP is a title insurance rating organization
that, among other things, files proposed rates, policies, endorsement forms,
and publishes a Rate Manual which includes a schedule of rates for title
insurance premiums.
By not being a TIRBOP member, Entitle
Direct has taken advantage of its ability to file title insurance premium rates
directly with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (“PID”)
subject to PID’s approval. PID approved title insurance premium rates
for Entitle Direct that are 35% below the title insurance premium rates for
members of TIRBOP.
“Our company has always strived
to create the same pricing transparency in the title insurance industry that
exists in the vast majority of all other industries in the United
States,” says Steven Palmer, CEO of Entitle Direct Group, Inc.,
parent company of EnTitle Insurance Company. “In that process, we
constantly have to challenge myths such as that title insurance premium rates
are set by the state in PA and everyone has to charge the same, which is not
true.”
The purpose of Entitle Direct’s
pricing study of the Pennsylvania market, which can soon be downloaded directly
from its website, was to use objective data to demonstrate the total aggregate
savings that state residents could have enjoyed by purchasing their title
insurance policy from EnTitle Insurance Company.
“We were amazed that the
estimated total savings in 2015 was $135 million, and more importantly averaged
$440 per transaction,” says Palmer. “That kind of savings
can go a long way for a family buying a new home and can make the economics of
a potential refinance transaction make a great deal more sense.”
For several
years, EnTitle Insurance Company, with an office in Pittsburgh, PA, has been
operating in the keystone state providing outstanding customer service and
charging up to 25% to 35% lower title insurance premium rates than its
competitors.
The Company launched its direct
operations in the Commonwealth in 2009 to enable smart home owners and buyers
to purchase title insurance at a significant discount to the price being
charged by other providers in the market.
“We became one of the first
title insurance companies in the country to sell the product directly to
consumers via our website," explains Lee Baskey, President of EnTitle
Insurance Company. “Consumers who visit our site can get a free quote
on their upcoming home purchase or mortgage refinance transaction and compare
that quote to the one on their Loan Estimate Form.”
Currently, Entitle Direct’s title
insurance premium rates are roughly 35% below those of competitors in
Pennsylvania, which represents savings of hundreds of dollars per transaction.
Entitle sells the same American Land Title Association licensed policy, which
provides identical coverage as what is offered on its competitor’s
policies.
“The difference is that our
policies are notably less expensive,” adds Baskey.
Entitle Direct strongly recommends that
home buyers and homeowners refinancing their mortgage begin shopping for the
best deal on title insurance as early as possible. A good way to do so is to
visit the websites of multiple providers and obtain online quotes to see which
one provides the lowest all-in cost.