Pricing Study Shows Pennsylvania Residents Overcharged $135 Million in Title Insurance Premiums in 2015
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.
About Entitle Direct Group, Inc.
Entitle Direct Group is the parent company of the country's first direct-to-consumer title insurance underwriter, EnTitle Insurance Company. Currently operating in 40 states and the District of Columbia, EnTitle Insurance Company has attempted to file title insurance premium rates up to 25% lower than the standard rates of our competitors wherever possible, saving consumers hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in closing costs. For more information, visit http://www.ENTITLEDIRECT.com.
CONTACT: Bill Shaughnessy, Director of Marketing
Entitle Direct Group, Inc.
203-724-1142
bill.shaughnessy(at)entitledirect.com
http://www.entitledirect.com
Bill Shaughnessy, Entitle Direct Group, Inc., http://www.entitledirect.com, +1 203-724-1142, [email protected]
Share this article