Fidelity National Another 1500 Title Insurance Jobs Cut in January Published February 5, 2009. | By Jeanne. Fidelity National announced that it cut 1,500 of the 5,500 jobs it inherited from the recent LandAmerica acquisitions in January, and it also closed 125 offices. While more cuts are possible, depending on the market, it said that it expects the largest cuts have probably taken place. Posted in Education. | Tagged Education, Fidelity National, insurance, LandAmerica, title, Title Insurance. | Leave a comment. Sad Times for More Title Insurance Employees Published February 3, 2009. | By Jeanne. More Title Insurance employees will be looking for jobs. LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., a Virginia based company, started in 1925, is closing shop. It filed formal notice with the State of Virginia that all remaining headquarters jobs will be eliminated by Dec. 31. Employees will receive no severance. At the start of 2008, the firm employed as estimated 11,000 full-time employees nationwide. On Dec. 22 LandAmerica sold many assets and luckily the sale resulted in the sale of “transfer” 5,100 employees to Fidelity National Financial Inc. of Jacksonville, FL Fidelity expects a small increase in employees for its Florida operations due the purchase. Today, LandAmerica is estimated to have about 2,200 remaining employees in 20 subsidiaries, which in turn own more than 90 other subsidiaries in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Mexico and elsewhere, according to LandAmerica. It still expects to sell off its remaining assets. It is unknown if remaining employees will be lucky enough to be “sold” or “transferred” as well. See More Posted in Uncategorized. | Tagged California, Closing, Commonwealth Land Title Company, Fidelity National, Fidelity National Financial, Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., Inc., Industry News, insurance, LandAmerica, title, Title Insurance. | Leave a comment. Just Another Title Insurance Agent Defalcation? Published January 5, 2009. | By Jeanne. An attorney, closing loans out of his basement office , has defacated with more than $6.2 million from the trust account. His Underwriters – First American Title Insurance Co. lost the most — $2.65 million, other companies losing money are New Jersey Title Insurance Co., Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., Stewart Title Insurance Co. and Lawyers Title Insurance Co. The 50 year-old attorney is reportedly a diabetic who suffers from bipolar disorder, depression, and a serious gambling addiction, sometimes betting for days on end without sleeping, according to the NJ Star Ledger. I see some red flags here – Five Underwriters? Bi-polar disorder? Health issues – depression? Gambling? Working out of his basement? Seems to be another example of a title agent not thoroughly checked out by any number of underwriters. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly sorry for the attorney, no one wishes such a sad ending to an attorney’s career… and no one wants to have his privacy invaded… But doesn’t a title underwriter owe due diligence to its stockholders? Didn’t any of his five title underwriters ask HOW MANY underwriters this fellow had? What his financial condition was? Didn’t anyone know about his bipolar disorder? His depression? His gambling problem? That he was working out of his… basement? Seems to me there was too little due diligence on this fellow… Is the number of underwriters he represents relevant? Is it an opportunity for check kiting? Are his social habits relevant – gambling? Is his health (diabetes / depression) relevant to a title underwriter? Might these be an indication of a need for money? What do you think? How far should an underwriter investigate? Posted in Education, Privacy and Public Records. | Tagged Closing, Defalcation, Education, Fidelity National, Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., First American Title, First American Title Insurance Co, Fraud, Industry News, insurance, Lawyers, Lawyers Title Insurance Co., Loan, Money and Finance, Mortgage and title Fraud, mortgage closing, New Jersey Title Insurance Co., privacy, Privacy and Public Records, Red Flag, Regulation of Insurers and Banks, Stewart title, Stewart Title Insurance Co., title, title agent, Title Insurance, title underwriters, Trust Account. | 2 Comments. Fitch to Review FNF for Possible Downgrade Published December 2, 2008. | By Jeanne. A couple of important new articles regarding FNF From CNN – see full article here Fidelity National currently carries an issuer default rating of “BBB,” which is just two notches above junk status. Fidelity National’s title insurance operating subsidiaries currently carry financial strength ratings of “A-,” which are also considered investment grade. See also WSJ MarketWatch Article here At the close of the third quarter of 2008, debt-to-total capital at FNF was 32%, which currently exceeds FNF’s long-term target debt-to-total capital of 20%-25%. Financial leverage and general flexibility remain key rating issues for FNF and the title insurance industry during the current stressed market Posted in Uncategorized. | Tagged Fidelity National, FNF, Industry News, insurance, LandAmerica, Money and Finance, title, Title Insurance, title underwriters. | Leave a comment. Behemoth Title Insurance Merger Announced Published November 9, 2008. | By Jeanne. No. 2 ranked Fidelity National announced an enormous, mother of all acquisitions in the title insurance industry on Friday, saying it will acquire No. 3 ranked LandAmerica. The Jacksonville, Florida-based Fidelity plans to acquire Richmond, VA based LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. for about $128 million in Fidelity stock. The acquisition will put many locally known subsidiaries, branded under the names of Chicago Title, Fidelity National Title,Ticor, Security Union, Alamo Title Insurance, along with LandAmerica brands American Title Company of Livingston, Atlantic Title & Abstract Company, Channel Islands Escrow, Inc., Commonwealth Land Title Company, Gateway Title Company, Golden Escrow, Inc., Gulf Atlantic Title, Land Title Agency, Inc., LandAmerica Albuquerque Title Company, Lawyers Title of Nevada, Rainier Title Company, Southland Title Corporation, StoneRidge Escrow Corporation, USA Title Affiliates, Inc. and others under one company umbrella that will control somewhat under 50% of the total title insurance market for the entire US market, passing the currently No. 1 ranked company for volume, First American Title. Virtually all title companies, including Fidelity National and LandAmerica have taken drastic steps over the last year cutting jobs, closing offices and slashing dividends to curb losses under the debacle of the subprime mortgage meltdown scenario that resulted in the current credit freeze and seriously depressed real estate market. In response, Fidelity halved its dividend and cut over 1,000 job along with an across-the-board 10 percent pay cut for employees in the last quarter. LandAmerica was looking for a company to acquire it. The joint announcement said that LandAmerica Chairman and CEO, Theodore Chandler will join Fidelity National’s Bill Foley as a vice chairman when the sale is complete. The headquarters of the company will remain in Jacksonville, FL. There will be some consolidation of back office activities, which probably will results in an increase in employment in the Jacksonville FL area. Fidelity employs about 500 people at its Riverside Avenue headquarters. Two other companies spun off from Fidelity employ about 2,500 in Jacksonville. Foley said there probably will be jobs lost in Richmond, VA as the merged company focuses on synergies and cost-cutting. Fidelity estimates the merger should bring at least $150 million in operational costs savings between the two firms, but did not specify how many jobs would be lost. Fidelity investors liked the value of the acquisition and shares of other major title insurers also rose Friday after news of the proposed merger. Fidelity’s stock rose $2.88 to $11.23 Friday after the deal was announced. LandAmerica, which had fallen to a record low on Thursday, rose $3.95 to $8.70 on Friday. Shares of competitors First American were up 18% while Stewart Title also increased 7%. The company expects the deal to close by March 31, 2009. Find More information and detail at Reuters Find More information and detail at Jacksonville Find More information and detail at Housing Wire Posted in Uncategorized. | Tagged American Title Company of Livingston, Atlantic Title & Abstract Company, Channel Islands Escrow, Closing, Commonwealth Land Title Company, escrow, Fidelity National, First American Title, Gateway Title Company, Golden Escrow, Gulf Atlantic Title, Inc., Industry News, insurance, Land Title Agency, LandAmerica, LandAmerica Albuquerque Title Company, Lawyers, Lawyers Title of Nevada, Money and Finance, mortgage, Rainier Title Company, Southland Title Corporation, Stewart title, StoneRidge Escrow Corporation, title, title companies, Title Company, Title Insurance, title insurance acquisition, Title Insurers, USA Title Affiliates. | Leave a comment. FNF 3rd Qtr Earnings Report gives Picture of Title Insurance Industry Published October 25, 2008. | By Jeanne. The third quarter transcript of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) gave us a clear picture into what is happening with all Title Insurance Underwriters. To give you an overview of what is happening at FNF, here is a recap. The entire transcript can be found at seekingalpha/article/101536-fidelity-national-financial-inc-q3-2008-earnings-call-transcript?page=1 Regarding expense reductions FNF eliminated 1000 positions in the third quarter (800 frontline staff and 200 agency and corporate positions) It instituted a 10% company-wide pay reduction, most likely to be continued through the first quarter of 2009 It is asking board members to take a similar cut in pay Its fourth-quarter dividend was reduced 50% .. from the previous quarter The company continued to close offices…more than 115 offices The current situation The largest decline in revenues came in agency premiums as they fell by 24% and 40% versus the third quarter of 2007. Actual title claims paid in the third quarter were $85 million versus $79 million in the third quarter of 2007. When asked about claims by type and percentage of claims, FNF responded the “primary three, I would say, are search and exam errors… That’s about roughly 30% of our claims experience. Fraud and forgery,.. moved to number two in the last three years or so …running somewhere close to 20% currently. Then in closing-related errors and underwritten risk, are kind of three and four, (and) make up about two-thirds of our total losses.” Regarding claims, it was noted “…given the pattern we had seen where our actual claims results continued to exceed our forecasted results; we realized that the current model needed to be adjusted. So we really stepped back from the current model and said… We’re going to disregard all prior reported claims experience other than the last three years, those years being 2006 through 2008. “ (IBNR will now be reserved at an increased 8.5%) To increase revenue FNF is renegotiating agents splits Is increasing filed rates …generally 15% – 20% or more across the country. No surprises given the state of affairs in the real estate market, and this bloggers expectation is that the four remaining major title underwriters are or will be doing exactly the same thing. Increases will happen across the board for all costs related to title insurance and closings. Posted in Education. | Tagged Claims, Closing, Closings, Education, Fidelity National, Fidelity National Financial, FNF, Forgery, Fraud, Inc., insurance, Money and Finance, title, Title Insurance, title search, title underwriters. | Leave a comment. Title Underwriters Sue Widow to Recoup Money from Fraudulent Mortgages Published October 6, 2008. | By Jeanne. A Connecticut Judge has thrown out claims that Hayley Kissel assisted her deceased husband, Andrew Kissel, a wealthy real estate developer, in fraudulently obtaining mortgage money according to a new WTHN news and a Hartford Paper article. Mr. Kissel was murdered in 2006, leaving an estate that owed more than $20,000,000 to several banks, based on the fraudulent mortgages. Kissel initially took out legitimate mortgages on properties, but then created and recorded fraudulent releases. He would then go to another bank to borrow money, and repeat the process. The lawsuit claims Mrs. Kissel was aware that her husband was forging and recording bogus releases to obtain more funds, but kept quiet to maintain her lifestyle. And, because she did not speak up, Kissel was able to repeat the scam, causing losses to the title companies. Both Chicago Title and Fidelity National Title Insurance companies, which insured title for the lender’s, are suing Mrs. Kissel. They allege that because she was aware of her husband’s conduct, she was complicit in the activity by not reporting it. The judge disagreed. A jury will now have to decide if Mrs. Kissel, who has significant assets, has been unjustly enriched by her husband’s theft and is therefore responsible for some of the losses incurred by the title underwriters. Author comment: Granted, I have not seen the documentation, but this appears to have all the red flags signs of perpetrated fraud. Honestly, when is the last time the title person legitimately saw a large mortgage paid off PRIOR to a mortgage closing, as it appears to have been in this case. Posted in Education. | Tagged 60 second title work, Claims, Closing, Education, Fidelity National, Fraud, fund, Industry News, insurance, Laws, mortgage, Mortgage and title Fraud, mortgage closing, Mortgage Fraud, mortgages, Recording, Red Flag, Theft, title, title companies, Title Company, Title Insurance, title underwriters. | Leave a comment. Six More MN Title Agencies Closed by Commerce in February Published March 20, 2008. | By Jeanne. Last month the Minnesota Department of Commerce announced it had taken action against another kickback scheme in which a title insurance agent set up sham affiliated businesses with real estate agents, mortgage originators and developers in order to get around state and federal laws prohibiting direct payments for referrals. The Department shut down six more sham affiliated business by revoking their title insurance licenses. Licenses revoked included: 1st Title, St Louis Park, MN; Timberland Title, Arden Hills, MN; Royal Title, Minneapolis, MN; St. Cloud Title & Abstract, St Cloud, MN and Foundation Title, Brooklyn Center, MN. The final company, Desert Sun Title, did not even have an address or any referral partners. It also fined Premier Title Insurance Agency $175,000 for the kickback scheme. According to the MN Dept of Commerce enforcement web site, Premier Title Insurance “created and controlled sham Affiliated Business Arrangements (ABAs), employed or contracted with parties not licensed to sell insurance, ABAs sold Fidelity National Title’s policies, unlicensed people were paid commissions, and failed as a supervising agent to ensure that ABA relationships were disclosed..” They also “paid kickbacks or other things of value to its referral partners for the referral of title insurance business and real estate closings.” Last year, the MN Department of Commerce fined First American Title Insurance Company of Santa Ana, California, $500,000 and shut down 35 of their sham affiliated businesses. Posted in Education, Licensing. | Tagged California, Closing, Closings, Education, Fidelity National, First American Title, First American Title Insurance Co, Industry News, insurance, Laws, Licensing, Minnesota, Money and Finance, mortgage, Mortgage and title Fraud, title, Title Insurance. | Leave a comment. Title Insurance Mafiosa – a true crime book Published January 4, 2008. | By Jeanne. Ten years ago, who would have believed the sleepy little Title Insurance business could be the subject of an amazing true crime book. Yes, we’re all reminded daily of the problems in our industry: greed, fraud, forgery, gluttony, sub-prime lending, phoney appraisals and more, but now here’s a real life tell-all. A Family Cursed: The Kissel Dynasty, a Gilded Fortune and Two Brutal Murders uncovers classic Title Mafioso. The author, Kevin McMurray covers the life of two wheeling-dealing brothers. Andrew Kissel was convicted of forging mortgage deed releases and other fake documents to subvert millions in order to live an excessive lifestyle. But Fidelity National Title recognized Kissel’s mortgage scam. By searching title to property, Fidelity found several active mortgages on property being used as collateral to secure a $6 million mortgage loan. Kissel gave Fidelity falsified mortgage releases to show the loans were paid off. Creating the bogus documents was as easy as the click of a mouse, McMurray accurately writes. Had it not been for a thorough Title Underwriter (You’ll have to read the book to find out how they figured it out) Kissel would probably still be perpetrating his real estate fraud. He was charged with federal bank fraud obtaining tens of millions in fraudulent loans from banks and other institutions. I am an avid reader of mysteries, etc. but this one really hits home not because it’s just plausible, but because it happened and continues to happen every day. Posted in Real Estate fun. | Tagged Fidelity National, Forgery, Fraud, insurance, lending, Loan, Money and Finance, mortgage, Mortgage and title Fraud, mortgages, Real Estate Fraud, title, Title Insurance, Value of a title searcher. | 1 Comment. Fidelity National Title Group announces Free Real Estate Info Site Published November 14, 2007. | By Jeanne. Fidelity National Title Group has announced the launch of Cyberhomes– an online destination for home evaluation and neighborhood information. Cyberhomes includes more than 100 million property, ownership, sales and mortgage records, covering more than 85 percent of the United States population. More than 575,000 new ownership records are added every month, and the data is enhanced with more than ten years of proprietary property information. Cyberhomes evaluations give users access to most of the same information that real estate agents and appraisers use to evaluate homes. In addition it offers comprehensive community information – such as listings, property records, and in some instances community factors – including such things as school statistics (average test scores, student to teacher ratio), quality of life indicators (average commute times, air/water quality), weather, local economy (sales tax, recent job growth) and population facts (households with children, registered voters). Users can find this information by simply typing in an address when they enter the site. Fidelity National is also a leading provider of specialty insurances, including flood, homeowners and home warranty insurance. Through its minority-owned subsidiary, Sedgwick CMS, Fidelity is a large provider of outsourced insurance claims management services to large private and public sector entities. cc.bingj/cache.aspx?q=Fedelity+title+closing+shut+down+due+to+fraud&d=4840940629524517&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=ctVxbOidKJqZZ4D4keBTy2g8iS9XgMp-
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 23:06:50 +0000
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