What’s New
By: Patrick Burns

October 23, 2008
A Web-based title insurance company that recently opened for business in Pennsylvania claims to have cut rates by 35 percent compared to other title companies.
Timothy Dwyer said he launched Entitle Direct partially because of widespread abuses in the title insurance industry.

Dwyer, president and CEO, said the traditional title insurance system "inherently keeps homeowners in the dark, requires them to sign contracts and checks for things they do not understand, at prices they do not choose."

"We've changed the system where an 80 percent commission on title insurance issued through agents became the norm," Dwyer said.

He said Entitle Direct is the only title insurance company that markets and sells directly to consumers. Dwyer said he hopes real estate agents will embrace the company's strategy, which allows new home buyers or those refinancing to cut agents' commissions.

Customers are instructed to upload information through the Web site, www.entitledirect.com, beginning with a purchase and sale agreement or mortgage commitment. An Entitle Direct closing specialist in Pittsburgh does title searches and looks for liens against properties, and the company sends a local agent to represent home buyers at closing, Dwyer said.

A checklist is set up to walk customers through the closing process. The site can be partially accessed by a home buyer's real estate agent and lender to review documents.
The Pennsylvania Department of Banking approved Entitle Direct's rates in August. Pennsylvania is the first state in which the company has launched operations.

Dwyer said that throughout the closing process, Entitle Direct provides an updated draft of the HUD-1 settlement statement through its Web site. This provides consumers with information regarding the fees and costs that they will need to pay at closing.

According to the Web site, a person buying a home in Manheim Township for $250,000 will pay $1,152 compared to $1,769 for other title insurance companies doing business in Pennsylvania.