TitleBytes News & Happenings

It Won’t Happen To Us

Jacquie Brink
AVP and Midwest Agency Representative
WFG National Title Insurance

Often times we see and hear about natural disasters on the news and immediately think we’re immune to such things. It is human nature to believe that it won’t happen to you. However, not only is this natural inclination to ignore such potential dangers unrealistic, it’s misguided. In fact, it’s a regulatory requirement in our industry to be prepared for such disasters.

In August, prolonged rainfall in the state of Louisiana resulted in catastrophic flooding that submerged thousands of homes and businesses, including title insurance agents. Several agents were unable to recover irreplaceable title abstracts and other digital documents that were not stored offsite. In addition, they were unprepared to get their business back up and running quickly, to continue to do business, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Disaster planning should be taken very serious. Lee Ann Fenske, SVP and National Compliance Trainer at WFG National Title Insurance stated “Not only is disaster planning sensible, it’s essential for everyone, not just for everyone else. Moreover, it needs to occur long before you are sifting through the smoldering remains of a building, destroyed by fire, or staring at computers submerged, and paper files floating in five feet of standing water.”

Title insurance is part the financial industry, and regulators are scrutinizing those industries more and more, to prove their vendors are compliant with consumer protection laws and regulations, and are adequately protecting sensitive consumer information. Are you prepared?