ALTA Best Practices:
Be Confident In Your Title & Closing Partnership
In 2013, the American Land Title Association developed “ALTA’s Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices” as a way to comply with lenders’ increased pressures from regulators, consumers and investors and to learn more about the service providers they do business with. ALTA developed these best practices to help members highlight policies and procedures the industry exercises to protect lenders and consumers while ensuring a positive and compliant real estate settlement experience.
Complying with ALTA’s Best Practices is not mandatory. It is a voluntary tool to help the title industry highlight the safeguards in place to ensure that closing activities meet all applicable laws and regulations and was developed by ALTA’s Board of Governors, which includes representatives of both the agent and underwriter communities.
To Fully Comply with ALTA’s Best Practices, We Have…
…implemented the American Land Title Association Best Practice Pillars 1 -7 and continually update our processes and procedures to insure the security of our clients’ information. Our dedication to maintaining the highest professional standards is not just good practice, it is good business.
Our Best Practice Certification Credentials Include:
1. CATIC ALTA Best Practice Implementation Certification.
2. Secure Insight Registration through Secure Settlements, Inc.
Explore each of the 7 pillars of ALTA’s Best Practices and what Baillie & Hershman has done to be sure your title and closing relationship is built on confidence.
Establish and maintain current license(s) as required to conduct the business of title insurance and settlement services
Adopt and maintain appropriate written procedures and controls for escrow trust accounts allowing for electronic verification of reconciliation.
Adopt and maintain a written privacy and information security program to protect non-public Personal Information as required by local, state and federal law.
Adopt standard real estate settlement procedures and policies that help ensure compliance with federal and state consumer financial laws as applicable to the settlement process.
Adopt and maintain written procedures related to title policy production, delivery, reporting, and premium remittance.
Maintain appropriate professional liability insurance and fidelity coverage.
Adopt and maintain written procedures for resolving consumer complaints.
ALTA’s initiatives are designed to push the title industry well into the future with guidance from the CFPB.Certified by
For more than 50 years, CATIC® has been New England’s largest domestic and only Bar-Related® title insurance underwriter and the proud underwriter of Baillie & Hershman. CATIC® maintains an active underwriting membership with ALTA, the New England Land Title Association, and the North American Bar Related Title Insurers. Baillie & Hershman is proud to have been audited and certified as ALTA Best Practices compliant by CATIC®.