24 Hoosier Banker February 2015 PSP SHOWCASE Indiana banks pride themselves on providing their clients with outstanding personal service. Your staff are trained and reminded continuously to create relationships with your customers that allow the bank to better understand the customers’ needs and help them achieve desired results. One of the biggest events in a person’s life is the purchase or refinancing of a home. This transaction can be a stressful and time-consuming experience for consumers, who may only do it a few times throughout their lives. Your mortgage banking team works diligently to walk clients through this process, keeping them informed in a friendly, courteous and timely manner. However, often when the file gets to the title company’s portion of the transaction, the high service standard you have strived to maintain breaks down. Indiana banks that have an ownership interest in the Title Center of Indiana (TCI) are spared this challenge, because they have a vested interest in the entire transaction. Essentially Title Center of Indiana is their title company. In today’s competitive environment, banks cannot afford to lose quality client relationships due to poor service or response time by a thirdparty provider. TCI focuses on timely turnarounds for title insurance orders and has a knowledgeable staff to handle questions or issues that arise, while supplying closers who will work with your staff and provide a personable, professional experience for your client. Investors Title Insurance Company is the underwriter for TCI. Investors is based in North Carolina and serves many states throughout the country. As of May 2014, A.M. Best assigned a financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) to Investors Title Insurance Company and to National Investors Title Insurance Company, designating both underwriters as companies with “excellent ability to meet their claims obligations.” In addition, Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc. assigned Investors a claims-paying ability rating of “A-,” reflecting the company’s sound financial position. Title Center of Indiana currently is owned by 18 Indiana financial institutions statewide, along with Investors Title Insurance Company and the Indiana Bankers Association. These bank owners are able not only to have a deeper level of involvement in the title insurance portion of the real estate transaction, but also to gain another source of non-interest income for the bank. These revenue sources continue to become more difficult to find, adding to the value of this opportunity. Ownership, however, is not a requirement for use of the Title Center of Indiana and its services. In fact IBA encourages you to utilize its services and experience the quality of its product for yourself. TCI maintains offices in Columbus and Warsaw, providing quality service with its knowledgeable and Title Services to Call Your Own About the Author Rod Lasley is vice president-products & services of the Indiana Bankers Association, and also serves as president of the for-profit companies owned by the IBA. He can be reached at 317-387-9380, email: rlasley@indianabankers.org.
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