The Regulatory Economics of Title Insurance

by Nelson R. Lipshutz

Overview

Title insurance is central to the health of the home mortgage market and the commerical real estate business, and its regulation has a profound impact on the prices that consumers pay for title insurance and the kinds of coverages that are available. Dr. Lipshutz provides a concise but comprehensive overview of the key economic policy issues that arise in regulating this small but critical segment of the insurance industry. This is the first book to examine title insurance from a primarily economic viewpoint and contains much information on the operations of the industry that is available nowhere else. The book is particularly timely because title insurance regulation is currently under intensive study by a number of state insurance departments and by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275947422
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/14/1994
Series:	Contributions in Political Science
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	1600L (what's this?)

About the Author

NELSON R. LIPSHUTZ is President of Regulatory Research Corporation of Waban, Massachusetts, an economics consulting firm which he founded in 1977. He holds degrees in theoretical physics from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago, and a degree in finance from the Wharton School. He has taught physics at Duke University and economics at Northeastern University, and served as Coordinator of industry and consumer advice to the Title Insurance Working Group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Table of Contents

Figures
Acknowledgments
Preface
A Preliminary Note on Terminology
Overview of Title Insurance
The Issue of Solvency
The Issue of Defalcations
The Issue of Capital Attraction
The Issue of Agency Commissions
The Issue of Title Insurance Rates
The Issue of Data Collection
The Issue of Abusive Trade Practices
The Issue of Alternatives to Title Insurance
Appendix A: NAIC Model Title Insurance Act
Appendix B: Excerpts from RESPA Regulation X
Appendix C: ALTA Uniform Financial Reporting Plan