How Helpful Is YOUR Title Company?

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How helpful is YOUR title company?
Although Realtors and lenders don’t talk about it much, it’s the reason that we title companies exist – to insure the homeownership of consumers from potential and actual erroneous liens and judgments against title to their real property.
I get the occasional call from real estate professionals that say they believe their client has a claim against a particular title company. The problem is they aren’t sure how they submit a claim. Well, here’s a guideline that should help get you pointed in the right direction.
1. Submit the claim, in writing, to the claims department. Simply state the details of the transaction, including the property address and your client’s name, and why they feel a claim is in order. If you call any branch of that title company (or the only branch, depending on the size of the title company), they should have a directory and protocol to advise you of the name, address and department of the authorized recipient for the claim. If they don’t, simply ask for the name and address of the manager for their title department.
This must be a written request, and perhaps sent certified if it involves a title company with which you’re not familiar. (Hate to say it, but experience time and again with my clients over unknown title companies has required me to suggest this caveat).
This SHOULD be all that’s necessary to prompt communication from the title company to you/your client over the proposed claim. From there, you and your client will have the details of the proposed claim, and the title company should work expeditiously towards an amiable settlement for your client. However, sometimes that’s just not the case. If this is you, then please read on.
2. If you don’t receive any communication from the title company in question after the first letter (say, 2 weeks maximum), send another certified letter, and this time request the authorized recipient’s email address. Perhaps the person did not receive the first letter, and an email will serve as a ‘heads-up’ that you’re making a second attempt to contact someone who can resolve your client’s claim issue, promptly.

3. If after having done both letters, you have no response (say, another two weeks), you may want to seek help from the regulatory agency for the title company in question – the state of Colorado Division of Insurance. Nobody likes to get someone else in trouble. But after two certified attempts and an email to get any response, the title company in question isn’t leaving you with many choices. Your next step is to contact the Division of Insurance, explain your complaint, and provide proof of your attempts to make a claim. Without question, they will work as an advocate to help you and your client get an answer to your claim request.
As always, there are exceptions to every situation. My intent is to educate the real estate professional on obtaining assistance for their client in a more timely fashion, thus relieving stress and apprehension in the homeownership world.