Title Insurance Ratings
Kroll Bond Ratings Agency (KBRA) offers two products to evaluate title insurance companies: Claims-Paying Ability Ratings and Commercial Capacity Limits. Both versions are in the form of electronic reports delivered to our clients on a quarterly basis and includes a comprehensive year-end edition and three quarterly updates.
Claims-Paying Ability Ratings
- Rates the claims-paying ability of approximately 52 title insurance underwriters in the United States
- Rated quarterly, as underwriter's financial condition can be significantly affected by changes in interest rates and economic conditions, as well as fundamental changes within the industry itself.
- The service enables mortgage lenders to comply with Fannie Mae's requirement that "Lenders must independently verify the ratings for the title insurance companies they use with the applicable rating agency once every six months." Kroll Bond Ratings is an accepted rating company for title insurance underwriters by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae").
- Kroll Bond Ratings has developed two separate services which contain Title Insurance Underwriter Ratings.
| |
Ratio/Item Definitions |
Data/Ratings Spread |
Financial Statements |
Background Information |
Areas of Operations |
| Extensive Service |
Yes |
2 Pages |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Standard Service |
Yes |
2 Pages |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Commercial Capacity Limits
- Is an independent source of critical information on the capacity of title insurers to write large policies--and to assume reinsurance--in conjunction with major commercial real estate and mortgage lending transactions.
- The service is designed to assist in the establishment of an insurer's single risk limit, as well as the structuring of facultative reinsurance transactions by financial institutions, major insurance companies, real estate attorneys, and other participants.
- In order to be included in the service, a title insurer must be capable of assuming a retained risk of at least $1,000,000.
- Included in the service are capacity estimates on the larger title insurance companies for underwriting commercial policies.