A.M. BestTV U.S. Title Insurance Industry Results Outshine Broader Commercial Sector, Says Senior Research Analyst

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- In this A.M.BestTV episode, David Blades, senior industry research analyst, A.M. Best, discusses a new Best's Special Report on the U.S. title insurance sector, which has experienced another year of growth and stable outlook. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=title1017 to view the entire program.

"Presently, A.M. Best's outlook for the title insurance sector is stable," said Blades. "This outlook is actually counter to our prevailing outlook for the overall commercial insurance market, which is negative. The stable outlook, basically, reflects consistent underwriting performance that generates consistent underwriting profits and consistent operating performance that remains strong. Additionally, effective expense management, which is critical to title insurers, has been one of the keys to the consistency in the results."

Blades also spoke about the industry's direct premium growth and the impact of the housing market on that growth.

"Direct premium growth in 2016, which was 9%, definitely did pale somewhat in comparison with the 16% growth from 2015. The steady but somewhat slowing growth in the housing market is one factor that impacted the lower premium growth in 2016," said Blades.

Blades said he believes that by the end of the year, the industry likely will have recorded another year of modest premium growth.

To access a copy of this Best's Special Report, titled, "Title Sector Withstands Challenges, for Another Year of Strong Operating Performance," visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=266647.

Recent episodes of A.M.BestTV include: U.S. Distributors See Changing London Lineup, Risk Appetite: Brokers and attorneys involved with the program business and managing general agents' sectors said startups and acquisitions, along with a broader interest by London insurers in liability risks, are opening new coverage opportunities: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=chartwalkup917. Regulation a Hurdle to Innovation and Growing Burden to Mutuals, Say Execs: At the NAMIC convention, executives said new standards for corporate governance, cybersecurity and international compliance are consuming more of their attention: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=namic4917. Risk Management Gaining Ground in Higher Education: At NAMIC, a panel of association and academic leaders said interest from students and insurers is driving the growth of insurance and risk management programs at the college level: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=namic2917. Young Insurers Gear Up for Annual Conference, Diversity Efforts: Noelle Codispoti, executive director, Gamma Iota Sigma, said the group is set for a large turnout at their international conference in Dallas and events in multiple cities: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=gis1017. A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv. A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright © 2017 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171009005946/en/