TPPF Releases Paper on Title Insurance Reform

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 23 -- Texas Public Policy Foundation issued the following news release:

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) today released a paper by Vice President of Research and Director of the Center for Economic Freedom Bill Peacock, examining the harmful impact of Texas' monopolistic title insurance market.

The paper, Texas' Title Insurance Tax, finds that Texas, the nation's most heavily regulated title insurance market, has the fifth highest prices for title insurance in the country. Because the government sets a fixed rate, it prevents competition for consumers' business.

Consumers cannot shop around and are instead forced to purchase one-size-fits-all title insurance policies. The result is increased costs of millions of dollars every year for both consumers and businesses.

"Texas' 'title insurance tax' can be laid squarely at the feet of its 'title insurance monopoly' created by industry-supported regulation," said Peacock. "The prescription for eliminating Texas' title insurance tax is simple: introduce competition into the market so consumers can shop for the best price. This solution, however, is not proving easy, with the title insurance industry actively opposing competition and consumer choice."

To read the full paper, please visit: http://txpo.li/2jcFTNF

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