Lenders are developing policies to ensure they are compliant with new regulatory requirements to oversee the service providers they utilize, including title and settlement agents.

ALTA is developing industry best practices to meet these lender demands. The industry is under a tight deadline and to help accomplish this, ALTA needs information on processes and procedures our members already have in place that meet lender needs. Time is of the essence, so please take a few minutes to take this short survey and help us protect title and settlement agents’ role in the transaction. Please note that all information will remain confidential and data will only be used in the aggregate.

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* 1. Does your company maintain appropriate written procedures and controls for escrow trust accounts allowing for electronic verification of reconciliation?

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* 2. Does your company maintain separate operating and escrow accounts?

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* 3. Does your company perform monthly three-way reconciliation (book, bank and file) of its accounts?

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* 4. How often does your company perform background checks on employees who have access to consumer funds?

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* 5. How often does your company run credit reports of employees who have access to consumer funds?

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* 6. Does your company have a “clean desk” policy requiring employees to close files containing non-public personal information when not at their desk?

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* 7. Does your company lock all documents, portable devices and electronic media containing non-public personal information in a desk, file cabinet or secure room overnight?

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* 8. Does your company use strong passwords (8+ characters including numbers, symbols, upper and lower case) for its computers and require frequent password updates?

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* 9. When emailing documents, does your company transmit non-public personal information via password protected attachments or other secure connections?

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* 10. On average, how long after closing a transaction does it take your company to record documents?

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* 11. On average, how long after closing a transaction does it take your company to deliver title policies to customers?

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* 12. Does your company remit title premiums to your underwriter by the last day of the month following the month in which the insured transaction was consummated?

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* 13. Does your company carry errors and omissions insurance?

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* 14. If your company has errors and omissions insurance, how much coverage do you have?

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* 15. Does your company carry any other professional liability insurance (fidelity, surety)?

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* 16. Does your company have procedures to ensure that customers are charged the appropriate rates?

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* 17. Does your company have a policy in place to respond to consumer complaints?

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* 18. Has your company been contacted by a lender requiring you to submit information to a third-party vetting company in order to continue receiving business from the lender?

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* 19. Has your company registered with a third-party vetting company?

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