ALTA Releases New Tools for Implementation of Best Practices
When
planning for the future, it can be helpful to start by looking at the
past. It’s hard to fathom that just one year ago (August
20th to be exact) the ALTA Board Governors met in Chicago to start the
process of drafting ALTA’s “Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best
Practices.” Since then, ALTA has not only finalized the
Best Practices but also made improvements with Version 2.0. The Board also went on
the road to talk with agents and underwriters about why we developed the Best Practices, the Best Practices Task Force met with both national
and warehouse lenders to explore how the Best Practices can meet
their needs and help them know the partners with whom they do business.
Most recently, we created a set of assessment
procedures and a model certification.
While
we have done a lot in the past year on the Best Practices, we recognize
that there is much for ALTA to do to help our members
adopt the Best Practices. That is why we are pleased to kick off the
second year of the Best Practices with ALTA’s “Best Practices Assessment
Preparation Workbook.”
The
Best Practices Workbook provides ALTA members with a tool to help gauge
their company’s readiness with ALTA’s “Title Insurance
and Settlement Company Best Practices.” This invaluable tool lets
companies identify issues that should be addressed to meet the
requirements of the Best Practices and provides an easy framework for
collecting all the documentation necessary to prepare for
a Best Practices Assessment. Best of all, we are pleased to offer this
tool free to all ALTA members.
Over
400 people attended our Best Practices webinar last Thursday (Aug. 22) in which
we launched the Best Practices Workbook. Right now, only
Chapter 1 (Licensing) is available. Over the next month we will release
the other six chapters, which correspond to each of the Best Practice
pillars. The Best Practices Workbook can be found at www.alta.org/bestpractices/workbooks.cfm. If you missed the webinar, here's a recording:
The
Best Practices Workbook is available as a Microsoft Excel document. It
is a series of questions about your company’s current
business practices. Each question should be answered with either a yes
or no. Some questions may require a narrative response. In addition, the
Best Practices Workbook asks you to indicate whether the practice is
documented in your written procedures and whether
your company has a system for determining whether you and your employees
are following those procedures. Included with the Best Practices
Workbook is an instructional video and welcome letter to help you to get
the most value out of the Workbook. Here's the tutorial video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2tlpAF-c94
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2tlpAF-c94
One
aspect of this workbook I highly recommend is the automatic “Action
Items” report of controls and procedures that identifies
issues your company should work on or put in writing to meet the Best
Practices. This Action Items report can only be produced if you complete
the workbook electronically. We think ALTA’s “Best Practices Assessment
Preparation Workbook” is a great tool and
we hope that members find it to be helpful not only as you prepare for a
Best Practices Assessment but also in the day-to-day running of your
company.
For more information on ALTA's "Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices," go to www.alta.org/bestpractices.
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