United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-04-26 monographic deposited born digital 13 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-569T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T P0b002ee18037894f f:d06569t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T GAO-06-569T Consumer protection Cost analysis Financial analysis Insurance Insurance companies Insurance premiums Insurance regulation Investigations by federal agencies Kickbacks Testimony A52540 Title insurance is a required element of almost all real estate purchases and is not an insignificant cost for consumers. However, consumers generally do not have the knowledge needed to "shop around" for title insurance and usually rely on professionals involved in real estate--such as lenders, real estate agents, and attorneys--for advice in selecting a title insurer. Recent state and federal investigations into title insurance sales have identified practices that may have benefited these professionals and title insurance providers at the expense of consumers. At the request of the House Financial Services Committee, GAO currently has work under way studying the title insurance industry, including pricing, competition, the size of the market, the roles of the various participants in the market, and how the industry is regulated. This testimony discusses the preliminary results of GAO's work to date and identifies issues for further study. In so doing, this testimony focuses on: (1) the reasonableness of cost structures and agent practices common to the title insurance market that are not typical of other insurance markets; (2) the implications of activities identified in recent state and federal investigations that may have benefited real estate professionals rather than consumers; and (3) the potential need for regulatory changes that would affect the way that title insurance is sold. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T.pdf GAO-06-569T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-569T Testimony GAO-06-569T; Title Insurance: Preliminary Views and Issues for Further Study; Consumer protection Cost analysis Financial analysis Insurance Insurance companies Insurance premiums Insurance regulation Investigations by federal agencies Kickbacks Volume 88 Page 1724 88 Stat. 1724