Raising Our Voices: Diane Tomb, ALTA's CEO, on Advocating for the Title Industry and Its Impact

As the real estate landscape continues to evolve, the role of the title agent has become more critical than ever. Beyond facilitating smooth transactions, title professionals are now at the forefront of protecting consumers from fraud and ensuring the security of homeownership.

Yet, despite their pivotal role, the work of title agents often goes unnoticed. The industry is being called to step up and tell its story more boldly. 

In this excerpt from a candid and insightful conversation, Diane Tomb, CEO of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), and Tom Cronkright, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of CertifID, discuss how the title industry can amplify its voice, highlight the vital work being done behind the scenes, and continue to protect the American dream of homeownership.

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TOM CRONKRIGHT: So Diane, thank you so much for joining and your leadership. ALTA does a phenomenal job of highlighting the good work that ALTA members are doing within their communities. 

DIANE TOMB: Well, thank you, Tom. We know there are a lot of big, national organizations and we don't have the kind of bandwidth to support those at that level. So we're really focused on what our members are doing in their communities and how we can enhance that.

That piece of it—that's a really critical piece for us, too. We want to continue that good work because we need to tell our story. And that's a big part of who we are as an industry; what we do in our communities. One of the things I know you and I touched on this morning was that [telling our story] at the local level is going to be more critical than ever.

I’ve said this in the past, and I'll say it again: Our industry is amazing. They're people who want to get it done. We go to the 11th hour, and we do everything accurately, but we're not really good at telling our story. We're not really good at talking about who we are.

We need to be more bold. We need to be less humble. And we need to get that message out there. 

CRONKRIGHT: I agree. We kind of sit in the transaction as this silent partner. We defer the optics to the real estate agent, or the mortgage lender, or the builder developer. 

One of the things that we're going to do at our agency is we're going to start to highlight the miracles that we pull off. We're gonna start to highlight the fact that we solved the access issue, or we went and got the missing deed in the chain. It's one thing to write over it, but it's another thing to solve the title issue and pay that forward.

Also, we're going to do a better job of saying this is why you're paying for the title insurance and the curative that goes into it, so we don't have a claim. We’re even thinking about how we package and distribute that to state lawmakers and regulators.

TOMB: Right. We should get credit for the work we're doing because as you know, there's misinformation out there. And it's not that we haven't tried to fight that back. Some people have an agenda and want to be in our business or think they can do it better than us. And they put out that false narrative that our claims are so low.

We've made it very clear that there's a significant amount of work that happens up front. To your point, until we start showing what that is and how that happens, that's going to continue.

And one thing that we have done this year is a significant amount of research. Data is so critical today to be able to fight back on a lot of the false narratives that are out there.

CRONKRIGHT: So I was recently asked by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to give them an update on the intersection of wire fraud and the insurance industry that they're collectively regulating.

What stuck to me is that the presenter in front of me was talking about the updated survey; they're doing a survey of the title industry itself. He mentioned that more one commissioner agreed that the cost to produce the title insurance product is unlike any other form of insurance being regulated. You could get an auto insurance quote or a homeowner's quote in five seconds—or even go to the exchange and get health insurance.

But they are recognizing that the cost of goods on what it takes to deliver title insurance is something very different, considering the insurance is retroactive, not prospective. It goes from the closing table and back in time rather than that you're insuring for some future event that actually is going to take place.

TOMB: Yeah, and our job is to educate them. I know the conversations we've had with the folks at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners think we are a very well-regulated industry. They can't really understand why folks at the federal level feel like they need to do something. They are our advocates. Our job is to get them to be our voice as well. So the folks who are misguided in terms of what we do and how we do it can really understand, and we can make our case.

The good news is, Tom, we have really done a ton of work on this issue in the last two years. We do have support on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, which is critical, particularly as we go into this election.

And that’s our job—to continue to educate folks. So it's our opportunity to capture that, embrace it, and make sure people understand our value. Because once they understand it, they really understand it.

We're getting there, but we've got a lot of work to do. That's the challenge of our industry. I think folks recognize it when something comes up. Being able to tell these stories and highlight what we've done, or, in your case, how you guys are doing that with the money that you are recovering or that you avoided—all of those things just reinforce the good work that we're doing.

I think the biggest and most important thing we're doing is standing up for ourselves.

CRONKRIGHT: I know we've said it a couple of times, but I believe we can all take this back to our communities. Sharing that through the data that you're providing and through the data that we need to start to gather locally.

What I understand more than ever now is that facts and figures are one thing, but people remember stories. They remember examples. They remember what we did, like a first-time homebuyer starting a family and being able to enjoy that promise of home ownership that all Americans strive for. And without our involvement and everybody’s cooperation, they wouldn't be here. Or this thing would have happened, and they prevented that thing from happening. 

So we have to stand up for ourselves, punch above our weight, raise our voices, and make sure people really do understand and value that. I don't think the environment's going to change, but what I think has changed, and we have more work to do, is how we're talking about it.

TOMB: I smile every time I hear it. Nobody actually goes to school to become a title insurance underwriter or agent, right? But once you're in it, it's really hard to leave, because it's so fascinating. It's so critical to who we are and the prosperity of our nation.

I feel like we have a real role that we play. We’ve got to get that broader message out. We've got to just keep hitting it home.

CRONKRIGHT: I know that [ALTA] has been working tirelessly to arm us with the narrative and the talking points. Because we can be the distribution leg, as we've talked about many times, into our local states and our local communities. 

And again, in a very unapologetic way, we work our tails off. We work so hard for every closed transaction and it's just not reflective on a spreadsheet. There's so much more to the story.

TOMB: And I know reading some of the misinformation out there is frustrating and personal because we get up every day and we work really hard. And it's amazing the amount of work that we get done. But, to your point, we can't do it alone.

We have to bring in a whole new army and we have to get everybody up to speed. And we’ve got to battle at the local level because it's the most personal, and is very much about relationships.

We can provide the information, but who people hear this from—like their trusted person who's guided them—is critical and important. I know a lot of times our members don't feel comfortable talking to a member of Congress, but that's who they want to hear from. [Congress] wants to hear from you. 

These issues have really brought us together as an industry. We don't have to agree on everything, but we can be a voice multiplier.

CRONKRIGHT: Yeah, there are existential threats that just through education go away very quickly. That's your attorney general, that's your insurance commissioner regulator’s office, or assembly, or house—however, it's structured in your state.

But everyone will support the safety and soundness of homeownership. That is not an arguable point. That is a fact that needs to be delivered at every jurisdictional level in the state.

TOMB: Yeah. My favorite saying is we're the “Title Party.” We'll work with anybody and everybody. We don't distinguish between that because we want everybody to be in a home. We want everybody to have that benefit. We want to keep them there, most importantly.

CRONKRIGHT: All right, Diane, thank you so much. I love talks like this.

TOMB: Well, thank you for your partnership. The work that you guys are doing has just been incredible. It's helped elevate us.

CRONKRIGHT: A hundred percent. Have a good day, Diane.

TOMB: Thanks, Tom.

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This discussion was originally held on October 10, 2024, as part of our To Catch a Fraudster webinar series. These selections have been edited for length and clarity.