Title Insurers in Talks With Lenders on Foreclosure Warranties - Bloomberg

Title Insurers in Talks With Lenders on Foreclosure Warranties - Bloomberg: "A decision on the new warranties may be reached by the end of the week, Pfotenhauer said. The assurances would help lenders resume foreclosures of homes with mortgage defaults and continue selling off their backlog of repossessed properties, he said. Pfotenhauer wouldn’t name the companies or regulators involved in the talks.

The shares of Jacksonville, Florida-based Fidelity National Financial Corp., the largest U.S. title insurer, have dropped 9.9 percent this month. Santa Ana, California-based First American Financial Co., the No. 2 insurer, has fallen 5.4 percent.

Insurers’ Costs Rise

Costs for title insurers to defend customers and reimburse for lost properties rose to $480.5 million in the first half of 2010, an increase of 14 percent from a year earlier, according to the American Land Title Association.

Among the tasks performed by title insurers is reviewing the public record for a court order that confirms a bank owns a particular property before it’s foreclosed on, Pfotenhauer said"