Title insurers see 15% premium boost in Q1  

Title insurers produced approximately 15% more premiums year-over-year in the first quarter, benefitting from the over 40% increase in loan production.

But a fair share of the volume growth came from refinancings as mortgage rates sank and actually fell below 6% for a brief period at the end of February.

Title policies for refi transactions do not generate as large a fee as those for purchase.

As an industry, title underwriters produced $4.5 billion in premiums during the first quarter, versus $3.9 billion one year prior.

During the period, lenders originated 1.46 million residential real estate finance loans, compared with 1.03 million for the first quarter of 2025, the Mortgage Bankers Association's May forecast said. The refinance share grew to 43% from 32% during the period.

By dollar volume, total originations of $551 billion compared with $384 billion in first quarter 2025, with refis holding a 40% share, up from 29%.

How the large underwriters performed in the first quarter

At three of the four major title insurance families, direct order opened volume increased year-over-year, the exception being Old Republic, whose model is shifting to drive more business from agents, first quarter earnings reports showed.

Still, Old Republic generated 14% more premiums year-over-year from agents, versus a 6% gain from its direct business, it said in its first quarter results.

"The industry's first-quarter results reflect the continued demand for the critical work title companies perform to identify hidden risks, prevent losses and protect property rights," Chris Morton, ALTA's chief executive, said in a press release. "Even as fraud threats and transaction complexity continue to increase, title professionals remain focused on delivering the certainty and peace of mind consumers, investors and lenders deserve."

The single largest underwriter remains First American Title Insurance, with a 24.2% market share. For the same period last year, it had a 22.9% share.

An affiliate, First American Title Guaranty, had a 1.4% share.

The combined 26.2% share at the holding company level still trails that of Fidelity National Financial, whose three units in the top 10 have a 29.7% stake.

Fidelity National Title has a 13.9% share and is in the No. 2 slot, down from 14.1% a year ago. Chicago Title, ranked fourth, has a 12.6% share (12.9% for the first quarter of 2025), while Commonwealth Land Title has a 3.2% share (unchanged).

Old Republic National Title was third at 13.7%, down from 14% one year prior. Ranked fifth is Stewart Title Guaranty at 11.3%, an over 2 percentage point gain from 9.2% in the first quarter of 2025.

What company holds the largest share outside of the big four

Westcor Land Title remains the largest of the independent title underwriters, at 4.7% for the most recent period. For the same period last year, it had a 4.2% share.

However, Title Resources Guaranty moved to seventh overall, ahead of Commonwealth, with 3.3% of the first quarter business, compared with 3.1% the prior year.

WFG ranked ninth at 2.8%, compared with 2.7% one year prior.

Title underwriters paid out almost $151 million in claims during the first quarter, down from $161 million for the same period last year, ALTA said.

Texas was the state with the most premiums written during the first quarter, $617.5 million, up 8%. But among the top five, Pennsylvania had remarkable growth, a gain of over 46% from the prior year, with $203.5 million written.