Who is the OAITA?

OAITA is an Ohio non-profit corporation consisting of independent title insurance agents and interested real estate settlement services industry stakeholders from across Ohio who share a common philosophy about the value of independence and autonomy in real estate transactions.

What does OAITA stand for?

1. OAITA members believe that the title insurance industry has been degraded by the legal and illegal affiliations which exist between title agents and their title business referral partners -- lenders, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, real estate brokersand builders. Those relationships have undermined the value of title insurance in Ohio, harmed a consumer's right of choice in the real estate settlement processand virtually eliminated fair competition in our industry. Instead, OAITA members are those title insurance agents and interested real estate settlement services industry stakeholders who advocate for fair competition in the title insurance industry and transparency in the real estate settlement process.

2. OAITA members are small business owners, real estate entrepreneurs and title insurance professionals who either operate title insurance businesses and related real estate settlement services as independent entities without controlled business arrangements or who support the philosophy of an independent title insurance industry.

3. OAITA members believe that truly independent title agents and agencies help make title insurance costs more competitive, help lower title insurance claims, and help protect the ultimate consuming public from real estate-related litigation.

4. OAITA advocates for the advancement of professional licensing standards for title abstractors and title examiners in Ohio.  Currently, there are no such standards in Ohio, yet the title search – the product of a title abstractor’s labor – is at the heart of the title insurance industry.  OAITA also seeks to define and standardize the practices of title examination so that non-licensed persons or persons otherwise prohibited by law will not engage in the practice of title examination without a license and within the confines of a normalized standard of conduct.

5. OAITA believes that minimum title search standards are necessary as part of our broader mission to improve competition and reduce risk within the title insurance industry.  It is now widely known that national title insurance underwriters have steadily reduced the minimum title search standards within the title insurance industry through the advent of short search products and offshore title search production.  OAITA seeks to enhance consumer protections by advocating for the codification of minimum title search standards in Ohio.

6. OAITA regularly appears before the state department of insurance testifying on behalf of independent title insurance agents and independent settlement service professionals.  OAITA was instrumental in convincing the ODI to recently withdraw their proposed Title Insurance Inducements Rule known as OAC 3901-7-06 and getting the ODI to fine-tune the Escrow Account Review Rule known as OAC 3901-7-01.

What is OAITA doing for independent title agents, independent real estate settlement service providers and the ultimate consuming public?

OAITA promotes fair standards regarding title insurance in Ohio and advocates for the advancement of issues relevant to the independent settlement service provider. We are participating in private policy change by pursuing litigation to help reinforce existing Ohio law regarding title insurance and real estate settlement services. We also support favorable initiatives relative to the independent title insurance and independent real estate settlement service provider movements in Ohio.

What can you do to support us?

Get involved. Join our organization. Become a member today. Read our blog and keep aware of important issues that affect the title insurance industry and real estate settlement services industry in Ohio and the nation. Tell your friends in the industry about us. If you are concerned about your place in the title insurance industry or the real estate settlement services industry, you should be a part of our organization!

"Together, change is possible.”