There were $4.09 billion in premiums generated across the title insurance industry during the second quarter, according to the Q2 2024 Market Share Analysis report from the American Land Title Association (ALTA).
That’s up from $3.35 billion in the first quarter and from $3.92 billion during the second quarter of last year, underscoring a strong period that saw the industry turn a proverbial corner. Title premiums written had fallen year over year for seven straight quarters before the second quarter’s annual jump.
The stout quarter helped push title premium volume during the first six months of 2024 up 2% compared to the same period last year.
Q2 brought positives in several other financial categories. Total operating income across the industry was up 3.5% annually, helping push the collective net operating gain to $213.7 million. Net income totaled $300.9 million, a 12.5% yearly uptick from $267.4 million to rise to the sixth highest Q2 net income on record.
With total assets equaling $11.3 billion, a collective statutory surplus of $5.0 billion and statutory reserves of $5.6 billions, the industry is in healthy financial shape.
“The second quarter results reflect the strength and adaptability of the title insurance industry as the housing market experiences slowly decreasing mortgage rates after peaking in October 2023,” said Diane Tomb, CEO of ALTA. “Title insurance professionals continue to play a critical role in preventing fraud and protecting property rights, ensuring secure real estate transactions in this evolving market. As we move forward, the title industry remains dedicated to providing exceptional service and peace of mind to homebuyers and lenders.”
Thirty-seven states posted year-over-year increases in premiums during the second quarter, led by Delaware with a whopping 20% annual gain. Nine of the 10 states with the largest title insurance premium volume logged increases year over year. Texas led all states with $606.8 million in volume in the second quarter (up 2.1% year over year), followed by Florida with $525.7 million (up 2.8%), California with $378.5 million (up 5.5%) and New York with $227.5 million (up 5.1%).
First American Title Insurance Co. was the largest individual underwriter by Q2 market share at 21.5%, followed by Fidelity National Title (15%), Old Republic National Title (14.4%), Chicago Title (13.8%) and Stewart Title (8.7%).
