For Immediate Release

American Land Title Association Announces Winners of Title Webbies

Washington, DC, October 11, 2018 — The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, has announced the winners of the Title Webbies, an awards program recognizing member companies that have created or redesigned the best title industry consumer-facing website or page within the past year.

The two Title Webbies were presented during ALTA ONE, the largest annual event for the land title insurance industry, currently being held Oct. 9-12 in Los Angeles. Nominees in the two categories—Best Website-Title Agents and Best Website-Underwriters—were judged on mobile friendliness, overall user experience, social-media integration, image/video use and content quality.

Florida’s Title Insurance Co. (FTIC) was selected as the winner in the Best Website-Title Agents category. Randy Gilbert JD, FTIC chief happiness officer, accepted the award on the company’s behalf.

“We designed a completely unique approach using original content, cheeky humor poking fun at our industry, simple analogies to help the average person understand title insurance, interactive documents typically seen at a closing, easy-to-navigate buttons for ADA accessibility and over 80 high-definition ‘playful family’ images of multicultural demographics, races and handicaps that real people can relate to so they go in to the closing expecting an experience – not just a paper title policy. Hopefully, our website comes as a wake-up call to the industry to refocus on who our end users really are.”

Additionally, FTIC took an intentional approach to making a mundane product, such as title insurance, fun. The homepage is interactive: The cursor causes the main water photo to “ripple” as you navigate the page. The links, including “Title Insurance for Dummies,” “Who Pays for What,” “70+ Ways to Lose Your Property,” and “Mission Kreplach,” which details the company’s values, provide useful consumer information in an entertaining way.

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. was chosen as the Best Website-Underwriters winner. Westcor’s website draws consumers in with vibrant colors and the memorable phrase, “Title insurance is boring. We’re not.” The website includes simple language explaining why a homebuyer needs title insurance; a national rate calculator also is easy to find from the top navigation bar.

Westcor COO Scott Chandler, CTIS, NTP accepted the award for the company.

“We are super excited to have a fresh, new look to our company website,” Chandler said. “Being one of the first points of contact many people will have with Westcor, we wanted the website to reflect both our company culture and our Number One asset that makes us who we are: our people. While we’ve greatly simplified the design of the site, we also were able to add new features that make browsing, contacting us and getting more info on becoming an agent much easier.”

“For many consumers, buying a home is the single largest investment they will make in their lifetime, and ALTA’s Title Webbies shine a spotlight on the importance of consumer education and accessibility,” said Cornelia Horner, ALTA’s interim CEO and chief operating officer. “We encourage the land title insurance industry to focus on clearly explaining the closing process and communicating the benefits of title insurance to consumers. We wholeheartedly congratulate FTIC and Westcor for winning these well-deserved awards. We admire them for their hard work, creativity and ingenuity as well as their obvious thoughtfulness about the title industry’s big picture.”

 

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About ALTA

 

The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is the national trade association representing more than 6,200 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers, and real estate attorneys. With offices throughout the United States, ALTA members conduct title searches, examinations, closings, and issue title insurance that protects real property owners and mortgage lenders against losses from defects in titles. Connect with ALTA on Facebook here. Follow ALTA on Twitter here.

Contact: Megan Hernandez
Office: 202-261-0315
Email: mhernandez@alta.org

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