Will TitleWizard cast a spell on regulators?

Can a Web site solve the problems California regulators have with an alleged lack of competition in the title insurance industry? Maybe not by itself, but the state's insurance commissioner, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Poizner, thought enough of a demo he saw of the site, TitleWizard, to cite it as an example of the kind of efforts he'd like to see the industry make to increase consumer choice (see Inman News story).

Two years in the making, TitleWizard is being touted as a tool for consumers, who will be able to track down title insurers in their area, get information on rates and policies, and use a "Learning Center" to educate themselves about the closing process. The site was developed in conjunction with the California Land Title Association for use in California, but can be adapted for other states, site developer Anthony Farwell told Inman News this week at the CLTA's annual convention in San Francisco.

Watch highlights of Poizner's speech, get a briefing on TitleWizard from Farwell (above), and listen to some of what CLTA President Rich Macaluso, and Deputy Insurance Commissioner Woody Girion's have to say on the current status of a proposal to cap title insurance rates in California based on providers' actual costs.

In a panel discussion before Poizner's speech, Girion said he thought TitleWizard was a promising idea, but questioned whether consumers would use it. (Another site that allows consumers to shop for title insurance, Get Title Insurance, was launched last summer, and there are others out there).

Many home buyers rely on their real estate agent, mortgage broker or home builder to help them select their title insurance policy. As a result, title insurers market to those who control the customer relationship, rather than customers themselves, Poizner and other regulators have said.

"The relationship building expenses, some legal, some that have been deemed to be illegal, between the title industry and other players in the real estate transaction, is at the core in my view of the problem," Poizner said.

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