As the title insurance industry moves into 2026, executives say it faces a complex mix of market pressures, regulatory shifts and escalating fraud risks.
Leading executives who sat down with HousingWire are focusing on technology, operational efficiency and agent support — aiming to keep operations resilient while preparing for market recovery.
Ryan Swed, group president of direct operations at Stewart Title, described the industry’s recent challenges.
“With the prolonged downturn in the market, a lot of our focus, whether that’s internally for our own operations or for title agents across the country, has been, ‘How do we create leverage, whether that’s broad AI tools, support and title production, and so on?’” he said. “Obviously, a prolonged downturn has everybody taking a look at their businesses — and how do you not overstaff when the recovery comes? It always comes at some point.”
Iain Bryant, group president of agency operations, emphasized the economic pressures agents currently face.
“This has just been a super tough environment, only slightly better than last year, which was one of the worst markets we’ve seen in 35 years,” he said. “I think because of that, and sort of the persisting economic challenges, title agents are evaluating their underwriter partnerships more critically than they ever have before.
“They’re looking at what value their partners are bringing. I take it as a good thing, both as a challenge for us at Stewart to raise our game with our current agents, as well as to get after new partnerships.”
Sally Tyler — president of First American Title and a 2024 HousingWire Vanugard — highlighted positive factors that supported 2025 performance.
“Easing mortgage rates, recovering inventory levels in some markets, and a modest improvement in affordability translated into steady improvement in the real estate market this year — lifting the title industry’s performance,” she said. “Increased residential sales, more refinance transactions and more commercial real estate transactions this year compared to last, all contributed to more transactional activity this year.
“A bigger and again growing market are beneficial for the title industry, which has significantly increased the total amount to title insurance premium written in 2025 compared to 2024.”
Industry performance solid amid headwinds
Falling mortgage rates boosted Q3 2025 performance for the nation’s four largest title insurers.
First American saw revenue rise 41% to $2.0 billion, with title revenue up 42% to $1.836 billion — while Stewart Title’s overall revenue hit $796.9 million, with title revenue up 19% to $659.9 million.
Fidelity reported $4.03 billion in total revenue, with title revenue up 8% to $2.3 billion.
Old Republic posted $2.086 billion in total revenue and $767 million in title premiums.
Smaller players such as Investors Title Co. reported $73 million in Q3 revenue, a 6% increase.
The American Land Title Association reported industry-wide first- and second-quarter 2025 premium volumes of $3.9 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively.
Technology, fraud prevention lead priorities
Bryant stressed that technology consolidation is reshaping title operations.
“A number of players have announced their exit from the business via acquisition,” he said. “So, the number of title production systems available to an agent have gone precipitously down over the last couple of years. That’s a huge technology trend and it drives the existing players in the (title production system) market to invest in their platforms or get left behind.”
Stewart has also expanded fraud prevention.
“There’s almost any agent of any size at this point in time who has experienced a wire fraud loss of some kind,” Bryant said. “More and more are adopting (fraud prevention tools) at a rate that they never had before because of the risks that have come to bear and the amount of losses.”
Tyler described First American’s targeted automation strategy.
“In title production, the most meaningful innovations focused on improving the efficiency and consistency of quality control processes,” she said. “Automated data ingestion, standardized reviews and exception-based handling reduced manual touchpoints, rework, and defects — while improving accuracy and throughput.
In closing efficiency, the gains came from improving the closer experience by automating routine tasks and ensuring the right information is available at the right time.”
Digital closing platforms, integrated settlement workflows, eRecording and API-based integrations reduced handoffs, cycle time and cognitive load for closers, Tyler added.
“On fraud prevention, real-time wire validation, account ownership verification, identity proofing and behavioral anomaly detection significantly reduced loss exposure, while improving customer trust,” she said. “Centralized operations and shared services amplified these benefits.”
Regulatory shifts on the horizon
Swed noted the expansion of FinCEN’s Geographic Targeting Orders nationwide and upcoming reporting rule requirements.
“Stewart spent some time preparing to launch a different approach in the marketplace, to take the burden off of in-office staff with this now being countrywide,” he said. “It certainly brings a lot of compliance risk to large and small companies, starting at dollar one. This is one of the largest anti-money laundering laws to go into effect across our industry, so it’ll have a large impact on how we process the business in 2026.”
Tyler outlined potential industry effects stemming from government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) reforms and the title waiver pilot program.
“The title and settlement industry is primarily regulated at the state level and our industry actively engages with state legislatures and departments of insurance in constructive dialogue on how to help protect property rights and enhance the homebuying process,” she said. “The ongoing discussions regarding GSE reform has the potential to impact title and settlement practices, so that remains an important focus for engagement with the administration for our industry.
“While technically not regulation, Fannie and Freddie’s seller and servicing guidelines function as regulations for the title and settlement industry. Any shifts in those guidelines — including changes to the acceptance of attorney opinion letters in lieu of title insurance — has the potential to significantly increase risk to property owners with little to no cost savings in most cases.”
Strategic priorities for 2026
Both Stewart and First American are focusing on supporting agents through technology and education.
Bryant noted Stewart’s virtual underwriter platform — enhanced with AI-driven automation for low-level underwriting questions.
“We have an insurance audit capability now for our agents,” he said. “In almost every review, we find gaps that folks didn’t know were there. Then [also] have a financial advisement service to help them benchmark against the industry and stay competitive.”
Tyler emphasized First American’s “simplify and amplify” strategy.
“Our goal is to be the one place they need to go — a seamless, end-to-end experience that removes friction rather than adding to it,” she said. “Second, we’re amplifying the expertise of our agents by combining new technologies, including AI, with our deep data assets and industry insight.
“For example, our AI-powered AgentNet Assist tool gives title agents access to trusted research instantly, enhancing outcomes and helping elevate their customers’ experience, saving thousands of hours every year. Internally, we are piloting AI to improve the quality of our search product for agents while maintaining turn times.”
Title leaders agree that industry recovery remains tied to broader economic trends, regulatory clarity and operational efficiency.
Armed with smarter tools and sharper processes, the industry hopes to turn cautious optimism into measurable growth in 2026.
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