September 16, 2008
Letter from CLTA President, Larry Buster
When getting ready to attend my first CLTA Meeting as President, I felt fully prepared. Though our Board of Governors was faced with the daunting task of trying to pass our 2008-2009 Budget, we had a Plan B that could be put into effect if all else failed.
Craig Page, CLTA’s capable Executive Vice President, may not have liked making minimum wage for the next 6 weeks, but that was a sacrifice I was prepared to make.
Fortunately, both for me and those that benefit from the work performed by the CLTA, Plan B did not need to be put into effect after all. Thanks to a legacy of strong leadership, membership involvement and an excellent staff, CLTA is as strong and relevant as ever, ready to protect the service and professionalism that our industry values. My sincere thanks to Margaret Foster, CLTA’s immediate past president, for her outstanding leadership and genuine passion for our industry.
What an incredible organization the CLTA has been for over 100 years. Each year seems to present a new challenge to our industry and the CLTA has always risen to the occasion by protecting the integrity and value of the title insurance profession. It is rare that so many of these challenges have hit us at once but we are more than equal to the task. It is difficult to navigate the waters of heightened regulations, a weak economic environment, statutory compliance and the challenges of consumer focus and satisfaction while maintaining the quality, accuracy and professionalism our industry demands.
Our industry has worked hard with regulators to balance the interests of protecting consumers without overburdening the industry with unnecessary and overreaching regulations. We share the desire of the Department of Insurance to protect consumers as we recognize that they are at the center of the services we perform. We differ with the Department of Insurance at times over the competitiveness of our industry. Those that work in the title insurance business know how extremely competitive this business is. And while we have differences at times with those that regulate our business, the CLTA has helped bridge the gap between regulators and business people to find common ground and success in areas that are mutually beneficial.
SB 133, a bill sponsored by the CLTA, is a great example of our ability to find solutions that help consumers, further the goals of the CDI, and clarify guidelines for title companies. This law will help clarify how title companies can market their products and services. In addition, the CDI has submitted regulations requiring a great deal of data from title companies. CLTA has worked closely with the CDI to work out what type of data can be delivered and what the relative costs and benefits would be. We are appreciative that effective dialog is occurring between the CDI and the title industry and are confident that some of our differing points of view can be reasonably worked out.
I am very proud to be a part of this organization, and look forward to working with the many members whom unselfishly volunteer their time in order to make us all successful. In the meantime, I am confident that, should Plan B have to be put into effect after all, the character Craig Page learns from being on minimum wage for 6 weeks will more than offset his loss of wages.
