As your settlement agent is responsible for coordinating one of the largest purchases of your life, it’s important that you have full trust and confidence in the evaluation and selection process. 

As a consumer, it is incumbent upon you and your family to make sure that the attorney, title company, notary, and escrow officer involved in your loan transaction are properly incorporated, licensed, insured, and using internal controls to protect your sensitive personal and financial information.

Secure Insight was found in 2009 by an attorney and mortgage industry fraud experts to protect banks and consumers from fraud caused or assisted by settlement agents.  It was the first company in the banking industry to identify settlement risk to consumers and insisting on a process to require attorneys, title agents, escrow officers, and notaries to submit to background checks, license and insurance verification,  and ongoing screening and monitoring to deter and prevent fraud. 

Why should a consumer be concerned about the person who is “settling” their loan? The attorney, title agent, escrow officer, or notary who is managing the documents and money at the closing can cause you harm.  These professionals, who have varying degrees of education, training, insurance coverage, and competency, are the only people connected to your mortgage transaction who have access to the bank’s money, your money, your personal and financial information, and the important bank documents that verify and finalize your ownership of your new home. 

When vetting a settlement agent, here are some steps you can take:

There are several ways to find a settlement agent:

Consumers may need a settlement agent at closing for several reasons: