Two N.C. Credit Unions Form Title Insurance Agency

Two credit unions based Raleigh, N.C., announced Thursday they have launched a title insurance agency to make closings easier and potentially provide lower premiums.

Truliant Federal Credit Union ($4 billion in assets, 289,249 members) and Coastal Federal Credit Union of Raleigh ($4.8 billion in assets, 300,813 members) formed United Members Title, LLC on April 1 to offer affordable title insurance coverage for home purchases and refinances in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The venture is designed to allow the credit unions’ members, homeowners and homebuyers to benefit from an increased ability to reissue from existing policies, which often results in lower premiums and reduced closing costs.

Beth Eller, Truliant’s vice president of mortgage lending, said the credit unions have been working on creating the venture for two years.

“We’re excited to see it come to fruition,” she said. “It streamlines the process since we’re obtaining the title through one agency.”

The joint venture is an agent of Investors Title Co., a publicly held North Carolina company (Nasdaq:ITIC), and its subsidiary, Investors Title Insurance Company, which underwrites and issues title insurance policies.

Investors Title has held the number one market share position in the state of North Carolina since 1984.

“It’s a North Carolina homegrown company out of Chapel Hill. They do a wonderful job,” Eller said. “We look forward to the benefits this joint venture brings in adding new quality services to our mortgage offerings.”

Truliant and Coastal originated 5,329 first mortgages last year worth nearly $1.3 billion.

Coastal originated 3,880 first mortgages, up from 3,742 in 2020. Truliant’s volume fell from 2,490 in 2020 to 1,449 last year.

By value, Coastal was the second largest and Truliant was the fourth-largest mortgage originator among credit unions based in North Carolina last year. The five largest were:

1. State Employees’ Credit Union, Raleigh, N.C. ($53.1 billion, 2.7 million members), which originated $6.8 billion in first mortgages in 2021, up 52% from 2020.

2. Coastal, which originated $924.3 million, up 12%.

3. Local Government Federal Credit Union, Raleigh, N.C. ($3.5 billion in assets, 390,949 members), which originated $769.6 million, up 41%.

4. Truliant, which originated $358.4 million, down 24%.

5. Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Winston-Salem, N.C. ($2.1 billion in assets, 167,719 members), which originated $337 million, down 21%.