We held our annual meeting last week and a very significant change in our By-laws was approved by both the Title Insurance Section and the Agents Section in their respective Section Meetings.

It concerns the Executive Committee voting requirements to approve a motion. In simple terms, a two-thirds majority of the EC Members present in person or by proxy decides the outcome of a vote.  There are exceptions for issues which raise anti-trust concerns but that's it in a nutshell.

This is a significant step towards parity between the Sections.  The Title Insurance Section voted to relinquish their ability to defeat a motion with only a handful of Title Section votes, a power not available to the Agents Section.

The Underwriters and the Agents bring different things to the title insurance marketplace and there is no denying the split is a "zero-sum game". Neither can we ignore the competitive tensions within each section. That's Ok. You knew this when you got into this business.

As the Association Executive Director, I have the advantage of stepping back from the daily fray of commerce and from this perspective I see good things happening.

The change in the voting structure is a sign of this Association's maturity and growth toward speaking with one voice in the common interests of the title industry.