What Inspired 2 Title Insurance Titans To Combine Offices?

In early June, two commercial real estate insurance powerhouses — Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co. — announced that they would be combining their New York offices under one roof.

Commonwealth will be moving into Fidelity National Title’s New York offices on Lexington Avenue and both companies will be sharing historical data, industry knowledge and support resources in an effort to better serve their clients.

“Now more than ever before, companies need to build teams with the ability to adapt and quickly respond to changing client needs that have been brought about by transaction dynamics, shifts in market demands and evolving economic conditions,” Fidelity National Title Senior Vice President and Regional Manager Joanna Patilis said. “We believe that the combination of resources will allow us to take our exemplary client service to the next level.” 

Commonwealth is one of the world's first title insurance companies, while Fidelity’s title insurance underwriters issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the U.S. Bisnow recently spoke with Patilis to learn more about the decision behind this move, how it will benefit each company’s clients and her hopes for the future of this new office. 

Bisnow: Tell me a bit about Fidelity National Title Insurance and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance. How will these two companies complement each other?

Patilis: Each office will continue to issue its own policies and will continue to provide first-rate sales and client management to its clients. However, we believe that combining each company’s search, examination, underwriting, production, closing and post-closing capabilities will allow us to better provide our clients with additional expert resources, enhanced attention and quicker response times.

Bisnow: What led to the decision to move both offices under one roof? 

Patilis: The Fidelity National Financial family is continually looking for ways to better serve our commercial real estate clients. At times, this means opening new offices to expand the network of resources available through the family of companies. At other times, it means looking for efficiencies that can magnify the resources, expertise and service commercial clients require.

Although the global pandemic has significantly impacted CRE and the long-term impact is still unknown, the decision to combine the production and post-closing capabilities of these two companies has more to do with service than anything else. We strongly feel that these changes will allow us to provide better, faster and more efficient service to our clients. The current economic environment is challenging, but for us, the focus has been and continues to be service. 

Bisnow: What are your hopes for the future of each office? 

Patilis: Commercial real estate clients expect their title partners to not only have underwriting expertise, rapid response times and an extensive network of local experts, but they also require these partners to be equipped with teams that share a common purpose to solve the problems that individuals cannot.

My vision for these two New York offices is to continue to recruit and retain the most talented experts in our field, and beyond that, create a culture of competitive collaboration. These independent offices will support each other when needed, but the diverse perspectives and competitive drive of each will manufacture creative solutions and outcomes for clients that exceed what either office or any competing office could do on their own. 

This feature was produced in collaboration between the Bisnow Branded Content Studio and Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., National Commercial Services – New York. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.