MIAMI – Aug. 26, 2015 – North American Title Insurance Co. (NATIC) will host a 60-minute free webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 9, providing tips on precautionary measures and implementing action plans to detect fraud when conducting real estate transactions. Webinar speakers are NATIC Underwriting Counsel Kent Pelt and Bill Reetz, in addition to NATIC Vice President and Claims Counsel Chris Brink. The Sept. 9 webinar is open to all and has an attendee limit of 500 seats. It does not provide CE or CLE credit.
“While companies worldwide work tirelessly to combat fraud, criminals continue to scheme, finding loopholes and wreaking havoc where companies least expect it,” said webinar moderator Kelly McCarel, NATIC director of marketing and educational programs. “However, for a title agent, a fraudster attack could mean a substantial loss of funds or a complete business shutdown due to bankruptcy and license revocation.”
The instructional webinar will teach agents how to protect themselves, with a discussion of claims prevention as well as a focus on reducing exposure to problems with complex fraud schemes. Specific points to be covered include classic forgery and fraud red flags, real-life claims stories, new twists on old fraud schemes, how to spot and prevent the costliest claims, and how to protect both yourself and your underwriter by being vigilant with a healthy suspicion.
Pelt has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate field, including title insurance, escrow and mortgage lending, having served as claims counsel for several companies, in addition to title operations manager and general counsel for a leading national title insurance company’s Hawaii operations. He supports NATIC’s California agents with underwriting guidance and risk mitigation in title issues. Pelt is a graduate of University of California, Irvine, and the Western State College of Law.
A title industry veteran of over 30 years, Reetz joined NATIC in 2013 and handles transactional underwriting and claims handling in four Pacific Northwest states. He has served on the executive committee of the Washington State Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and served as its chair in 2004-2005. Reetz earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California and his law degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Brink has managed title and escrow claims and corporate litigation matters in over 30 states and has substantial training and experience in complex real estate transactions, fraud avoidance, and professional liability and compliance matters. He provides training and educational seminars on a variety of topics. Brink is responsible for claims and direct affiliate matters in NATIC’s Eastern region. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Illinois College of Law.
The webinar will be held from 2-3 p.m. EDT. Online registration for the Sept. 9 webinar is at http://tinyurl.com/natic-fraud-090915.