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Insurance Abstract
In one embodiment, a method of delivering a title insurance document
involves 1) electronically reading title insurance information and
identifying a number of documents referenced therein; 2) electronically
locating the documents in one or more electronic storage locations;
and 3) preparing an electronically-deliverable title insurance document
having i) title insurance document text, and ii) hyperlinks to the
documents. Other embodiments are also disclosed.
Insurance Claims
1. A method of delivering a title insurance document, comprising:electronically
reading title insurance information and identifying a number of
documents referenced therein;electronically locating the documents
in one or more electronic storage locations; andpreparing an electronically-deliverable
title insurance document having i) title insurance document text,
and ii) hyperlinks to the documents.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein electronically reading the title
insurance information comprises parsing a plurality of database
fields.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein electronically reading the title
insurance information comprises parsing a single database field
for references to multiple documents.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the title insurance document
is a title commitment.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the title insurance document
is a title policy.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic storage
locations comprise a prioritized set of title plants.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, delivering the title
insurance document to a user via an email.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, delivering the title
insurance document to a user via a webpage.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, delivering the title
insurance document to a user, without copies of the documents that
are referenced by the hyperlinks.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein preparing the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document comprises:grouping at least some of the
title insurance document text and hyperlinks in different sections
of the title insurance document; andenabling a viewer of the title
insurance document to expand or collapse ones of the sections.
11. Apparatus, comprising:computer-readable storage media; andcomputer-readable
program code, including,code to electronically read title insurance
information and identify a number of documents referenced therein;code
to electronically locate the documents in one or more electronic
storage locations; andcode to prepare an electronically-deliverable
title insurance document having i) title insurance document text,
and ii) hyperlinks to the documents.
12. A method of delivering an ownership and encumbrance document,
comprising:electronically reading ownership and encumbrance information
and identifying a number of documents referenced therein;electronically
locating the documents in one or more electronic storage locations;
andpreparing an electronically-deliverable ownership and encumbrance
document having i) ownership and encumbrance document text, and
ii) hyperlinks to the documents.
13. A method of delivering a title insurance document, comprising:preparing
a first version of an electronically-deliverable title insurance
document;saving the first version; andupon revision of the first
version to yield a second version of the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document, i) saving the second version, ii) comparing
the first and second versions to identify a set of revisions to
the electronically-deliverable title insurance document, and iii)
preparing, for delivery to a user, a version of the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document in which the set of revisions is highlighted.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the set of
revisions is highlighted by displaying it in a different color.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the identified set of revisions
contains only certain types of revisions.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the title insurance document
is a title commitment.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the title insurance document
is a title policy.
18. The method of claim 13, further comprising, delivering the
title insurance document in which the set of revisions is highlighted
to a user, via an email.
19. The method of claim 13, further comprising, delivering the
title insurance document in which the set of revisions is highlighted
to a user, via a webpage.
20. Apparatus, comprising:computer-readable storage media; andcomputer-readable
program code, including,code to prepare a first version of an electronically-deliverable
title insurance document; andcode to, upon revision of the first
version to yield a second version of the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document, i) compare the first and second versions
to identify a set of revisions to the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document, and ii) prepare, for delivery to a user,
a version of the electronically-deliverable title insurance document
in which the set of revisions is highlighted.
21. A method of sharing real estate transaction documents, comprising:providing
a web-based interface for viewing real estate transaction documents;
andvia the web-based interface,providing a user access to a number
of real estate transaction documents; andproviding the user a mechanism
to invite another party to view at least some of the real estate
transaction documents via the web-based interface.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the real estate transaction
documents are grouped by real estate transaction, and wherein the
mechanism to invite another party requires specification of a real
estate transaction to which the another party is invited.
23. The method of claim 21, further comprising, via the web-based
interface, providing the user a tool for specifying different access
rights for different parties that the user may invite via the mechanism
to invite another party, the different access rights specifying
which of the real estate transaction documents can be accessed by
the different parties.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the different access rights
further specify how the real estate transaction documents can be
accessed by the different parties.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein the mechanism to invite another
party is a graphically clickable button that is associated with
the another party.
26. The method of claim 21, further comprising, via the web-based
interface,providing the user a list of parties that are known to
be associated with a particular real estate transaction; andproviding
a mechanism to invite selected ones of the parties to view at least
some of the real estate transaction documents via the web-based
interface.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the mechanism to invite selected
ones of the parties comprises a number of graphically clickable
buttons, each of which is associated with a particular one of the
parties.
28. The method of claim 21, further comprising:via the web-based
interface, providing to the another party the mechanism to invite
another party; andupon the user or the another party using the mechanism
to invite another party, determining, based on access rights of
the user or the another party, whether the user or the another party
is authorized to invite a particular party.
29. Apparatus, comprising:computer-readable storage media; andcomputer-readable
program code, including,code to provide a web-based interface for
viewing real estate transaction documents; andcode to, via the web-based
interface,provide a user access to a number of real estate transaction
documents; andprovide the user a mechanism to invite another party
to view at least some of the real estate transaction documents via
the web-based interface.
Insurance Description
BACKGROUND
[0001]Real estate transactions are document intensive transactions
that require various documents to be prepared and/or located. Typically,
the documents involved in a real estate transaction are prepared
or located by a title company.
[0002]One of the more labor intensive documents that needs to be
prepared during a real estate transaction is the title insurance
commitment. A title insurance commitment not only requires language
that complies with federal, state and local laws, but also requires
citations to various documents pertaining to, for example: chain
of title for a property, requirements that must be met before a
title policy can be issued for a property, and encumbrances on a
property. Before these documents can be cited in the title insurance
commitment, these documents need to be located (either manually
or electronically).
[0003]Once the documents involved in a real estate transaction
are prepared and/or located, they are delivered to the various parties
that are involved in the transaction (e.g., the lender, the real
estate agent(s), the buyer(s), and the seller(s)). If the documents
are revised, revised copies of the documents may also need to be
delivered to the parties.
[0004]Given the document intensive nature of real estate transactions,
new methods and apparatus that aid in any or all of the following
are desirable: 1) improving the speed at which documents can be
prepared and/or located, 2) improving the management of real estate
documents and their revisions, and 3) reducing the amount of paper
that needs to be delivered to a transaction's parties.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005]Illustrative embodiments of the invention are illustrated
in the drawings, in which:
[0006]FIG. 1 illustrates an abbreviated form of an exemplary title
insurance commitment;
[0007]FIG. 2 illustrates a first exemplary method for delivering
a title insurance document, such as a title commitment;
[0008]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary title commitment, prepared
in accord with the method shown in FIG. 2;
[0009]FIG. 4 illustrates a second exemplary method for delivering
a title insurance document;
[0010]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method for sharing real estate
transaction documents;
[0011]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary web-based interface via which
the method shown in FIG. 5 may be implemented; and
[0012]FIG. 7 illustrates a means for specifying additional parties
to a real estate transaction (via the interface shown in FIG. 6).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013]One of the more labor intensive documents that needs to be
prepared during a real estate transaction is the title insurance
commitment. An abbreviated form of an exemplary title insurance
commitment 100 (or title commitment, as it is commonly referred
to) is shown in FIG. 1.
[0014]The title commitment 100 shown in FIG. 1 comprises various
sections, but generally includes 1) an identification 102 of the
parties to a real estate transaction, 2) an identification 104 of
the property for which a title insurance commitment is being made,
3) an indication of the costs 106 and coverage limits 108 of the
title insurance policies that a title company is willing to issue
for the property, including what is commonly referred to as "Schedule
A", 4) a list of requirements 110 that must be complied with
before title insurance policies will be issued (commonly referred
to as "Schedule B-1"), 5) a list of exceptions 112 that
will flow with any title insurance policies that are issued (commonly
referred to as "Schedule B-2"), and 6) various other legal
disclosures 114. Of note, various documents pertaining to chain
of title, tax certificates, plat maps, and other recorded and non-recorded
documents may be cited in a title commitment.
[0015]Historically, the generation of a title commitment required
a title examiner to manually search volumes of recorded documents,
stored in paper form, in a city or county Clerk's or Recorder's
office. However, in recent years, many recorded and non-recorded
documents have been digitized, and a title examiner's search can
now be conducted electronically.
[0016]Many of the documents that a tile examiner needs to locate
are stored in local or regional "title plants". A title
plant is merely a data center or other electronic storage service
that provides access to an indexed collection of documents. At times,
a title company will host its own title plant, which may store 1)
documents that are peculiar to particular transactions, and that
are not generally available to the public or other title companies,
and 2) cached copies of documents that have been retrieved from
other title plants.
[0017]When generating a title commitment, a title examiner needs
to assemble various paragraphs of text, some of which are dictated
by federal, state and local laws or regulations, and some of which
are determined by the property, parties and documents that are involved
in a particular real estate transaction. The title examiner also
needs to insert citations to the various documents that are referenced
by, or that support, the paragraphs of text. One way to do this
is by typing a title commitment from start to finish, or otherwise
cutting, pasting and inserting text to generate a text-based title
commitment. Another way to generate a title commitment is to enter
paragraph text, property and party information, policy cost and
coverage details, and document references, into a database of information
from which a formal title commitment can be generated. In some cases,
such systems may be partly automated, with formatting rules and
boilerplate language being derived from one or more templates or
jurisdictional rule sets.
[0018]Once a title commitment is prepared, it is typically delivered
in one of three ways: via paper (i.e., a mail or fax copy); via
an electronic text file (such as a PCL or XML file); or via an electronic
image file (such as an Adobe Acrobat file). Often, the title commitment
is delivered with a set of all of the documents that are referenced
in the title commitment. The documents may be delivered in paper
form, or by means of electronic image files. Delivering copies of
the documents via paper is costly and wasteful, while delivering
copies of the documents electronically can be resource intensive
(and thus costly) and/or prohibitive (e.g., if the size of the document
set is too large for a user to receive via email or as a web download).
To alleviate these problems, FIG. 2 illustrates a first exemplary
method 200 for delivering a title insurance document, such as a
title commitment. The method 200 comprises electronically reading
title insurance information to identify a number of documents referenced
therein (see block 202). The documents are then located electronically,
in one or more electronic storage locations (see block 204). Thereafter,
title insurance document text, and hyperlinks to the located documents,
are assembled to prepare an electronically-deliverable title insurance
document (see block 206). In one embodiment, the electronically-deliverable
document is an HTML document.
[0019]Ultimately, the title insurance document may be delivered
to a user via, for example, an email or webpage (see block 208).
Paper copies of the document may also be generated from the electronically-deliverable
document, although the advantages provided by the hyperlinks will
be lost.
[0020]The method 200 is useful, in one respect, in that it enables
a title insurance document to be delivered without copies of the
documents that it references. It is also useful in that it enables
referenced documents to be easily retrieved for viewing or printing.
The method 200 is also useful in that it 1) enables hyperlinks to
be created from title insurance information that does not initially
contain hyperlinks, and 2) enables creation of the hyperlinks without
user intervention.
[0021]In one embodiment of the method 200, title insurance information
is read by parsing a plurality of database fields. As the fields
are parsed, documents referenced therein may be identified in various
ways. For example, documents may be identified by means of document
number, or by year, county, reception number or book/page.
[0022]To handle variations in the way title insurance information
is entered in a database field, different names or abbreviations
for the same thing may be mapped to a common document identifier.
For example, different date formats might be mapped to a common
date format, or the names "Denver County", "Denver
Co.", "Den. County" and "County of Denver"
might be mapped to the common document identifier of "Denver
County".
[0023]In some cases, a single database field may be parsed for
references to multiple documents. In these cases, a windowing technique
may be used to identify related pieces of information that, together,
identify a single document.
[0024]After extracting one or more document identifiers from a
set of title insurance information, the document identifiers may
be used to locate the documents in one or more electronic storage
locations, such as one or more title plants. In one embodiment,
a prioritized set of title plants is searched for the documents.
For example, searching may begin in a proprietary or local title
plant maintained by a title company that is executing the method
200. If a local copy of a document cannot be located, a search for
the document may then proceed to one or more external title plants.
In some cases, the manner or order in which title plants or other
electronic storage locations are searched is dependent on the county
or other jurisdiction for which documents are being located.
[0025]The title insurance document prepared by the method 200 may
take various forms, including those of a title commitment or title
policy. An exemplary title commitment 300, prepared in accord with
the method 200, is shown in FIG. 3. As shown, the commitment's hyperlinks
302, 304 to other documents may be embedded or intermixed with the
various textual clauses 306, 308, 310 of the commitment 300. In
some cases, the hyperlinks 302, 304 may follow other identifiers
of the documents, while in other cases, the hyperlinks may take
the place of other identifiers of the documents (as shown in FIG.
3). In the title commitment 300, the hyperlinks 302, 304 take the
form of alphanumeric text. However, the hyperlinks 302, 304 could
alternately take the form of graphic icons.
[0026]In one embodiment, an electronically-deliverable title insurance
document is prepared by grouping at least some of the title insurance
document's text and hyperlinks in different sections of the title
insurance document. For example, in the case of a title commitment,
different sections 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 322, 324 may be provided
for identifying 1) the parties to a real estate transaction, 2)
the property for which a title insurance commitment is being made,
3) the coverage limits of the title insurance policies that a title
company is willing to issue for the property, 4) the requirements
that must be complied with before title insurance policies will
be issued, and 5) the exceptions that will flow with any title insurance
policies that are issued. The sections 312-324 may then be flagged,
formatted or programmed to enable a viewer of the title insurance
document, such as a web browser, to expand or collapse ones of the
sections (e.g., by clicking the "+" or "-" boxes
at the top of each of the sections 312-324).
[0027]In the event that a title insurance document is linked to
an incorrect document, a text editor, fillable field, or search
field may provide a means for correcting a hyperlink. Such a mechanism
may be provided for use by a party to whom an electronically-deliverable
title insurance document is delivered, or by a party (e.g., a title
examiner) that reviews the title insurance document prior to its
delivery to another party.
[0028]The method 200 may be implemented by means of computer-readable
program code stored on computer-readable storage media. The computer-readable
storage media may include, for example, any number or mixture of
fixed or removable media (such as one or more fixed disks, random
access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), or compact discs),
at either a single location or distributed over a network. The computer-readable
program code will typically comprise software, but could also comprise
firmware or a programmed circuit.
[0029]FIG. 4 illustrates a second exemplary method 400 for delivering
a title insurance document. The method 400 may be used with or without
the method 200. The method 400 comprises preparing and saving a
first version of an electronically-deliverable title insurance document
(see blocks 402 and 404). Upon revision of the first version to
yield a second version of the electronically-deliverable title insurance
document, the second version is also saved (see block 406), and
the first version is compared to the second version to identify
a set of revisions to the electronically-deliverable title insurance
document (see block 408). A version of the electronically-deliverable
title insurance document in which the set of revisions is highlighted
is then prepared for delivery to a user (see block 410). In some
cases, the highlighted title insurance document may be delivered
to a user via an email or a webpage (see block 412).
[0030]The manner in which revisions to a title insurance document
are highlighted may take various forms, including: displaying revised
text in a different color, in a different font, in bold-faced type,
in italics, underlined, or with a different background color.
[0031]In some cases, the set of highlighted revisions may contain
only certain types of revisions. For example, additions may be highlighted,
but deletions may not be.
[0032]As with the method 200, the method 400 may be implemented
by means of computer-readable program code stored on computer-readable
storage media.
[0033]Although the methods 200 and 400 have been disclosed to apply
to the delivery of "title insurance documents", the methods
200 and 400 can also be applied to other types of real estate transaction
documents, such as "ownership and encumbrance" documents
(i.e., O&E documents).
[0034]Turning now to FIG. 5, there is shown an exemplary method
500 for sharing real estate transaction documents. The method 500
comprises providing a web-based interface for viewing real estate
transaction documents (see block 502). Via the web-based interface,
a user is provided 1) access to a number of real estate transaction
documents (see block 504), and 2) a mechanism to invite another
party to view at least some of the real estate transaction documents
via the web-based interface (see block 506).
[0035]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary web-based interface 600 via
which the method 500 may be implemented. The interface 600 provides
a list 602 of parties to a real estate transaction. Associated with
each party that has not already been invited to participate in the
real estate transaction is a graphically clickable button 604, 606,
608. In one embodiment, each of these buttons 604, 606, 608 is labeled
"Invite this Party". By clicking one of the buttons 604,
606, 608 (e.g., with a mouse), the associated party may be invited
to a real estate transaction by, for example, the automatic sending
of an email to the party. For convenience, a party's email or other
contact information can be displayed via the interface 600. If a
party's email has not been provided, the user may be prompted to
provide the party's email and/or a temporary password.
[0036]In one embodiment, the interface 600 may comprise a means
(e.g., a webpage 700) for specifying additional parties to a real
estate transaction. See FIG. 7. The interface 600 may also provide
a tool 702 for specifying different access rights for the different
parties that a user may invite to a real estate transaction. The
access rights may specify which documents, or sets of documents,
can be accessed by the different parties. The access rights may
also specify "how" a document may be accessed by a party.
For example, the access rights may specify whether an invited party
has the authority to copy, modify or delete a document.
[0037]Parties that are invited to a real estate transaction may
be given the authority to invite additional parties. For example,
invited parties may be given access to the interface 600 (and "Invite
this Party" buttons) shown in FIG. 6. In one embodiment, a
user's click on one of the "Invite this Party" buttons
triggers software to determine whether the access rights of a user
or invited party authorize the user or invited party to invite a
particular party. For example, in one embodiment, a title company
employee may be allowed to invite any party; a real estate agent
or attorney may only be allowed to invite the party or parties that
they represent; and a builder (or lender) may be only be allowed
to invite the buyer (or borrower).
[0038]Preferably, the documents that a party is invited to view
via the method 600 are grouped by transaction. In this manner, a
user may be caused to select a particular real estate transaction
before viewing the interface 600; and an invited party is thereby
invited to view documents pertaining to only a single real estate
transaction.
[0039]As with the methods 200 and 400, the method 500 may be implemented
by means of computer-readable program code stored on computer-readable
storage media.
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