I have run across three of these now.  Based on my title abstract experience and conversations with angry borrowers and "scheduler/processor" (for lack of a better title since a CT-based title company with an attorney-agent would NEVER sign these title policies):

The "search" consists of a current owner's search using the on-line index records, NOT a look at the actual documents recorded on the Land Records.  Easy catch when the borrower's name is misspelled or incorrectly printed on all documents; i.e., it matched the INDEX exactly, but did NOT match what was on the actual recorded documents. Robert and Kevin, you both know what differences there can be between each Town Clerk's way of keying in the index name and what may be on the document.

Risk v. Reward = high reward as long as the payments are made or the loan refinances in a few years.  Maybe the person recording is doing a "view the document" abstract.  If "index searching" is becoming the norm, I wouldn't invest my retirement in some of these companies.  There is NO WAY to know what liens or mortgages are sitting in the In Box on the counter  that hasn't been keyed into the on-line system yet.   Good news for the CT -based attorneys when some of these short-cuts effect the security/quality of the loan.  Just like the bank employee-appraisals (the value was always enough for the loan amount requested vs. the INDEPENDENT appraiser's value)  came back to bite the CT banks, I hope this comes back to bite the out-of-state lenders and national title companies using someone in India to "do the seach from their desktop".