Sorry to interrupt the Scott & Kevin show...well, no I'm not.  But I am coming on here to answer your question, Kevin.  About the benefits of being a NALTEA member, that is.

I believe that our NALTEA membership has paid for itself exponentially.  We have formed business relationships with several companies as a direct result of our presence at the NALTEA conferences (the next of which will be in New Orleans, by the way!)  And these are good companies, too, that pay up and everything!  When you factor in the significant discount offered by SOT (thanks Robert!) for the favorable listing position here (more new business) that and a couple of title searches pays for a year's membership.  And that big N next to the company name doesn't hurt either.

You've seen the laundry list of NALTEA's efforts already.  I am sorry if you were not impressed.  I have seen, first-hand, the progress made by this association over the past year and a half and I am very much impressed with the work that has been accomplished.

You dismiss the certification process as worthless unless it is recognized by the title industry as a whole.  Well, it takes time and effort to produce a certification process that the entire industry can accept as the standard.  It has been an enormous undertaking by a relatively miniscule number of abstractors who, interestingly enough, have also managed to run successful businesses at the same time.  Persuading the other segments of the industry to take the certification seriously will be another big job in itself.  But it can be done with the help of enough folks who are bent on succeeding.

NALTEA cannot save every abstractor from failing.  There are many reasons that businesses fail - not the least of which is too many abstractors and not enough work to go around.  Others may not be as adept at running a business as are some of their more successful peers.  The list goes on.  Who knows, Kevin, some might even be heeding your occasional suggestions that they should give up as you did.  Or rather, pursue more profitable endeavors like providing notary public services.  I am sure the struggling notaries will appreciate your encouraging yet more competition into their already oversaturated markets.

As to the cheap insurance thing, it's not going to happen until there is a larger membership.  It's still a goal, not a reality.  If, however, that is the single focus of would-be members, we will be waiting for a long time.  In the meantime, NALTEA can continue to work on other issues.  The more hands on board, the quicker the fruit will arrive and the sweeter it will be. 

Our little segment of this industry gets little support from the larger organizations.  Ever see "The Mouse That Roared"?  Funny, yet insightful.

-Pat the NALTEA member