Before a policy is issued, local laws are studied to see if the firm's standard policy has to be modified to accommodate the business practices of the country and then sources for the production of title evidence must be located. "Finding a title searcher in The Netherlands is a little different from finding an agent in the Oklahoma panhandle," says Ed Heim, an FNF underwriter.

"I had the opportunity to bring Fidelity to Mexico in 1997 and we have had tremendous success in that market ever since," says Bob Calamari, president of the new division. "We have seen situations in loans on Mexican properties made by US-based lenders where the borrowing rate is reduced by 10 basis points if title insurance in used," he adds. The company is targeting US-based owners, developers, big-box retailers and lenders.

FNF, the world's largest title insurance and real estate-related services organization, issues approximately 30% of all title insurance in the US.