First American Title Insurance Company is one of America's oldest and largest title insurance companies. The company celebrated its centennial in 1989. Today the company operates through a network of more than 300 offices and 4,000 agents in all 50 states. It provides title services abroad in the Bahama Islands, Bermuda, Canada, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.

What security does a policy of title insurance provide?

A policy of title insurance protects against loss sustained by an insured due to the condition of title being other than as insured. A title policy says: "You own what your deed says you own, and if it turns out to the contrary, we'll pay you for your loss." The policy protects its holder against title defects, liens and encumbrances existing on the date the policy is issued. Generally, policyholders are purchasers of real property or lenders whose security is real property. In the event of a lawsuit questioning the terms of a title policy, the title insurance company provides legal defense for the policyholder and, if the suit is lost, pays all valid claims or losses up to the amount of the policy. All of this protection and security is available for a one-time premium.

First American Title Insurance Company is the principal subsidiary of The First American Financial Corporation, a truly diversified real estate related financial services company.

What other companies are in the First American family and what services do they offer?

* First American Real Estate Information Services, Inc., offers a variety of services to the mortgage lending community nationwide, including tax reporting, credit reporting, tax certification, property information, and flood compliance.

* First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation issues one-year warranties which protect home owners against defects in household systems such as plumbing, water heaters, furnaces and built-in appliances. The company currently operates in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas and Washington.

* First American Trust Company is a chartered Corporate Trustee specializing solely in the management and administration of personal, employee benefit and investment trusts in the Southern California area. First Security Thrift is an industrial loan corporation which accepts thrift deposits and uses deposited funds to originate and purchase loans secured by commercial property in Southern California.

* First American Records Management offers several services, including paper records storage, electronic media storage, indexing, accessing, transporting and reporting destruction of records, database development and consultant projects.

First American Financial's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FAF. It has revenue of well over $1 billion, and it continues to grow.