Title Guaranty

What Title Guaranty does

Title Guaranty and Trust Company of Chattanooga is a privately held title insurance underwriter and settlement services firm founded in 1887 by Henry Clay Beck. Headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the company is the oldest title company in the region and the only title insurance underwriter headquartered in Tennessee; other title firms in the area operate as agents of out-of-state insurers. It offers four practice areas: Commercial Sales and Refinancing, Residential Sales and Refinancing, Home Buyers and Sellers, and Builders and Developers. Services include title insurance underwriting, escrow, settlement, and abstract/title research via its wholly-owned subsidiary Chattanooga Abstract Company, which has operated alongside the parent since 1890.

The business model is transaction-based: the firm earns revenue from title insurance premiums retained locally as the in-state underwriter, plus escrow and settlement fees. Distribution is direct through three owned offices (the Walnut Street headquarters in Chattanooga, a Lee Highway office in Chattanooga, and a Cleveland, Tennessee branch). The go-to-market is sales-led and traditional, relying on inbound referrals from real estate agents, lenders, buyers, sellers, builders, and developers, supported by a Thryv-powered website, phone/click-to-call channels, and an online earnest money deposit portal. Underwriting relationships with First American Title, Stewart Title, and Old Republic National Title allow the firm to issue or back policies through national carriers when needed.

The firm carries no disclosed proprietary technology platform and operates with 11-50 employees. Ownership remains within the founding family across generations; Charles O. Hon III, the great-grandson of the founder, serves as the sixth president, and Charles O. Hon III previously held the presidency of the American Land Title Association in 1988-89. The customer base is fragmented across individual residential buyers and sellers, commercial clients, builders, and developers in the Southeast Tennessee market, with named testimonials from individual SMB clients (Julie C., Rhonda G., Jr J., Joe S., JON A.). No funding rounds, M&A activity, patents, awards, or AI capabilities are recorded.

Name

Title Guaranty

Legal name

The Title Guaranty and Trust Company of Chattanooga

Website

https://titleguarantyandtrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1887

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Title Guaranty and Trust Company of Chattanooga is a privately held, family-owned title insurance underwriter and settlement services firm, founded in 1887 and the only such underwriter headquartered in Tennessee. It serves home buyers, sellers, builders, developers, and commercial clients in Southeast Tennessee through three local offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Title Insurance

NAICS

Direct Title Insurance Carriers (524127), Title Abstract and Settlement Offices (541191)

SIC

Title Insurance (6361), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Title Insurance (FSAJACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Title Search & Examination (BPAJAOAB), Abstracting Services (Title Abstracts) (BPAJAOAC), Document Preparation & Recording Services (Deeds, Liens) (BPAJAOAG)

Keywords

• Title insurance
• Title underwriting
• Escrow services
• Settlement services
• Real estate closing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Title Insurance Premiums: The company acts as a title insurance underwriter, collecting premiums from insuring titles to property in real estate transactions. Premium dollars are retained locally in Chattanooga rather than being remitted to out-of-state carriers, as Title Guaranty is the only locally headquartered title insurance underwriter in Tennessee.
2. Title and Settlement Services: Escrow, settlement, and title services provided to home buyers, sellers, builders, developers, and commercial clients as part of real estate transaction closings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Title Guaranty and Trust Company of Chattanooga underwrites title insurance and provides escrow and settlement services for residential and commercial real estate transactions. The firm conducts title searches, issues title insurance policies, and manages closings for home buyers, sellers, builders, developers, and commercial clients in the Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee markets. As the only title insurance underwriter headquartered in Tennessee, it makes local underwriting decisions without deferring to out-of-state carriers.

Product overview

Title Guaranty and Trust is a title insurance underwriter and settlement services company offering both residential and commercial title services. The company operates as a single unified offering centered on title insurance protection, supported by escrow and settlement services. Its practice areas include Commercial Sales & Refinancing, Residential Sales & Refinancing, Home Buyers and Sellers, and Builders and Developers. The company distinguishes itself as the only title insurance underwriter headquartered in Tennessee and the oldest title company in the region, founded in 1887.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Sales & Refinancing Title Services Title insurance underwriting, escrow, and settlement services for commercial real estate sales and refinancing transactions. Targeted at commercial real estate investors, businesses, lenders, and developers handling complex ownership structures and lender-required title coverage in the Chattanooga and Cleveland, TN area.
• Residential Sales & Refinancing Title Services Title insurance, escrow, and settlement services supporting residential property sales and mortgage refinance closings. Provides title clearance, lien searches, and lender-required title policies for homeowners and prospective buyers.
• Home Buyers and Sellers Title Services Title insurance protection, escrow management, and closing services for individual home buyers and sellers in residential real estate transactions. Designed to safeguard purchasers against title defects and ensure professional handling of settlement.
• Builders and Developers Title Services Title insurance, development title work, subdivision title services, and escrow for new construction and land development projects. Addresses development-stage title risks, lien clearance, and construction-loan title requirements for residential and commercial builders and developers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Local decision-making on title insurance underwriting, without out-of-state approval requirements
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• First American Title Insurance CompanyminorOthersFirst American Title Insurance Company is listed as one of the underwriters whose title insurance rates are available through the Title Guaranty website. First American provides rate calculator tools linked from the Title Guaranty website, allowing clients to estimate policy costs. This is a standard agency relationship where Title Guaranty issues policies backed by First American as a reinsurer or co-underwriter.
• Stewart Title Guaranty CompanyminorOthersStewart Title Guaranty Company is listed as one of the underwriters available through Title Guaranty. The company links to Stewart Title's rate calculator for policy cost estimation. Stewart Title serves as a reinsurance or co-underwriting partner for policies issued through the Title Guaranty agency.
• Old Republic National Title Insurance CompanyminorOthersOld Republic National Title Insurance Company is listed as one of the underwriters whose policies are available through Title Guaranty. This represents a standard agency underwriting relationship where Title Guaranty acts as a local issuing agent for Old Republic title insurance products.
• Chattanooga Abstract CompanycoreOthersChattanooga Abstract Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Title Guaranty and Trust Company of Chattanooga. Founded alongside Title Guaranty in 1890 by Henry Clay Beck, the subsidiary handles the abstract and title search work that feeds into the title insurance underwriting process. This internal subsidiary relationship is a core component of the company's vertically integrated title services operation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Broad incumbents

• First American Title Insurance Company: One of the largest national title insurance underwriters, and an active underwriting partner of Title Guaranty. Directly comparable as a title insurance carrier with overlapping policy issuance, but operates at national scale rather than a single regional market.
• Stewart Title Guaranty Company: Major national title insurance underwriter and listed underwriting partner of Title Guaranty. Provides similar title insurance and escrow products through agency relationships and direct operations across the U.S.
• Old Republic National Title Insurance Company: National title underwriter listed as a Title Guaranty partner. Issues title insurance policies through agency and direct channels, offering comparable owner and lender policies across multiple states.
• Fidelity National Title: One of the largest U.S. title insurance underwriters, operating across residential and commercial title and escrow. Comparable to Title Guaranty in core product offering, but with national reach and significantly greater scale.
• Chicago Title Insurance Company: National title underwriter owned by Fidelity National Financial, issuing title insurance policies and providing escrow/settlement services. Comparable product suite to Title Guaranty but operating at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Direct peers

• WFG National Title Insurance Company: National title underwriter that distributes through independent title agents. Directly comparable to Title Guaranty as a policy-issuing underwriter with agency distribution, though WFG operates across many states rather than a single region.
• Investors Title Company: Regional title insurance underwriter and agency operator with comparable mix of title underwriting, agency, and settlement services. Closely aligned to Title Guaranty in business model (underwriter plus agency services) though serving different regional markets.
• North American Title Insurance Company: Title insurance underwriter issuing policies through agents and direct operations in multiple states. Comparable as a direct underwriter competitor to Title Guaranty, with similar residential/commercial title and escrow offerings.
• Title Resources Guaranty Company: Title insurance underwriter operating through agency distribution with comparable owner and lender policy products. Directly comparable to Title Guaranty in core underwriting function and agency-channel distribution model.

Emerging players

• Qualia: Title and escrow technology platform serving title agents, underwriters, and real estate professionals. Indirect competitor/ecosystem risk to Title Guaranty, as adoption of Qualia by lenders and agents could compress demand for traditional local title operations.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chattanooga-title

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Title Guaranty