An April 2015 headline here told the story of the onslaught that faced the traditional taxi industry from technology-driven competitors like Uber and Lyft…
‘Because Of Uber, Are Taxi Medallion Lenders A Shorting Opportunity?‘
‘In other words is the competition from Uber decreasing the demand for taxi medallions causing the price of the medallions to drop thereby damaging the collateral of taxi medallion lenders?
In a word…yes!‘
At the time (chart below) the stock price for MFIN, then TAXI, was $10.47. The chart above shows where it closed as of yesterday.
In NYC taxi medallion prices peaked at $1 million-plus and today are about 1/2 that price decimating both the owners and the lenders who use them as collateral!
‘Just as people walked away from their homes when the recession hit, medallion owners short on cash when a mortgage balloon payment is due and who lack equity in their medallions will have no choice but to default. Taxi medallions will be seized and resold at lower prices.‘
The takeaway is that the taxi/taxi medallion industries can be used as case studies for potential industry disruption and strategic planners who fail to see the danger coming!
To date, technological advancements in the New York title insurance industry have been positive such as electronic filing. At Hallmark Abstract Service management remains vigilant of potential future changes and will strive to be early adapters.
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- Who is your underwriter?
- What is the claims experience of your title insurance provider?
- Do you know whether the non-title insurance premium fees you are paying are fair and reasonable?