In 2025, First European celebrates 20 years offering title insurance solutions as a Group across Central and Eastern Europe.

With a proven track record of delivering peace of mind to clients across Europe, we’re the reliable choice when you need protection most.

We are now licensed in 29 European countries and have a claims team dedicated to resolving your claims efficiently and pragmatically.

In 2018 following the UK's decision to exit the European Union, First European was established in Malta to enable the First American Group to continue providing title insurance in the EU.

A Part VII insurance business transfer was undertaken in 2020 to ensure that First European could seamlessly continue to service First Title's existing EU policy holders.

First European started trading on 30 April 2020.

In 2005, First Title Insurance Plc starts issuing title insurance policies across mainland Europe having commenced operating as a title insurer in the UK in 1984 and in Republic of Ireland in 1998.

Since then we have insured over €50bn worth of real estate across Europe over the past 20 years.

We offer a streamlined in-house underwriting and claims process, all with a single reliable insurer.

In 1988, First American approached Canadian officials with a request to open title insurance offices in Canada.

Since that time, the company has revolutionized the way title insurance is used and viewed by Canadian consumers and lenders.

With the success of its endeavors in Canada, First American used a similar business model to develop international operations around the world. First American was the first title insurance provider in Mexico, Korea, and Hong Kong, and has the leading market share in Australia and England.

In 1957, the board of directors authorized an expansion plan with the intent of becoming a powerhouse in the Southern California market. However, the decision to provide services where its existing customers had operations soon led the company far beyond California's borders.

In 1963, D.P. Kennedy was named president of the company, taking over for his uncle, George Parker. By this time, the company had changed its name to First American and was operating in four states.

During its first 70 years, the company's growth paralleled that of Orange County—modest but steady. It earned a reputation for diligence, thoroughness and friendly, personal service. In 1924, it became one of the first abstract companies in California to qualify to issue policies of title insurance.

Donald Parker Kennedy, grandson of the founder, joined the company after finishing law school in 1948. He soon realized that the company needed to expand beyond the boundaries of the county in order to survive.

First American traces its roots to 1889, when Orange County, California, a rural, undeveloped area at the time, split off from the county of Los Angeles. Two firms opened to handle title matters in the brand-new county.

Five years later, C.E. Parker, a local businessman, succeeded in merging the two competitors into a single entity. He was named president of the resulting company, Orange County Title Company, the immediate predecessor to today's First American Title Insurance Company, the largest subsidiary of First American Financial Corporation.