Investors Title Company 2000 Annual Report  Letter to Shareholders  Dear Fellow Shareholders: In the first year of the century, the real estate market remained  healthy and we continued to increase our presence in new  markets.  We began the year in an environment where the total volume of  mortgage lending was significantly down compared to the prior  year period. The rise in interest rates during 1999 essentially  eliminated the demand for refinancing existing mortgage loans,  which was a significant percent of mortgage originations  through the first half of 1999.  Although the year started relatively slow, the pace of activity  picked up as the year progressed. In 1999, mortgage rates  trended up the entire year, while in 2000 they steadily declined. At year end, they were within approximately half a percentage point of where they were 24  months earlier.  Fortunately, higher rates in 1999 did not have a serious dampening effect on the residential and  commercial real estate markets in 2000. Nationwide existing home sales were off 2% from the  prior record year and remained at a relatively high level on a historical basis. New home sales  were virtually flat compared with the prior record year. The continued strength in the housing  market favorably impacted the level of our premiums written in 2000.  Activity in the commercial real estate market remained strong as well. Building this line of  business remains a priority for our company, and we were able to achieve a significant increase  in commercial premiums over the prior year.  In the last weeks of 2000, with certain economic indicators suggesting a slow down in economic  activity, the Federal Reserve Board moved to bring short-term interest rates down. Mortgage  rates declined as well and by January of 2001 were at the lowest levels seen in almost two years.  The amount of the decline was sufficient enough to entice a number of borrowers to begin  refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association’ s loan application index picked up significantly  at year end, suggesting that we will enjoy an increase in premiums as these loans are closed.  Ongoing lower rates should favorably impact mortgage originations, but this impact may be  tempered should weakness in economic activity increase.  3 © Investors Title Company 