Revenues. The Company's operating revenues, summarized by type, are as follows:



	2018	2017	2016
	($000 omitted)
Title insurance premiums:
Direct	597,510	602,858	618,170
Agency	1,003,959	1,016,356	1,009,797
Escrow fees	124,660	142,463	154,752
Search, abstract and valuation services	92,708	96,703	101,000
Other revenues	69,045	76,205	104,662
	1,887,882	1,934,585	1,988,381

Direct premiums - Premiums from title insurance policies directly issued or issued by affiliate offices are recognized at the time of the closing of the related real estate transaction.

Agency premiums - Premiums from title insurance policies written by independent agencies are recognized when the policies are reported to the Company. In addition, where reasonable estimates can be made, the Company accrues for policies issued but not reported until after period end. The Company believes that reasonable estimates can be made when recent and consistent policy issuance information is available. Estimates are based on historical reporting patterns and other information obtained about independent agencies, as well as current trends in direct operations and in the title industry. In this accrual, future transactions are not being estimated. The Company is estimating revenues on policies that have already been issued by independent agencies but not yet reported to or received by the Company. The Company has consistently followed the same basic method of estimating unreported policy revenues for more than 10 years.

Escrow fees - An escrow is a transaction pursuant to an agreement of a buyer, seller, borrower, or lender wherein an impartial third party, such as the Company, acts in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of the parties in accordance with the terms of such agreement in order to accomplish the directions stated therein. Services provided include, among others, acting as escrow or other fiduciary agent, obtaining releases, and conducting the actual closing or settlement. Escrow fees are recognized upon closing of the escrow, which is generally at the same time of the closing of the related real estate transaction.

Search, abstract and valuation services - These services are primarily related to establishing the ownership, legal status and valuation of the property in a real estate transaction. In these cases, the Company does not issue a title insurance policy or perform duties of an escrow agent. Revenues from these services are recognized upon delivery of the service to the customer.

Other revenues - Other revenues consist primarily of fees related to tax-deferred property exchange services, information technology products related to real property records and closing settlement services, income from equity investees, and other services performed to facilitate the closing of real estate transactions. For those products and services that are delivered at a point in time, the related revenue is recognized upon delivery based on the unit price of the product or service. For those products and services where delivery occurs over time, the related revenue is recognized ratably over the duration of the contract. Other revenues for 2016 included revenues from ancillary services businesses that the Company discontinued at the end of 2016.