Sen. Iris Y. Martinez

Filed: 3/15/2010

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2985

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2985 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Title Insurance Act is amended by changing
5 Sections 3 and 16 and by adding Section 16.1 as follows:
 
6     (215 ILCS 155/3)  (from Ch. 73, par. 1403)
7     Sec. 3. As used in this Act, the words and phrases
8 following shall have the following meanings unless the context
9 requires otherwise:
10     (1) "Title insurance business" or "business of title
11 insurance" means:
12         (A) Issuing as insurer or offering to issue as insurer
13     title insurance; and
14         (B) Transacting or proposing to transact one or more of
15     the following activities when conducted or performed in
16     contemplation of or in conjunction with the issuance of

 

 

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1     title insurance;
2             (i) soliciting or negotiating the issuance of
3         title insurance;
4             (ii) guaranteeing, warranting, or otherwise
5         insuring the correctness of title searches for all
6         instruments affecting titles to real property, any
7         interest in real property, cooperative units and
8         proprietary leases, and for all liens or charges
9         affecting the same;
10             (iii) handling of escrows, settlements, or
11         closings;
12             (iv) executing title insurance policies;
13             (v) effecting contracts of reinsurance;
14             (vi) abstracting, searching, or examining titles;
15         or
16             (vii) issuing insured closing letters or closing
17         protection letters;
18         (C) Guaranteeing, warranting, or insuring searches or
19     examinations of title to real property or any interest in
20     real property, with the exception of preparing an
21     attorney's opinion of title; or
22         (D) Guaranteeing or warranting the status of title as
23     to ownership of or liens on real property and personal
24     property by any person other than the principals to the
25     transaction; or
26         (E) Doing or proposing to do any business substantially

 

 

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1     equivalent to any of the activities listed in this
2     subsection, provided that the preparation of an attorney's
3     opinion of title pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) is not
4     intended to be within the definition of "title insurance
5     business" or "business of title insurance".
6     (1.5) "Title insurance" means insuring, guaranteeing,
7 warranting, or indemnifying owners of real or personal property
8 or the holders of liens or encumbrances thereon or others
9 interested therein against loss or damage suffered by reason of
10 liens, encumbrances upon, defects in, or the unmarketability of
11 the title to the property; the invalidity or unenforceability
12 of any liens or encumbrances thereon; or doing any business in
13 substance equivalent to any of the foregoing. "Warranting" for
14 purpose of this provision shall not include any warranty
15 contained in instruments of encumbrance or conveyance. Title
16 insurance is a single line form of insurance, also known as
17 monoline. An attorney's opinion of title pursuant to paragraph
18 (1)(C) is not intended to be within the definition of "title
19 insurance".
20     (2) "Title insurance company" means any domestic company
21 organized under the laws of this State for the purpose of
22 conducting the business of title insurance and any title
23 insurance company organized under the laws of another State,
24 the District of Columbia or foreign government and authorized
25 to transact the business of title insurance in this State.
26     (3) "Title insurance agent" means a person, firm,

 

 

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1 partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity
2 registered by a title insurance company and authorized by such
3 company to determine insurability of title in accordance with
4 generally acceptable underwriting rules and standards in
5 reliance on either the public records or a search package
6 prepared from a title plant, or both, and authorized by such
7 title insurance company in addition to do any of the following:
8 act as an escrow agent pursuant to subsections (f), (g), and
9 (h) of Section 16 of this Act, solicit title insurance, collect
10 premiums, or issue title insurance commitments reports,
11 binders or commitments to insure and policies, and endorsements
12 of the title insurance company; in its behalf, provided,
13 however, the term "title insurance agent" shall not include
14 officers and salaried employees of any title insurance company.
15     (4) "Producer of title business" is any person, firm,
16 partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity
17 engaged in this State in the trade, business, occupation or
18 profession of (i) buying or selling interests in real property,
19 (ii) making loans secured by interests in real property, or
20 (iii) acting as broker, agent, attorney, or representative of
21 natural persons or other legal entities that buy or sell
22 interests in real property or that lend money with such
23 interests as security.
24     (5) "Associate" is any firm, association, partnership,
25 corporation or other legal entity organized for profit in which
26 a producer of title business is a director, officer, or partner

 

 

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1 thereof, or owner of a financial interest, as defined herein,
2 in such entity; any legal entity that controls, is controlled
3 by, or is under common control with a producer of title
4 business; and any natural person or legal entity with whom a
5 producer of title business has any agreement, arrangement, or
6 understanding or pursues any course of conduct the purpose of
7 which is to evade the provisions of this Act.
8     (6) "Financial interest" is any ownership interest, legal
9 or beneficial, except ownership of publicly traded stock.
10     (7) "Refer" means to place or cause to be placed, or to
11 exercise any power or influence over the placing of title
12 business, whether or not the consent or approval of any other
13 person is sought or obtained with respect to the referral.
14     (8) "Escrow Agent" means any title insurance company or any
15 title insurance agent, including independent contractors of
16 either, acting on behalf of a title insurance company which
17 receives deposits, in trust, of funds or documents, or both,
18 for the purpose of effecting the sale, transfer, encumbrance or
19 lease of real property to be held by such escrow agent until
20 title to the real property that is the subject of the escrow is
21 in a prescribed condition. An escrow agent conducting closings
22 shall be subject to the provisions of paragraphs (1) through
23 (4) of subsection (e) of Section 16 of this Act.
24     (9) "Independent Escrowee" means any firm, person,
25 partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity,
26 other than a title insurance company or a title insurance

 

 

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1 agent, which receives deposits, in trust, of funds or
2 documents, or both, for the purpose of effecting the sale,
3 transfer, encumbrance or lease of real property to be held by
4 such escrowee until title to the real property that is the
5 subject of the escrow is in a prescribed condition. Federal and
6 State chartered banks, savings and loan associations, credit
7 unions, mortgage bankers, banks or trust companies authorized
8 to do business under the Illinois Corporate Fiduciary Act,
9 licensees under the Consumer Installment Loan Act, real estate
10 brokers licensed pursuant to the Real Estate License Act of
11 2000, as such Acts are now or hereafter amended, and licensed
12 attorneys when engaged in the attorney-client relationship are
13 exempt from the escrow provisions of this Act. "Independent
14 Escrowee" does not include employees or independent
15 contractors of a title insurance company or title insurance
16 agent authorized by a title insurance company to perform
17 closing, escrow, or settlement services.
18     (10) "Single risk" means the insured amount of any title
19 insurance policy, except that where 2 or more title insurance
20 policies are issued simultaneously covering different estates
21 in the same real property, "single risk" means the sum of the
22 insured amounts of all such title insurance policies. Any title
23 insurance policy insuring a mortgage interest, a claim payment
24 under which reduces the insured amount of a fee or leasehold
25 title insurance policy, shall be excluded in computing the
26 amount of a single risk to the extent that the insured amount

 

 

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1 of the mortgage title insurance policy does not exceed the
2 insured amount of the fee or leasehold title insurance policy.
3     (11) "Department" means the Department of Financial and
4 Professional Regulation.
5     (12) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and
6 Professional Regulation.
7     (13) "Insured closing letter" or "closing protection
8 letter" means an indemnification or undertaking to a party to a
9 real estate transaction, from a principal such as a title
10 insurance company or similar entity, setting forth in writing
11 the extent of the principal's responsibility for intentional
12 misconduct or errors in closing the real estate transaction on
13 the part of a settlement agent, such as a title insurance agent
14 or other settlement service provider.
15     (14) "Residential real property" means a building or
16 buildings consisting of one to 4 residential units or a
17 residential condominium unit where at least one of the
18 residential units or condominium units is occupied or intended
19 to be occupied as a residence by the purchaser or borrower, or
20 in the event that the purchaser or borrower is the trustee of a
21 trust, by a beneficiary of that trust.
22 (Source: P.A. 94-893, eff. 6-20-06; 95-570, eff. 8-31-07.)
 
23     (215 ILCS 155/16)  (from Ch. 73, par. 1416)
24     Sec. 16. Title insurance agents.
25     (a) No person, firm, partnership, association, corporation

 

 

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1 or other legal entity shall act as or hold itself out to be a
2 title insurance agent unless duly registered by a title
3 insurance company with the Secretary.
4     (b) Each application for registration shall be made on a
5 form specified by the Secretary and prepared in duplicate by
6 each title insurance company which the agent represents. The
7 title insurance company shall retain the copy of the
8 application and forward the original to the Secretary with the
9 appropriate fee.
10     (c) Every applicant for registration, except a firm,
11 partnership, association or corporation, must be 18 years or
12 more of age.
13     (d) Registration shall be made annually by a filing with
14 the Secretary; supplemental registrations for new title
15 insurance agents to be added between annual filings shall be
16 made from time to time in the manner provided by the Secretary;
17 registrations shall remain in effect unless revoked or
18 suspended by the Secretary or voluntarily withdrawn by the
19 registrant or the title insurance company.
20     (e) Funds deposited in connection with any escrows,
21 settlements, or closings shall be deposited in a separate
22 fiduciary trust account or accounts in a bank or other
23 financial institution insured by an agency of the federal
24 government unless the instructions provide otherwise. The
25 funds shall be the property of the person or persons entitled
26 thereto under the provisions of the escrow, settlement, or

 

 

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1 closing and shall be segregated by escrow, settlement, or
2 closing in the records of the escrow agent. The funds shall not
3 be subject to any debts of the escrowee and shall be used only
4 in accordance with the terms of the individual escrow,
5 settlement, or closing under which the funds were accepted.
6     Interest received on funds deposited with the escrow agent
7 in connection with any escrow, settlement, or closing shall be
8 paid to the depositing party unless the instructions provide
9 otherwise.
10     The escrow agent shall maintain separate records of all
11 receipts and disbursements of escrow, settlement, or closing
12 funds.
13     The escrow agent shall comply with any rules adopted by the
14 Secretary pertaining to escrow, settlement, or closing
15 transactions.
16     (f) A title insurance agent shall not act as an escrow
17 agent in a real property transaction unless the title insurance
18 agent, title insurance company, or another authorized title
19 insurance agent has committed for the issuance of title
20 insurance in that transaction and the title insurance agent is
21 authorized to act as an escrow agent on behalf of the title
22 insurance company for which the commitment for title insurance
23 has been issued. The authorization under the preceding sentence
24 shall be given either (1) by an agency contract with the title
25 insurance company which contract, in compliance with the
26 requirements set forth in subsection (g) of this Section,

 

 

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1 authorizes the title insurance agent to act as an escrow agent
2 on behalf of the title insurance company or (2) by a closing
3 protection letter in compliance with the requirements set forth
4 in Section 16.1 of this Act, issued by the title insurance
5 company to the seller, buyer, borrower, and lender. A closing
6 protection letter shall not be issued by a title insurance
7 agent. The provisions of this subsection (f) shall not apply to
8 the authority of a title insurance agent to act as an escrow
9 agent under subsection (g) of Section 17 of this Act.
10     (g) If an agency contract between the title insurance
11 company and the title insurance agent is the source of the
12 authority under subsection (f) of this Section for a title
13 insurance agent to act as escrow agent for a real property
14 transaction, then the agency contract shall provide for no less
15 protection from the title insurance company to all parties to
16 the real property transaction than the title insurance company
17 would have provided to those parties had the title insurance
18 company issued a closing protection letter in conformity with
19 Section 16.1 of this Act.
20     (h) A title insurance company shall be liable for the acts
21 or omissions of its title insurance agent as an escrow agent if
22 the title insurance company has authorized the title insurance
23 agent under subsections (f) and (g) of this Section 16 and only
24 to the extent of the liability undertaken by the title
25 insurance company in the agency agreement or closing protection
26 letter. The liability, if any, of the title insurance agent to

 

 

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1 the title insurance company for acts and omissions of the title
2 insurance agent as an escrow agent shall not be limited or
3 otherwise modified because the title insurance company has
4 provided closing protection to a party or parties to a real
5 property transaction escrow, settlement, or closing. The
6 escrow agent shall not charge a fee for protection provided by
7 a title insurance company to parties to real property
8 transactions under subsections (f) and (g) of this Section 16
9 and Section 16.1, but shall collect from the parties the fee
10 charged by the title insurance company under Section 16.1 of
11 this Act and shall promptly remit the fee to the title
12 insurance company. The title insurance company shall charge the
13 parties a fee as specified in Section 16.1 of this Act for
14 protection provided pursuant to subsections (f) and (g) of this
15 Section 16 and shall not pay any portion of the fee to the
16 escrow agent. The failure of the title insurance company to
17 charge the fee required under the preceding sentence, or the
18 payment of any portion of the fee to the escrow agent by the
19 title insurance company, shall be deemed a prohibited
20 inducement or compensation in violation of Section 24 of this
21 Act.
22 (Source: P.A. 94-893, eff. 6-20-06.)
 
23     (215 ILCS 155/16.1 new)
24     Sec. 16.1. Closing or settlement protection.
25     (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of item (iii) of

 

 

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1 paragraph (B) of subsection (1) and subsections (3) and (8) of
2 Section 3 and Section 16 of this Act, a title insurance company
3 or title insurance agent is not authorized to act as an escrow
4 agent in a real property transaction unless as part of the same
5 transaction a commitment, binder, or title insurance policy and
6 closing protection letters protecting the buyer's or
7 borrower's, lender's, and seller's interests have been issued
8 by the title insurance company on whose behalf the commitment,
9 binder, or title insurance policy has been issued. Closing
10 protection letters are not required when the authorization for
11 the title insurance agent to act as an escrow agent is given by
12 an agency contract with the title insurance company pursuant to
13 subsections (f), (g), and (h) of Section 16 of this Act, but
14 may be issued by the title insurance company upon the request
15 of a party to the real property transaction.
16     (b) A closing protection letter under this Section shall
17 indemnify all parties to a real property transaction against
18 actual loss, not to exceed the amount of the settlement funds
19 deposited with the escrow agent, when such loss arises out of:
20         (1) failure of the escrow agent to comply with written
21     closing instructions to the extent that they relate to (A)
22     the status of the title to an interest in land or the
23     validity, enforceability, and priority of the lien of a
24     mortgage on an interest in land, including the obtaining of
25     documents and the disbursement of funds necessary to
26     establish the status of title or lien or (B) the obtaining

 

 

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1     of any other document specifically required by a party to
2     the real property transaction, but only to the extent that
3     the failure to obtain such other document affects the
4     status of the title to an interest in land or the validity,
5     enforceability, and priority of the lien of a mortgage on
6     an interest in land; or
7         (2) fraud, dishonesty, or negligence of the escrow
8     agent in handling funds or documents in connection with
9     closings to the extent that the fraud, dishonesty, or
10     negligence relates to the status of the title to the
11     interest in land or to the validity, enforceability, and
12     priority of the lien of a mortgage on an interest in land
13     or, in the case of a seller, to the extent that the fraud,
14     dishonesty, or negligence relates to funds paid to or on
15     behalf of, or which should have been paid to or on behalf
16     of, the seller.
17     (c) The indemnification under a closing protection letter
18 may include limitations on the liability of the title insurance
19 company for any of the following:
20         (1) Failure of the escrow agent to comply with closing
21     instructions that require title insurance protection
22     inconsistent with that set forth in the title insurance
23     commitment for the real property transaction. Instructions
24     that require the removal of specific exceptions to title or
25     compliance with the requirements contained in the title
26     insurance commitment shall not be deemed to be

 

 

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1     inconsistent.
2         (2) Loss or impairment of funds in the course of
3     collection or while on deposit with a bank due to bank
4     failure, insolvency, or suspension, except such as shall
5     result from failure of the escrow agent closer to comply
6     with written closing instructions to deposit the funds in a
7     bank that is designated by name by a party to the real
8     property transaction.
9         (3) Mechanics' and materialmen's liens in connection
10     with sale, purchase, lease, or construction loan
11     transactions, except to the extent that protection against
12     such liens is afforded by a title insurance commitment or
13     policy issued by the escrow agent.
14         (4) Failure of the escrow agent to comply with written
15     closing instructions to the extent that such instructions
16     require a determination by the escrow agent of the
17     validity, enforceability, or effectiveness of any document
18     described in subitem (B) of item (1) of subsection (g) of
19     this Section.
20         (5) Fraud, dishonesty, or negligence of an employee,
21     agent, attorney, or broker, who is not also the escrow
22     agent, of the indemnified party to the real property
23     transaction.
24         (6) The settlement or release of any claim by the
25     indemnified party to the real property transaction without
26     the written consent of the title insurance company.

 

 

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1         (7) Any matters created, suffered, assumed, or agreed
2     to by, or known to, the indemnified party to the real
3     property transaction without the written consent of the
4     title insurance company.
5     The closing protection letter may also include reasonable
6 additional provisions concerning the dollar amount of
7 protection, provided such limit is not less than the amount
8 deposited with the escrow agent, arbitration, subrogation,
9 claim notices, and other conditions and limitations that do not
10 materially impair the protection required by this Section 16.1.
11     (d) Notwithstanding Section 19 of this Act, a title
12 insurance company shall collect a service fee for closing
13 protection, whether provided by agency contract or by the
14 issuance of a closing protection letter.
15     The fee for closing protection, whether by agency contract
16 or the issuance of a closing protection letter, indemnifying a
17 purchase of, or lender with a lien on, an interest in real
18 property where the purchaser and lender are both insured by
19 title insurance policies issued in connection with such
20 transaction shall be not less than $25.
21     The fee for closing protection, whether by agency contract
22 or the issuance of a closing protection letter, indemnifying
23 the seller of, or the current owner granting a mortgage or
24 other lieu on, an interest in real property where the seller or
25 borrower is not insured by a title insurance policy in
26 connection with such transaction shall be not less than $50.

 

 

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1     The entire fee for the closing protection letter shall be
2 remitted by the title insurance agent to the title insurance
3 company. Title insurance agents shall not charge the parties
4 any additional amount for closing protection letters issued
5 under this Section.
6     (e) Except as provided under this Section and subsection
7 (13) of Section 3 and Section 16 of this Act, a title insurance
8 company shall not provide any other coverage that purports to
9 indemnify against improper acts or omissions of a person with
10 regard to escrow, settlement, or closing services.
11     (f) This Section shall not apply to the authority of a
12 title insurance company and title insurance agent to act as an
13 escrow agent under subsection (g) of Section 17 of this Act.".