Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Pursuant to Insurance Law section 6409(d) as well as other Insurance Law and
Financial Services Law provisions that authorize the superintendent to regulate
market conduct in the title insurance industry, no title insurance corporation,
title insurance agent, or any other person acting for or on behalf of such
title insurance corporation or title insurance agent, including any employee or
independent contractor thereof, shall offer or make any rebate, directly or
indirectly, or pay or give any consideration or valuable thing, to any
applicant, or to any person, firm or corporation acting as an agent,
representative, attorney or employee of the actual or prospective owner,
lessee, mortgagee of the real property or any interest therein, as an
inducement for, or as compensation for, any title insurance business, including
future title insurance business, and maintaining existing title insurance
business, regardless of whether provided as a quid pro quo for specific
business.
(b) No title insurance
corporation, title insurance agent, or any other person acting for or on behalf
of such title insurance corporation or title insurance agent, including any
employee or independent contractor thereof, shall provide or offer to provide
to any person, firm or corporation acting as an agent, representative, attorney
or employee of the actual or prospective owner, lessee, mortgagee of the real
property or any interest therein any payment, expense, compensation or benefit
associated with the following:
(1) Meals and
beverages unless otherwise authorized under sub-division (c) of this
section;
(2) entertainment,
including tickets to sporting events, concerts, shows or artistic
performances;
(3) gifts, including
cash, gift cards, gift certificates, or other items with a specific monetary
face value;
(4) outings, including
vacations, holidays, golf, ski, fishing, and other sport outings, gambling
trips, shopping trips, or trips to recreational areas, including country
clubs;
(5) parties, including
cocktail parties and holiday parties, open houses;
(6) providing assistance with business
expenses of another person, including but not limited to rent, employee
salaries, advertising, furniture, office supplies, telephones,
telecommunications, computers and other electronic devices and business
equipment, or automobiles, or leasing, renting, operating, or maintaining any
of such items, for use by other than a title insurance corporation or title
insurance agent;
(7) use of
premises, unless a fair rental fee is charged that is equal to the market value
in the premises' geographical area;
(8) paying the fees or charges of any
professional representing an insured as part of a real estate transaction, such
as an attorney, engineer, appraiser, or surveyor, or paying rent or all or any
part of the salary or other compensation of any employee or officer of any
current or prospective customer; and
(9) providing or offering to provide
non-title services, without a charge that is commensurate with the actual cost
thereof.
(c) Subject to
subdivision (a) or (b) of this section, the following expenses shall be
permissible provided that they are without regard to insured status or
conditioned directly or indirectly on the referral of title business, and
offered with no expectation of, or obligation imposed upon, to refer, apply for
or purchase insurance. In addition, any expenses incurred pursuant to this
subsection must be reasonable and customary, and not lavish or excessive:
(1) Advertising or marketing in any
publication, or media, at market rates;
(2) Advertising and promotional items of a de
minumus value that include a permanently affixed logo of a title insurance
agent or title insurance corporation;
(3) Promotional or marketing events including
complementary food and beverages that are open to and attended by the general
public;
(4) Continuing legal
education events including complementary food and beverages that are open to
any member of the legal profession;
(5) Complementary attendance offered by a
title insurance corporation, title insurance agent as a host of a marketing or
promotional event, including food and beverages available to all attendees so
long as (a) title insurance business is discussed for a substantial portion of
the event including a presentation of title insurance products and services,
(b) such events are not offered on a regular basis or as a regular occurrence,
and (c) at least twenty-five diverse individuals from different organizations
not affiliated with the host attend or were, in good faith, invited to attend
in person;
(6) Charitable
contributions made by negotiable instrument made payable only to the charitable
organization in the name of the title insurance corporation or title insurance
agent;
(7) Political
contributions.
(d) The
items listed in this section are intended as examples of permitted and
prohibited practices under Insurance Law 6409(d), and should not be considered
as exclusive or exhaustive.
