Full Text of SB2947 98th General Assembly
SB2947enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Title Insurance Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Section 16 as follows:
| 6 | | (215 ILCS 155/16) (from Ch. 73, par. 1416)
| 7 | | Sec. 16. Title insurance agents.
| 8 | | (a) No person, firm, partnership, association, corporation | 9 | | or other
legal entity shall act as or hold itself out to be a | 10 | | title insurance agent
unless duly registered by a title | 11 | | insurance company with the Secretary.
| 12 | | (b) Each application for registration shall be made on a | 13 | | form specified
by the Secretary and prepared in duplicate by | 14 | | each title insurance company
which the agent represents. The | 15 | | title insurance company shall retain the
copy of the | 16 | | application and forward the original to the Secretary with the
| 17 | | appropriate fee.
| 18 | | (c) Every applicant for registration, except a firm, | 19 | | partnership,
association, limited liability company, or | 20 | | corporation, must be 18 years or more of age. Included in every | 21 | | application for registration of a title insurance agent, | 22 | | including a firm, partnership,
association, limited liability | 23 | | company, or corporation, shall be an affidavit of the applicant |
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| 1 | | title insurance agent, signed and notarized in front
of a | 2 | | notary public, affirming that the applicant and every owner, | 3 | | officer, director, principal, member, or
manager of the | 4 | | applicant has never been convicted or pled guilty to any felony | 5 | | or misdemeanor involving a crime of
theft or dishonesty or | 6 | | otherwise accurately disclosing any such felony or misdemeanor | 7 | | involving a crime of
theft or dishonesty . No person who has had | 8 | | a conviction or pled guilty to any felony or
misdemeanor | 9 | | involving theft or dishonesty may be registered by a title | 10 | | insurance company without a separate written notification to | 11 | | the Secretary disclosing the conviction or plea, and no such
| 12 | | person may serve as an owner, officer, director, principal, or | 13 | | manager of any registered title insurance
agent without the | 14 | | written permission of the Secretary.
| 15 | | (d) Registration shall be made annually by a filing with | 16 | | the Secretary;
supplemental registrations for new title | 17 | | insurance agents to be added
between annual filings shall be | 18 | | made from time to time in the manner
provided by the Secretary; | 19 | | registrations shall remain in effect unless
revoked or | 20 | | suspended by the Secretary or
voluntarily withdrawn by the
| 21 | | registrant or the title insurance company.
| 22 | | (e) Funds deposited in connection with any escrows, | 23 | | settlements, or closings shall be deposited in a separate | 24 | | fiduciary trust account or accounts in a bank or other | 25 | | financial institution insured by an agency of the federal | 26 | | government unless the instructions provide otherwise. The |
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| 1 | | funds shall be the property of the person or persons entitled | 2 | | thereto under the provisions of the escrow, settlement, or | 3 | | closing and shall be segregated by escrow, settlement, or | 4 | | closing in the records of the escrow agent. The funds shall not | 5 | | be subject to any debts of the escrowee and shall be used only | 6 | | in accordance with the terms of the individual escrow, | 7 | | settlement, or closing under which the funds were accepted. | 8 | | Interest received on funds deposited with the escrow agent | 9 | | in connection with any escrow, settlement, or closing shall be | 10 | | paid to the depositing party unless the instructions provide | 11 | | otherwise. | 12 | | The escrow agent shall maintain separate records of all | 13 | | receipts and disbursements of escrow, settlement, or closing | 14 | | funds. | 15 | | The escrow agent shall comply with any rules adopted by the | 16 | | Secretary pertaining to escrow, settlement, or closing | 17 | | transactions. | 18 | | (f) A title insurance agent shall not act as an escrow | 19 | | agent in a nonresidential real property transaction where the | 20 | | amount of settlement funds on deposit with the escrow agent is | 21 | | less than $2,000,000 or in a residential real property | 22 | | transaction unless the title insurance agent, title insurance | 23 | | company, or another authorized title insurance agent has | 24 | | committed for the issuance of title insurance in that | 25 | | transaction and the title insurance agent is authorized to act | 26 | | as an escrow agent on behalf of the title insurance company for |
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| 1 | | which the commitment for title insurance has been issued. The | 2 | | authorization under the preceding sentence shall be given | 3 | | either (1) by an agency contract with the title insurance | 4 | | company which contract, in compliance with the requirements set | 5 | | forth in subsection (g) of this Section, authorizes the title | 6 | | insurance agent to act as an escrow agent on behalf of the | 7 | | title insurance company or (2) by a closing protection letter | 8 | | in compliance with the requirements set forth in Section 16.1 | 9 | | of this Act, issued by the title insurance company to the | 10 | | seller, buyer, borrower, and lender. A closing protection | 11 | | letter shall not be issued by a title insurance agent. The | 12 | | provisions of this subsection (f) shall not apply to the | 13 | | authority of a title insurance agent to act as an escrow agent | 14 | | under subsection (g) of Section 17 of this Act. | 15 | | (g) If an agency contract between the title insurance | 16 | | company and the title insurance agent is the source of the | 17 | | authority under subsection (f) of this Section for a title | 18 | | insurance agent to act as escrow agent for a real property | 19 | | transaction, then the agency contract shall provide for no less | 20 | | protection from the title insurance company to all parties to | 21 | | the real property transaction than the title insurance company | 22 | | would have provided to those parties had the title insurance | 23 | | company issued a closing protection letter in conformity with | 24 | | Section 16.1 of this Act. | 25 | | (h) A title insurance company shall be liable for the acts | 26 | | or omissions of its title insurance agent as an escrow agent if |
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| 1 | | the title insurance company has authorized the title insurance | 2 | | agent under subsections (f) and (g) of this Section 16 and only | 3 | | to the extent of the liability undertaken by the title | 4 | | insurance company in the agency agreement or closing protection | 5 | | letter. The liability, if any, of the title insurance agent to | 6 | | the title insurance company for acts and omissions of the title | 7 | | insurance agent as an escrow agent shall not be limited or | 8 | | otherwise modified because the title insurance company has | 9 | | provided closing protection to a party or parties to a real | 10 | | property transaction escrow, settlement, or closing. The | 11 | | escrow agent shall not charge a fee for protection provided by | 12 | | a title insurance company to parties to real property | 13 | | transactions under subsections (f) and (g) of this Section 16 | 14 | | and Section 16.1, but shall collect from the parties the fee | 15 | | charged by the title insurance company and shall promptly remit | 16 | | the fee to the title insurance company. The title insurance | 17 | | company may charge the parties a reasonable fee for protection | 18 | | provided pursuant to subsections (f) and (g) of this Section 16 | 19 | | and Section 16.1 and shall not pay any portion of the fee to | 20 | | the escrow agent. The payment of any portion of the fee to the | 21 | | escrow agent by the title insurance company, shall be deemed a | 22 | | prohibited inducement or compensation in violation of Section | 23 | | 24 of this Act. | 24 | | (i) The Secretary shall adopt and amend such rules as may | 25 | | be required for the proper administration and enforcement of | 26 | | this Section 16 consistent with the federal Real Estate |
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| 1 | | Settlement Procedures Act and Section 24 of this Act. | 2 | | (Source: P.A. 98-398, eff. 1-1-14.)
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