State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
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90_HB3408

      215 ILCS 155/13.5 new
          Amends the Title Insurance Act.  Requires title insurance
      companies  and  agents  to  disclose  to  the  Department  of
      Financial  Institutions  certain  fees  charged.    Prohibits
      deviation   from   the   filed   fees   except   in   certain
      circumstances.   Provides  civil penalties for noncompliance.
      Effective immediately.
                                                     LRB9010893EGfg
                                               LRB9010893EGfg
 1        AN ACT to amend the Title Insurance Act by adding Section
 2    13.5.
 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section  5.  The Title Insurance Act is amended by adding
 6    Section 13.5 as follows:
 7        (215 ILCS 155/13.5 new)
 8        Sec. 13.5. Fees; disclosure to the Department.
 9        (a)  A title insurance company or title  insurance  agent
10    must  file  with  the  Department  a  disclosure  of the fees
11    charged for each service or product provided by the  company.
12    This  disclosure of fees must be filed by all title insurance
13    companies and title insurance agents within 90  days  of  the
14    effective date of this Section or 90 days following licensure
15    or registration under this Act, whichever occurs later.
16        (b)  A  title  insurance company or title insurance agent
17    may not charge or collect a fee in an amount  different  than
18    the amount of the fee filed with the Department.
19        (c)  If  a  title  insurance  company  or title insurance
20    agent desires to change the amount of  a  fee  or  impose  an
21    additional  fee,  the  company  or  agent  must file with the
22    Department a disclosure of the changed or added fee.  A title
23    insurance company or title insurance agent may not charge  or
24    collect  a  changed or added fee until the disclosure of that
25    fee has been on file with the Department for 60 days.
26        (d)  A title insurance company or title  insurance  agent
27    may  petition  the  Department  for  an  order  authorizing a
28    specific deviation from the filed fees.   A  title  insurance
29    company  or  title  insurance agent shall not be granted more
30    than 2 deviations in a calendar year.
31        (e)  All charges incident to the business of guaranteeing
                            -2-                LRB9010893EGfg
 1    or insuring titles to real estate must  be  included  in  the
 2    filed  fee  disclosure,  including but not limited to charges
 3    relating to title  search  and  title  examination,  closing,
 4    policy  issuance,  endorsement  issuance, construction escrow
 5    administration, title  indemnity  administration,  and  tract
 6    search issuance.
 7        (f)  This   Section   does   not   apply   to  commercial
 8    transactions or new construction.  "Commercial  transactions"
 9    means all real estate transactions other than those involving
10    real estate improved with a single family residence or with a
11    building having 4 or fewer residential units.
12        (g)  In addition to any penalty imposed under Section 23,
13    a  title  insurance  company  or  title  insurance agent that
14    violates subsection (b) of this  Section  shall  pay  to  the
15    Department  a civil penalty in an amount equal to 5 times the
16    amount of the deviation from  the  filed  fee.   The  penalty
17    shall be paid to the Department within 30 days of the finding
18    by  the  Department  that  a  violation of subsection (b) has
19    occurred.  This penalty shall be  paid  on  a  per-occurrence
20    basis.
21        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
22    becoming law.

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