The insurance companies that sell coverage to protect against problems with land titles on homes and other property are coming under new regulatory scrutiny.Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreiderl's news release & reportIn a report issued yesterday, Washington state regulators said that title insurance companies there flouted laws by spending thousands of dollars on pro basketball tickets, shopping trips, cocktail parties, boat trips and golf tournaments, in exchange for customer referrals.
The recipients of the lavish gifts, the regulators said, were bankers, builders and representatives of real estate companies. The insurers, who say that the laws governing such referrals are unclear, will not be fined.
“The real shocker was the scope and extent of the abuse,” Mike Kreidler, the insurance commissioner in Washington, said in a statement. “We sure didn’t expect to find that all the major players in the greater Seattle title insurance market were routinely breaking state laws that limit and restrict the use of incentives and giveaways to steer business.” The agency’s report was released after an 18-month investigation.
