(a) Except as provided by §§ 56-35-201 and 56-35-204, the commissioner shall refuse to issue any new license or certificate to any title insurance company, title insurance agent, or title insurance agency, unless the applicant therefor shall agree to abide by any one (1) of the following terms and conditions:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-35-131

  • Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance, and includes all deputies legally appointed and constituted to act in the commissioner's place and stead by other applicable law of the state. See Tennessee Code 56-35-102
  • Controlled business: describes that portion of a title insurance company's, title insurance agent's or title insurance agency's business in this state with which there is connected in any way, directly or indirectly:
    (A) Producers of title insurance business who have financial interests in the title insurance company, title insurance agent or title insurance agency. See Tennessee Code 56-35-102
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Title insurance agency: means a firm, association, trust, corporation, cooperative, joint stock company or other legal entity authorized in writing by a title insurance company to solicit title insurance, collect premiums, determine insurability in accordance with the underwriting rules and standards prescribed by the title insurance company that the agency represents, and issue title insurance policies, title insurance binders, commitments to insure and endorsements thereto in its behalf. See Tennessee Code 56-35-102
  • Title insurance agent: means either:
    (A) A natural person who meets the requirements of or performs the same functions as a "title insurance agency". See Tennessee Code 56-35-102
  • Title insurance company: means any corporation, foreign or domestic, authorized by its charter to conduct a "title insurance business" as defined by this chapter and is sometimes referred to as "insurer" or "insurers. See Tennessee Code 56-35-102
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The gross operating revenues for any fiscal year attributable to the placement or issuance of policies or contracts of title insurance derived from all sources of controlled business shall not exceed forty percent (40%) of the gross operating revenues of the company, agent or agency;
(2) The company, agent or agency will be operated as a subsidiary of a financial institution with its primary business being that of accepting deposits and making real estate loans and subject to regulation, inspection, and supervision of the United States government or an agency of the United States; or
(3) The title insurance agency or agent is to be operated by an attorney, a single partnership of attorneys, or a single professional corporation of attorneys as an ancillary part of the general practice of law.
(b) Any violation of the terms and conditions of the agreement shall serve as grounds for the commissioner to suspend or revoke the license or certificate to which the agreement pertains and to assess a civil penalty as provided by § 56-35-127.
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