Montana Code 33-25-302. Disapproval of agency contracts
33-25-302. Disapproval of agency contracts. (1) The commissioner may disapprove a title agency contract between a title insurance producer and title insurer, upon appropriate notice to the parties to the contract, if the commissioner finds that the contract, together with all amendments and related documents:
Terms Used In Montana Code 33-25-302
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- producer: means a person, corporation, partnership, or other business entity, including an officer, director, or owner of 5% or more of the equity or capital thereof, engaged in this state in the trade, business, occupation, or profession of:
(a)buying or selling interests in real property;
(b)making loans secured by interests in real property; or
(c)acting as broker, insurance producer, or representative of a person described in subsection (8)(a) or (8)(b). See Montana Code 33-25-105
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Title insurance producer: means a person who holds a valid title insurance producer's license and is authorized in writing by a title insurer to:
(i)solicit title insurance business;
(ii)collect rates;
(iii)determine insurability in accordance with underwriting rules and standards of the insurer; or
(iv)issue policies of the title insurer. See Montana Code 33-25-105
- Title insurer: means an insurer formed and authorized under the laws of this state to transact the business of title insurance in this state or a foreign or alien insurer so authorized. See Montana Code 33-25-105
(a)does not provide for adequate monitoring of the insurance producer’s financial transactions; or
(b)provides for inadequate, unreasonable, or excessive amounts to be paid to or retained by the title insurance producer. Factors the commissioner may consider in this determination include but are not limited to the insurance producer’s duties under the contract and the general level of amounts paid to or retained by other title insurance producers in the state performing or assuming comparable duties.
(2)A person may not act as a title insurance producer under an agency contract that has been disapproved by the commissioner.