March 5, 2014

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Important Clarifications About New Agent License Numbers & License Renewal

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) recently mailed all title agents important information regarding new title agent and escrow officer license numbers. The main contact at your company should receive this information within the next few days. If not, it is important that you contact TDI at 512.322.3482 to ensure they have the correct address and contact information for your company. There has been some confusion regarding this new license information and we wanted to provide you with the following information as clarification. Read More »

TDI Developing Implementation Steps and Guidance for Minimum Capitalization Requirements

TLTA is continuing to coordinate with Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) staff regarding implementation and interpretation of the new Agent Minimum Capitalization Requirements rule. TDI has notified us that they are developing a process internally to handle this new requirement. When their internal process is finalized, we will request that they provide us with helpful compliance information that we can in turn provide to our membership. We will be meeting with them in the near future to discuss the ins and outs of this new rule and will provide you with more information as soon as we have it. In the meantime, we recommend that you continue to study the options for complying with the rule in preparation for the July effective date in our minimum capitalization guide. Stay tuned for additional information as it becomes available.

A Run Down of the Runoffs on the May 27 Ballot

The Texas Tribune | March 5, 2014
Primary day may be over, but several primary races are far from settled. Republican voters will have another 12 weeks to hear incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and state Sen. Dan Patrick tout their conservative records. Meanwhile, Republicans Ken Paxton and Dan Branch will continue attempts to bolster their credentials in the race for attorney general. On the Democratic side, U.S. Senate candidates David Alameel and Kesha Rogers will also extend their battle. Read More »

1st Alliance Lending Turns Itself Into CFPB

HousingWire | Feb. 24, 2014
In its latest enforcement action, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Connecticut mortgage lender 1st Alliance Lending to pay an $83,000 civil money penalty for violating federal law by illegally splitting real estate settlement fees. The lender self-reported the violations to the CFPB, admitted liability, and provided information related to the conduct of other actors that has facilitated other enforcement investigations. Read More »

Register for These Upcoming Hot Topic Webinars!

Construction Transactions and Insurability Issues
Thursday, March 13 | 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Presented by:
John C DeLoach, Chief Underwriting Officer, Sierra Title Company, San Antonio
Live Version | On-Demand Version

Probate and Entity Issues: What You Need to Close
Wednesday, March 19 | 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Presented by:
Mark Peña, Attorney at Law, Lewis, Monroe & Peña, Edinburg
Live Version | On-Demand Version

What Texas Title Agents Need to Know About the New CFPB Closing Disclosure Rule
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 | 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Presented by:
Celia C. Flowers, Attorney, Flowers Davis, PLLC and East Texas Title Companies
Janet S. Minke, CTIA, Vice-President, Underwriting Support Services, Alliant National Title Insurance Company
Leslie Wyatt, Director of Industry Relations, SoftPro
Live Version | On-Demand Version

TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published

The following is a summary of recent TDI audits, violations and enforcement actions from September 2013 through November 2013. Read TDI's complete summary of operations for the quarter or read the key statistics below.

Compliance Audits
TDI's goal is to comprehensively audit agencies at least once every two years. Through November, 545 out of the 572 licensed agents have been audited in the last two years, a 95.3% rate. Fourteen additional agencies have been audited within the last three years, and 13 new agencies are yet to be audited.

Commissioner Orders & Active Cases
From September 2013 through November 2013, the commissioner signed nine orders resulting in fines or the revocation of escrow officer licenses. Through November, 59 cases remain active, including 27 cases involving the misappropriation of fiduciary funds.

Compliance Audit Results
Below are TDI’s most common audit findings from September 2013 through November 2013. The numbers below represent how many agencies had an infraction, not the number of times the infraction occurred.
 

NUMBER OF AGENCIES
  CATEGORY
  DESCRIPTION
 
31
  Texas Insurance Code Actual receipts and/or disbursements not in agreement with settlement statement or premium split not disclosed
30
  Escrow Accounting Outstanding checks not cleared timely
28 Escrow Accounting Every disbursement not supported by invoice or sufficient other evidence
26
  Bulletins
  All parties receiving portions of the real estate commission not disclosed on settlement statement.
27
  Guaranty Files Funds not disbursed or escheated to state.