South Carolina Code 38-75-1010. Title insurers; issuance of closing or settlement insurance; indemnity; premiums
(B) Closing or settlement protection may indemnify a person only against loss of closing or settlement funds because of one of the following acts of a settlement agent under the terms and conditions of the closing or settlement protection:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-75-1010
- Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Insurer: includes a corporation, fraternal organization, burial association, other association, partnership, society, order, individual, or aggregation of individuals engaging or proposing or attempting to engage as principals in any kind of insurance or surety business, including the exchanging of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts between individuals, partnerships, and corporations. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Person: means a corporation, agency, partnership, association, voluntary organization, individual, or another entity, organization, or aggregation of individuals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Policy: means a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Premium: means payment given in consideration of a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Title insurance: means insurance of the owners of real property and other persons lawfully interested in the title insurance against loss by reason of defective titles and undisclosed liens and encumbrances affecting the property. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
(1) theft or misappropriation of settlement funds in connection with a transaction in which a title insurance policy will be issued by or on behalf of the title insurer issuing the closing or settlement protection, but only to the extent that the theft relates to the status of the title to that interest in land or to the validity, enforceability, and priority of the lien of the mortgage on that interest in land; or
(2) failure to comply with the written closing instructions when agreed to by the settlement agent, title agent, or employee of the title insurer, but only to the extent that the failure to follow the instructions relates to the status of the title to that interest in land or the validity, enforceability, and priority of the lien of the mortgage on that interest in land.
(C) A premium charged by a title insurer for each party receiving closing or settlement protection must be submitted to and approved by the department in accordance with this article and must not be subject to any agreement requiring a division of fees or premiums collected on behalf of the title insurer.