H. B. 3029
(By Delegate Brown (By Request))
[Introduced March 10, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §33-11A-11 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to insurance; and
requiring a notice of availability of owner's title insurance
in connection with a loan.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-11A-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. INSURANCE SALES CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT.
§33-11A-11. Insurance in connection with a loan.
(a) If insurance is required as a condition of obtaining a
loan, the credit and insurance transactions shall be completed
independently and through separate documents.
(b) A loan for premiums on required insurance
shall may not be
included in the primary credit without the written consent of the
customer.
(c)
No title Title insurance
shall may not be issued until the
title insurance company has obtained a title opinion of an attorney
licensed to practice law in West Virginia, which attorney is not an
employee, agent, or owner of the insured bank or its affiliates.
Said attorney shall have conducted or cause to have conducted under
the attorney's direct supervision a reasonable examination of the
title. In no event
shall may the authority of a state-chartered
bank to sell title insurance exceed the authority of a nationally
chartered bank to do so.
(d) A settlement agent, before the disbursement of any funds
in connection with any transaction involving the purchase or sale
of an interest in residential real property in this state, shall
obtain from the purchaser a statement in writing that: (1) The
purchaser has been notified by the settlement agent that the
purchaser may wish to obtain owner's title insurance coverage; (2)
the general nature of the coverage; and (3) that the purchaser does
or does not desire the coverage. The notification shall include
language that the value of subsequent improvements to the property
may not be covered.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require a notice of
availability of owner's title insurance in connection with a loan.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.