Mo. Rev. Stat. § 381.015 – Title insurance commitment, required statement, when — lender's insurance policy without owner's title insurance, notice given when, contents, retention — penalty for violation

1. When a title insurance commitment issued by a title insurer, title agency or title agent includes an offer to issue an owner's policy covering the resale of owner-occupied residential property, the commitment shall incorporate the following statement in bold type:
"Please read the exceptions and the terms shown or referred to herein carefully. The exceptions are meant to provide you with notice of matters which are not covered under the terms of the title insurance policy and should be carefully considered."
2. A title insurer, title agency or title agent issuing a lender's title insurance policy in conjunction with a mortgage loan made simultaneously with the purchase of all or part of the real estate securing the loan, where no owner's title insurance policy has been requested, shall give written notice, on a form prescribed or approved by the director, to the purchaser-mortgagor at the time the commitment is prepared. The notice shall explain that a lender's title insurance policy is to be issued protecting the mortgage-lender, and that the policy does not provide title insurance protection to the purchaser-mortgagor as the owner of the property being purchased. The notice shall explain what a title policy insures against and what possible exposures exist for the purchaser- mortgagor that could be insured against through the purchase of an owner's policy. The notice shall also explain that the purchaser-mortgagor may obtain an owner's title insurance policy protecting the property owner at a specified cost or approximate cost, if the proposed coverages are or amount of insurance is not then known. A copy of the notice, signed by the purchaser-mortgagor, shall be retained in the relevant underwriting file at least fifteen years after the effective date of the policy.
3. Each violation of any provision of this section is a class C violation as that term is defined in section 381.045.

(L. 2000 S.B. 894)

Effective 1-1-01

(2002) Senate Bill 894 provision declared unconstitutional as a violation of the clear title requirement of Art. III, Section 23. Home Builders of Greater St. Louis v. State, 75 S.W.3d 267 (Mo.banc).