1. 1. Whenever the business to be written constitutes affiliated business, prior to commencing the transaction, the title agency or title agent shall ensure that its customer has been provided with disclosure of the existence of the affiliated business arrangement and a written estimate of the charge or range of charges generally made for the title services provided by the title agency or agent.
2. 2. The director may establish rules for use by all title agencies in the recording and reporting of the agency's owners and of the agency's ownership interests in other persons or businesses and of material transactions between the parties.
3. 3. The director may require each title agency to file on forms prescribed by the director reports setting forth the names and addresses of those persons, if any, that have a financial interest in the agency and who the agency knows or has reason to believe are producers of title insurance business or associates of producers.

4. 4. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting affiliated business arrangements in the provision of title insurance business so long as:

   1. (1) The title agency, title agent or party making a referral constituting affiliated business, at or prior to the time of the referral, discloses the arrangement and, in connection with the referral, provides the person being referred with a written estimate of the charge or range of charges likely to be assessed and otherwise complies with the disclosure obligations of this section;
   2. (2) The person being referred is not required to use a specified title insurance agency, agent or insurer; and
   3. (3) The only thing of value that is received by the title agency, title agent or party making the referral, other than payments otherwise permitted, is a return on an ownership interest. For purposes of this subsection, the terms "required use" and "return on an ownership interest" shall have the meaning accorded to them under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. Section 2607, as amended and Regulation X, 24 CFR Section 3500, et seq.
5. 5. 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).