The Office of General Counsel issued the following opinion on October 21, 2003 representing the position of the New York State Insurance Department.

Re: Agents of title insurance corporations; licensing inquiry

Question Presented

Must an agent of a New York State authorized title insurance corporation be licensed as an insurance agent to sell title insurance in New York State on behalf of the title insurance corporation?

Conclusion

No. An agent of a New York State authorized title insurance corporation is not required to be licensed as an insurance agent to sell title insurance on behalf of the title insurance corporation.

Facts

The inquirer seeks an opinion from Office of General Counsel that addresses whether an agent of a New York State authorized title insurance corporation must be licensed by the New York State Insurance Department.

Analysis

N.Y. Ins. Law § 2101(a)(4) (McKinney 2000) excludes "any agent or representative of any title insurance company" from the definition of "insurance agent" contained in N.Y. Insurance Law § 2101(a) (McKinney 2000) and used in N.Y. Ins. Law Article 21 (McKinney & Supp. 2003). Thus, an agent or representative of a New York State authorized title insurance corporation is not required to be licensed as an insurance agent and would not be considered as acting as an insurance agent without a license under N.Y. Ins. Law § 2102(a)(1) (McKinney 2000).

Moreover, N.Y. Ins. Law § 2115(a) (McKinney Supp. 2003), which prohibits an insurer and its agent or representative from paying a commission or compensation to anyone acting as an insurance agent in New York State except to a licensed insurance agent of such insurer or to a person described in N.Y. Ins. Law § 2101(a)(2) or (4) (McKinney 2000), is specifically not applicable to a title insurance corporation or its agent or representative pursuant to N.Y. Ins. Law § 2115(b) (McKinney Supp. 2003).

For further information one may contact Senior Attorney Robert Freedman at the New York City Office.