State comes down hard on title firm
From Times wire reports
Responding to consumer complaints that South Coast Title Corp. was providing illegal kickbacks to real estate agents and brokers in return for referrals, the California Department of Insurance Commissioner imposed unprecedented restrictions on the company.
Under a settlement approved last week by Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, the company, now called Diversified Title & Escrow Services Co., is under an 18-month license restriction in all counties, with an additional six months in San Diego County, and has been fined $1 million.
It is the first time the department has restricted the license of a title insurer.
