Stewart Title to pay state $1 million
From Times Wire Services
Stewart Title Guaranty Co. agreed to pay $1 million to California regulators to settle charges it made illegal payments to home builders and lenders who steered business its way.
The California Insurance Department had alleged that title insurer Stewart funneled $500,000, or as much as 50% of its premiums, through shell companies to real estate agents who referred customers to it from 1998 to 2006. The Houston-based insurer passed on the cost of the payments to 3,908 homeowners in higher home-closing costs, the regulators said. California had been seeking as much as $42 million in penalties.
