{"data":{"id":"us-mt/33-25-401","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"33-25-401","heading":"Prohibited practices -- referrals -- splitting charges -- exemptions.","body":"(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person may not:\n(a) give or accept a fee, rebate, or thing of value pursuant to an agreement or understanding that title insurance business will be referred to a title insurance producer; or\n(b) give or accept a portion, split, or percentage of a charge made or received for title insurance business in connection with a transaction involving real property in this state, other than for services actually performed.\n(2) (a) A person may pay a return on an investment, based on a percentage of an ownership interest in a title insurance agency, if:\n(i) at or prior to the time of a referral, a disclosure of the existence of the arrangement is made to the person being referred and, in connection with the referral, the person is provided a written estimate of the charge or range of charges generally made by the title insurance producer to which the person is referred; and\n(ii) the person is not required to use a particular insurance producer.\n(b) The following arrangements are not a violation of subsection (2)(a)(ii):\n(i) an arrangement that requires a buyer, borrower, or seller to pay for the services of an attorney, credit reporting agency, or real estate appraiser chosen by a lender to represent the lender's interest in a real estate transaction; or\n(ii) an arrangement by which an attorney or law firm represents a client in a real estate transaction and issues or arranges for the issuance of a policy of title insurance in the transaction directly as insurance producer or through a separate corporate title insurance agency that may be established by that attorney or law firm and operated as an adjunct to the attorney's or firm's law practice.\n(c) Failure to disclose a controlled business relationship is not a violation of subsection (2)(a)(i) if the failure was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, proven by a preponderance of the evidence.\n(3) This section does not prohibit:\n(a) the payment of a fee to an attorney for services actually rendered or by a title insurance producer for services actually performed in the issuance of a title insurance policy; or\n(b) payment of a bona fide salary, compensation, or other payment for goods or facilities actually furnished or for services actually performed.","path":["TITLE 33. INSURANCE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES","CHAPTER 25. MONTANA TITLE INSURANCE ACT","Part 4. Prohibited Practices -- Penalties"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0330/chapter_0250/part_0040/section_0010/0330-0250-0040-0010.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:52:52Z","sha256":"9b6548e68878d55933dab9d8bd9c9f1404b64dfb095db35aa7b9eea613c58ed6","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/33-25-302","next":"us-mt/33-25-402"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}