{"data":{"id":"us-nm/59a-30-3","jurisdiction":"us-nm","citation":"59A-30-3","heading":"Definitions.","body":"As used in the New Mexico Title Insurance Law:\nA. \"agency agreement\" means a document executed by a title insurer and title insurance agent that defines the compensation of the title insurance agent and the scope of the title insurance agent's authority;\nB. \"basic premium rate\" means the premium rate for an original owner's policy of title insurance;\nC. \"business of title insurance\" means:\n(1) issuing as title insurer or offering to issue as title insurer a title insurance policy; or\n(2) transacting or proposing to transact by a title insurer or title insurance agent any of the following activities when conducted or performed in contemplation of the issuance of a title insurance policy:\n(a) soliciting or negotiating the issuance of a title insurance policy;\n(b) guaranteeing, warranting or otherwise insuring the correctness of title searches;\n(c) executing title insurance policies;\n(d) effecting contracts of reinsurance;\n(e) abstracting, searching or examining titles; or\n(f) doing or proposing to do any business in substance equivalent to the business of title insurance in a manner designed to evade the provisions of the New Mexico Title Insurance Law or other laws applicable to the business of title insurance;\nD. \"charge\" means any consideration, other than premiums billed by a title insurance agent or title insurer or both, for the performance of services, including but not necessarily limited to:\n(1) consideration for the supervising or handling of escrows, settlements, closings, preparation of abstracts, delivery or recording of transfer and lien documents and disbursing funds;\n(2) consideration for services commenced but not completed; and\n(3) consideration for title searches conducted for a purpose other than issuance of a title insurance policy.\n\"Charge\" does not include consideration collected by a title insurer or title insurance agent when the consideration is limited to the amount billed for services rendered by a third party;\nE. \"premium\" means the consideration for issuing a title insurance policy and includes the consideration for searching and examining a title when conducted or performed for the purpose of the issuance of a title insurance policy;\nF. \"available funds\" means funds subject to immediate withdrawal by cash or check in a depository account with a financial institution, held in the name of and subject to the control of a title insurance agent, title insurer or third party fiduciary, not including a person or entity that is a party to the transaction, cooperating in the closing of a transaction with a title insurance agent or title insurer;\nG. \"title insurance agent\" means a person licensed as an agent under the Insurance Code [Chapter 59A NMSA 1978] and appointed by a title insurer;\nH. \"title insurance policy\" or \"policy\" means a contract indemnifying against loss or damage arising from any of the following that exist on or before the effective date of the policy:\n(1) defects in the insured title;\n(2) liens or encumbrances on the insured title;\n(3) unmarketability of the insured title;\n(4) invalidity or unenforceability of liens or encumbrances on the property that is the subject of the policy; or\n(5) lack of legal right of access to and from the property.\n\"Title insurance policy\" or \"policy\" does not include an abstract; and\nI. \"title insurer\" means any person authorized under the laws of this state to transact as insurer the business of title insurance.","path":["Chapter 59A - Insurance Code","ARTICLE 30 Title Insurance"],"source_url":"https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18562/index.do","current_through":"2026-07-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:02:20Z","sha256":"ccffc0402797a6f002d0c28fe5056f9dbdf78f837f4a2f0ef1d7f1cb5a4cd0eb","source_id":"us-nm","stale":false,"prev":"us-nm/59a-30-2","next":"us-nm/59a-30-4"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}