TITLE 13 INSURANCE
CHAPTER 14 TITLE INSURANCE
PART 18 FORMS
13.14.18.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Office of Superintendent of Insurance, Title
Insurance Bureau.
[13.14.18.1
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.1 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.2 SCOPE: This
rule applies to all title insurers and all title insurance agents conducting
title insurance business in New Mexico.
[13.14.18.2
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.2 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Sections 59A-30-4 and 59A-30-5 NMSA 1978.
[13.14.18.3
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.3 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.4 DURATION:
Permanent.
[13.14.18.4
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.4 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: March 1, 2016, unless a later date is cited
at the end of a section.
[13.14.18.5
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.5 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.6 OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this rule is to provide title insurance forms and
restrictions regarding their use.
[13.14.18.6
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.6 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.7 DEFINITIONS: See 13.14.1 NMAC.
[13.14.18.7
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.7 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.8 PROMULGATED FORMS: Policies, endorsements, binders, commitments,
certificates, closing protection letters, notice of availability of owners
title insurance and facultative reinsurance agreements are not to be filed with
the superintendent for approval as the responsibility rests upon the title
underwriting companies to see that only standard promulgated forms are used by
themselves and their authorized agents to insure interests in New Mexico
property.
[13.14.18.8
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.8 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.9 ALTERATION OR SUBSTITUTION OF FORMS PROHIBITED:
A. No person, firm
or organization may alter or otherwise change any title insurance form promulgated
by the superintendent, or use any non-promulgated endorsement or rider, except
(1) upon public hearing called for such purpose and upon a determination by the
superintendent that the same be proper, or (2) in a manner specifically
authorized by these regulations as amended from time to time.
B. Nothing in this
regulation shall prevent a title insurer from (1) adding blanks, spaces, labels
or brief instructions to the promulgated forms for the purpose of collecting
statistical data or (2) from typesetting a promulgated form utilizing type
styles, margins or paginations different from the promulgated forms; provided,
however, that all language contained in each promulgated form must appear in
each form printed or used by each title insurance underwriter or agent
verbatim, and further provided that nothing may be added to a promulgated title
insurance form which changes any of the terms of such form except as
specifically provided by these regulations.
C. Nothing herein
shall prohibit the use of the forms in any language other than English,
provided, however, that any translated form shall contain the following
language in bold-face type on the first page of the form in English and in the
translated language: “This translation
is provided as a convenience only. The
English language version of this form shall control and shall be the operative
document for all legal purposes.”
D. The following
language shall be added at the top of schedule A of all commitments and
policies in a font not less than the font size of the remaining print of
schedule A and be in bold italicized print:
“Pursuant to the New Mexico title insurance law Section 59A-30-4 NMSA
1978, control and supervision by superintendent and title insurance regulation
13.14.18.10 NMAC, no part of any title insurance commitment, policy or
endorsement form promulgated by the New Mexico superintendent of insurance may be added to, altered, inserted in or
typed upon, deleted or otherwise changed from the title insurance form
promulgated by the New Mexico superintendent of insurance, nor issued by
a person or company not licensed with regard to the business of title insurance
by the New Mexico superintendent of insurance, nor issued by a person or
company who does not own, operate or control an approved title abstract plant
as defined by New Mexico law and regulations for the county wherein the
property is located.”
[13.14.18.9 NMAC
- Rp, 13.14.18.9 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.10 DELETION OF PREPRINTED TERMS, ADDITION OF UNAUTHORIZED
TERMS, AND LETTERS OF INTERPRETATION OR WAIVER THAT CHANGE THE TERMS,
PROHIBITED:
A. None of the
preprinted terms (or the terms required to be printed) in a promulgated title
insurance form may be deleted from such form except in the manner specifically
authorized by these rules.
B. Nothing may be
added to, inserted in or typed upon a promulgated title insurance form except
as specifically authorized by these rules; provided, however, that the
information necessary to identify the insured, the insured’s estate or interest
of record, the property description, all matters of record affecting the
insured’s interest which are exceptions to the policy, all matters, facts and
circumstances, whether or not shown by the public records, constituting a lien,
claim, encumbrance, impairment or limitation upon the estate to be insured,
whether arising by operation of law or by reason of no recorded information
establishing the insured matters, the amount of liability of the policy and, in
case of a commitment or binder, any matter constituting a requirement prior to
issuance of a policy, may be inserted in the proper places in the various forms
and that other information necessary to complete each form (such as the year in
the tax exception clause and any required
signature or countersignature) must be inserted in the form prior to its
issuance.
C. Additional
specific exceptions may be added to schedule B to except from coverage the
effect of encroachments, overlaps, and physical evidence of easement or
boundary line disputes, as revealed by a survey or inspection of the
property. Additionally, a specific
exception as to lack of access to the property may be taken when the search
performed fails to reveal that insurable rights of access to the property
exist.
D. No person, firm
or organization may issue, publish or circulate a letter, memorandum or other
writing which directly or indirectly modifies or waives the terms or any part
of the terms of any promulgated form, nor may any person, firm or organization
agree to directly or indirectly do or not do anything, the effect of which is
or would be to offer insurance coverages other than those in the promulgated
title insurance forms, whether the same be more, less, substitute, alternative,
negative or affirmative coverages or risks, except as specifically authorized
by these rules; except that insurers shall waive, at no cost or charge to the
insured, either by endorsement or language added to schedule B of the policy,
the right to demand arbitration pursuant to the conditions and stipulations of
title insurance policies issued in New Mexico.
The endorsement or the language added to schedule B of the policy shall
read: “In compliance with Subsection D of 13.14.18.10 NMAC, the company hereby
waives its right to demand arbitration pursuant to the title insurance
arbitration rules of the American land title association. Nothing herein prohibits the arbitration of
all arbitrable matters when agreed to by both the company and the insured.”
E. In no event may
any policy, endorsement, binder, commitment, letter, contract, memorandum or
other writing or form issued by a title insurance underwriter or agent
concerning an interest in New Mexico property contain coverages not expressly
authorized by these rules or the superintendent pursuant to the New Mexico
title insurance law.
[13.14.18.10
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.10 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.11 ADDITIONAL AFFIRMATIVE COVERAGES:
A. When
issuing a commitment for an owner’s or loan policy, or issuing an owner’s or
loan policy, exceptions as to easements, rights-of-way, and restrictions must
detail any matters of violation, protrusion, encroachment or overlap on to
easement, right-of-way, adjacent property, building set back lines or other
violated restriction, which are revealed by an inspection or survey of the
property.
B. In
the case of commitments issued for loan policies, and in the issuance of said
loan policies, but not in the case of commitments for owner’s policies,
leasehold owner’s policies and contract purchaser’s policies, or the issuance
of said policies, the following language may be added to each covenant, deed,
or other recorded restriction exception:
“Violations of this restriction (or these restrictions), if any, and any
future violation thereof shall not cause a forfeiture or reversion of title and
will not affect the validity or priority of the lien of the mortgage herein
insured. This assurance does not extend
to restriction(s) relating to environmental protection unless a notice of a
violation thereof has been recorded or filed in the public records and is not
referenced in schedule B. However, this
policy insures that any violation of this restriction (or these restrictions)
relating to environmental protection shall not cause a forfeiture or reversion
of title and will not affect the validity or priority of the lien of the
mortgage insured herein.”
C. Additionally,
and again only in commitments for or the issuance of loan policies, when
protrusions, encroachments or overlaps into or upon easements, rights-of-way,
adjacent property, the property to be insured, or building set-back lines (as
described in restrictive covenants or plats filed of record) are revealed by a
survey, the following paragraph may be added as a separate specific exception:
“Encroachment (protrusion or overlap) of the improvements over (on, onto, in,
into or upon) the (here describe the easement, right-of-way, adjacent property,
the land to be insured, or building set-back line) as shown on a survey
prepared by ______________ dated _____________.
This policy insures the insured against loss or damage as defined in
this policy by reason of the entry of any final decree entered in a court of
competent jurisdiction and of last resort ordering the removal of said
improvements presently situate on the land which constitute the (protrusion,
overlap or encroachment).” This
affirmative coverage language may be inserted into the foundation endorsement,
NM form 61, in accordance with 13.14.10.44 NMAC.
D. Each insurer shall
establish its written underwriting requirements necessary to offer these
additional affirmative coverages or determine that it does not desire to offer
said coverages under any circumstances.
No company may provide affirmative coverage by the intentional omission
of an exception to any adverse matter disclosed by inspection, or unrecorded
survey or other evidence, or by a search and examination of the public records,
or by any adverse matter arising by operation of law except as specifically
authorized by these rules.
[13.14.18.11 NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.11 NMAC, 3/1/2016; A, 7/1/2018]
13.14.18.12 PRINTING OF FORMS: On and after May 1, 1988, all promulgated
title insurance forms shall contain the headings and form designations used on
the forms prescribed in this rule.
[13.14.18.12
NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.12 NMAC, 3/1/2016]
13.14.18.13 APPROVED FORMS: The forms published in the website of the
office of the Superintendent of Insurance are hereby promulgated for use in New
Mexico, and text of each form and its date of adoption are incorporated herein
by reference. The repository of
promulgated forms is found at
https://www.osi.state.nm.us/Title/officialtitleinsforms.aspx. The forms as reproduced in that secure
repository shall constitute the exclusive promulgated forms for use in New
Mexico and none of those forms may be altered except to correct non-substantive
errors or by proper amendments as provided in Section 14-4-1, et seq. NMSA 1978, or as otherwise
required by law.
[13.14.18.13 NMAC - Rp, 13.14.18.13 NMAC,
3/1/2016; A, 7/1/2018]
HISTORY OF 13.14.18
NMAC:
Pre-NMAC
History.
ID
74-1, Article 10, Chapter 58, Rule 2, Regulations for Filing Title Insurance
Forms and Rates, filed 3/7/1974.
SCC-85-6,
Insurance Department Regulation 30 - Title Insurance, filed 9/6/1985.
SCC-86-1,
Insurance Department Regulation 30 - Title Insurance, filed 5/9/1986.
History of Repealed Material.
13.14.18
NMAC, Forms, filed 5/9/1986 - Repealed effective 3/1/2016 and replaced with
13.14.18 NMAC, Forms, effective 3/1/2016.
Other History.
Re-promulgated
portions of SCC-86-1, Insurance Department Regulation 30 - Title Insurance
(filed 5/9/1986), was renumbered, reformatted, amended and replaced as 13 NMAC
14.2, Forms Provisions; 13 NMAC 14.2.A, Miscellaneous Forms; 13 NMAC 14.6.A, NM
Form 1, Owner’s Policy; 13 NMAC 14.6.B, NM Form 4, Leasehold Owner’s Policy; 13
NMAC 14.6.C, NM Form 7, US Policy, ALTA 1963; 13 NMAC 14.6.D, NM Form34, US
Policy, ALTA 1991; 13 NMAC 14.7.A, NM Form 2, Loan Policy; 13 NMAC 14.7.B, NM
Form 3, Construction Loan Policy; 13 NMAC 14.7.C, NM Form 5, Leasehold Loan
Policy; 13 NMAC 14.7.D, NM Form 36, Limited Title Search Policy; 13 NMAC
14.7.E, NM Form 41, Foreclosure Guarantee Policy; 13 NMAC 14.7.F, NM Form 45,
Residential Limited Coverage Junior Loan Policy; 13 NMAC 14.8.A, Endorsement
Forms; effective 11/01/1996. 13 NMAC
14.2, Forms Provisions (filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.2.A, Miscellaneous Forms
(filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.6.A, NM Form 1, Owner’s Policy (filed 10/2/1996);
13 NMAC 14.6.B, NM Form 4, Leasehold Owner’s Policy (filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC
14.6.C, NM Form 7, US Policy, ALTA 1963 (filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.6.D, NM
Form34, US Policy, ALTA 1991 (filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.A, NM Form 2, Loan
Policy (filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.B, NM Form 3, Construction Loan Policy
(filed 10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.C, NM Form 5, Leasehold Loan Policy (filed
10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.D, NM Form 36, Limited Title Search Policy (filed
10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.E, NM Form 41, Foreclosure Guarantee Policy (filed
10/2/1996); 13 NMAC 14.7.F, NM Form 45, Residential Limited Coverage Junior
Loan Policy (filed 10/2/1996); and 13 NMAC 14.8.A, Endorsement Forms (filed
10/2/1996) were all renumbered, reformatted, amended and replaced by 13.14.18
NMAC, Forms, effective 5/15/2000, amended effective 7/31/2014.