The Colorado Division of Insurance said Wednesday it has reached a settlement with LandAmerica Financial Group regarding alleged kickback payments for title-insurance business.
LandAmerica paid reinsurance premiums to affiliates of Citigroup and Ryland Home in return for their directing title-insurance business its way, the division claims.
Kickback arrangements, which can hurt competition and boost consumer costs, are illegal.
LandAmerica agreed to refund an undisclosed amount of insurance premiums to Colorado customers whose policies were subject to the suspect arrangements, which stretched over 10 years.
Commonwealth Land Title, Lawyers Title and Trans nation Title are the Land America businesses that operate in Colorado. The company, based in Richmond, Va., is the second-largest provider of title insurance in the state.
As part of the settlement, LandAmerica also agreed to pay a penalty of $37,080, to cover the division’s $15,000 investigative costs and to contribute at least $50,000 to a local charity that focuses on low-income housing and foreclosure problems.
In early 2005, the division reached settlements totaling more than $26 million with two other large title insurers – First American and Fidelity National.
Although it settled with other states, LandAmerica resisted a settlement with Colorado and requested that Deputy Insurance Commissioner Erin Toll be removed from the case. Colorado Insurance Commissioner David Rivera refused.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
