(1) Every title insurer
shall, before using, file with the commissioner every manual of
title insurance rules and rates, rating plan, rate schedule,
minimum rate, class rate, and rating rule, and every modification
of any of the filings under this subsection which it proposes.
(2) Every filing shall be accompanied by sufficient
information to permit the commissioner to determine whether the
filing meets the requirements of RCW 48.29.143.
(3) Data used to justify title insurance rates may not
include escrow income or expenses. The title insurance company
shall include a detailed explanation showing how expenses are
allocated between the title operations and escrow operations of
the insurer or title insurance agent.
(4) Every such filing shall state its proposed effective
date.
(5) The commissioner shall review a filing as soon as
reasonably possible after it is received, to determine whether it
meets the requirements of RCW 48.29.143.
(6) The filing's proposed effective date shall be no earlier
than thirty days after the date on which the filing is received
by the commissioner. By giving notice to the insurer within this
thirty days, the commissioner may extend this waiting period for
an additional period not to exceed an additional fifteen days.
The commissioner may, upon application and for cause shown, waive
part or all of the waiting period with respect to a filing the
commissioner has not disapproved. If the commissioner does not
disapprove the filing during the waiting period, the filing takes
effect on its proposed effective date.
(7) If within the waiting period or any extension thereof as
provided in subsection (6) of this section, the commissioner
finds that a filing does not meet the requirements of RCW 48.29.143 or the requirements of subsections (2) through (4) of
this section, the commissioner shall disapprove the filing and
shall give notice to the insurer that the filing has been
disapproved. This notice shall specify the respect in which the
commissioner finds the filing fails to meet the requirements and
shall state that the filing does not become effective as
proposed.
(8) If a filing is not disapproved by the commissioner
within the waiting period or any extension thereof, the filing
becomes effective as proposed.
(9) A filing made under this section is exempt from RCW 48.02.120(3). However, the filing and all supporting information
accompanying it is open to public inspection only after the
filing becomes effective.
(10) A title insurer or title insurance agent shall not make
or issue a title insurance contract or policy, or use or collect
any premium on or after a date set by the commissioner by rule,
which date shall not be any earlier than January 1, 2010, except
in accordance with rates and rules filed with the commissioner as
required by this section.
(11) If at any time subsequent to the applicable review
period provided for in subsection (6) of this section, the
commissioner has reason to believe that a title insurer's rates
do not meet the requirements of RCW 48.29.143 or are otherwise
contrary to law, or if any person having an interest in the rates
makes a written complaint to the commissioner setting forth
specific and reasonable grounds for the complaint and requests a
hearing, or if any insurer upon notice of the commissioner's
disapproval of a filing made under this section requests a
hearing, the commissioner shall hold a hearing within thirty days
and shall, in advance of it, give written notice of the hearing
to all parties in interest. The commissioner may, by issuing an
order, confirm, modify, change, or rescind any previous action,
if it is warranted by the facts shown at the hearing. The order
shall not affect any contract or policy made or issued prior to a
reasonable period of time, to be specified in the order, after
the order is issued.
(12) In any hearing regarding rates filed under this chapter
the burden shall be upon the title insurer to prove by a
preponderance of the evidence that the rates comply with RCW 48.29.143.
[2008 c 110 § 5.]