Section 910-31 - Commissions; other considerations prohibited(a) No title insurance company or agent or approved attorney of a title insurance company shall pay, give or award to an applicant for title insurance any compensation, consideration, benefit or remuneration, directly or indirectly.(b) The following activities, whether performed directly or indirectly, are deemed per se inducements for the placement or referral of title insurance business by any person and are unlawful:(1) Paying or offering to pay, furnishing or offering to furnish, or providing or offering to provide assistance with the business expenses of any person, including, but not limited to, rent, employe salaries, furniture, copiers, facsimile machines, automobiles, telephone services or equipment or computers.(2) Providing or offering to provide any form of consideration intended for the benefit of any person, including cash, below market rate loans, automobile charges, merchandise or merchandise credits.(3) Placing or offering to place compensating balances on behalf of any person.(4) Advancing or paying or offering to advance or pay money on behalf of any person into escrow to facilitate a closing, except a sum which represents the proceeds of a loan made in the ordinary course of business.(5) Disbursing or offering to disburse on behalf of any person escrow funds held by a title insurance company or title insurance agent before the conditions of the escrow applicable to the disbursement have been met.(6) Furnishing or offering to furnish all or any part of the time or productive effort of any employe of the title insurance company or title insurance agent to any person for any service unrelated to the title business.(c) Reasonable expenditures for food, beverages, entertainment, educational programs and promotional items constituting ordinary business expenses are deemed not to constitute an inducement for the placement or referral of title business if the expenditures are correctly reported and properly substantiated as an ordinary and necessary business expense under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) and regulations issued thereunder and the expenditures do not violate any other law.(d) The provision or payment of any form of consideration as an inducement for the placement or referral of title business not specifically set forth in this section shall not be presumed lawful merely because it is not specifically prohibited.(e) The Insurance Commissioner may determine compliance and enforce the provisions of this section by written order, regulation or written consent.1921, May 17, P.L. 682, art. VII, § 731, added 1963, Aug. 14, P.L. 922, § 3. Amended 1995, Dec. 21, P.L. 714, No. 79, § 10, effective in 60 days.