(a) Each person licensed pursuant to this division who is engaged in the business of receiving escrows specified in subdivision (c) and whose escrow business location is located within the State of California shall participate as a member in Fidelity Corporation in accordance with this chapter and rules established by the Board of Directors of Fidelity Corporation. Fidelity Corporation shall not deny membership to any escrow agent holding a valid unrevoked license under the Escrow Law who is required to be a member under this subdivision.
(b) Upon filing a new application for licensure as required by Section 17201, persons required to be a member of Fidelity Corporation shall file a copy thereof concurrently with Fidelity Corporation. If an application for licensure submitted to Fidelity Corporation contains personal or confidential information, Fidelity Corporation and its board shall maintain this information in confidence to protect the privacy of the information. The copy of the application shall include the three-thousand-dollar ($3,000) fee specified in subdivision (a) of Section 17320 and all required Fidelity Corporation Certificates set forth in Sections 17331 and 17331.1. Fidelity Corporation shall promptly furnish to the commissioner a compliance letter confirming that the applicant has satisfied the requirements to be a member of Fidelity Corporation.
(c) The required membership in Fidelity Corporation shall be limited to those licensees whose escrow business location is located within the State of California and who engage, in whole or in part, in the business of receiving escrows for deposit or delivery in the following types of transactions:
(1) Real property escrows, including, but not limited to, the sale, encumbrance, lease, transfer of title, loans or other obligations to be secured by a lien upon real property, and exchanges, excluding money or property held or deposited pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 51003.
(2) Bulk sale escrows, including, but not limited to, the sale or transfer of title to a business entity and the transfer of liquor licenses or other types of business licenses or permits.
(3) Fund or joint control escrows, including, but not limited to, transactions specified in Section 17005.1, and contracts specified in Section 10263 of the Public Contract Code.
(4) The sale, transfer of title, or refinance escrows for manufactured homes or mobilehomes.
(5) Reservation deposits required under Article 2 (commencing with Section 11010) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code or by regulation of the Bureau of Real Estate to be held in an escrow account.
(6) Escrows for sale, transfer, modification, assignment, or hypothecation of promissory notes secured by deeds of trust.
(d) Coverage required to be provided by Fidelity Corporation under this chapter shall be provided to members only for loss of trust obligations with respect to those types of transactions specified in subdivision (c). If a loss covered by Fidelity Corporation is also covered by a member’s general liability, dishonesty, or indemnity policy, or other private insurance policy, then the member’s private policy shall first be applied as the primary indemnity to cover the loss. However, the failure of the member’s private primary policy to indemnify the member’s loss within the time specified for Fidelity Corporation indemnity in subdivision (a) of Section 17314 shall not limit the indemnity obligations of Fidelity Corporation as defined in this chapter. Indemnity coverage for those types of transactions not specified in subdivision (c) shall be provided by escrow agents in accordance with Section 17203.1.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 88. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)