1. The Commissioner shall provide by regulation for the licensing of title agents, their branch offices, direct writing title insurers and escrow officers.

2. Each title agent shall maintain his or her books of account and record and his or her vouchers pertaining to title insurance business in a manner which permits the Commissioner or a representative of the Commissioner to ascertain readily whether the agent has complied with the provisions of this chapter.

3. A title agent or escrow officer may engage in the business of handling escrows, settlements and closings if the title agent or escrow officer maintains a separate record of all receipts and disbursements of money held in escrow and does not commingle that money with his or her own.

4. For the purpose of determining its financial condition, fulfillment of its contractual obligations and compliance with law, the Commissioner or a representative of the Commissioner or the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Department of Business and Industry or a representative of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Department of Business and Industry when requested by the Commissioner of Insurance shall each year examine or cause to be examined the affairs, transactions, agreements, assets, records and accounts, including the escrow accounts, of a title agent, title insurer or escrow officer.

5. A title agent or insurer may engage a certified public accountant to perform such an examination in lieu of the Commissioner. In such a case, the examination must be equivalent to the type of examination made by the Commissioner and the expense must be borne by the title agent or insurer being examined.

6. The Commissioner shall determine whether an examination performed by an accountant pursuant to subsection 5 is equivalent to an examination conducted by the Commissioner. The Commissioner may examine any area of the operation of a title agent or insurer if the Commissioner determines that the examination of that area is not equivalent to an examination conducted by the Commissioner.

7. A person shall not become licensed to circumvent the provisions of this chapter or any other law of this state.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 978; A 1985, 1826; 1991, 1857; 1993, 1920, 2334; 1995, 696)