Mortgage brokers, loan originators, and real estate agents have all been warned NOT to accept any inducements from title insurance companies.  Giving OR receiving an item of value in exchange for a referral of a federally related loan is already illegal under RESPA. However, HUD auditors do not routinely wander around inside real estate offices and mortgage companies checking out the latest title insurance company give-a-ways. A law without inforcement is basically like having no law at all.  Most of the enforcement has been left up to state regulators.  Read this blog post for more details.

Do you believe this new law will help level the competitive playing field within the title insurance industry? If yes, why? If no, why not?