Compliance

A referral relationship built to hold up to scrutiny

No referral fees. No marketing services agreements. For individual loan officers, mortgage brokers, and Realtors, and for the lenders and brokerages they work for.

This page is informational, not legal advice

This page explains how OneHourBinder structures its referral relationships. It is not a legal opinion and not a substitute for your own institution's compliance or legal review. We encourage every institutional partner to have counsel review this structure independently.

The Core Commitment

We don't pay for referrals. Full stop.

That's not just a compliance detail. It's what makes recommending us an easy yes. No referral fee means no payment for your legal team to flag and no agreement standing between you and a resource your team can start using today.

Why It's Worth Noting

Less friction getting started

Many referral relationships require a compliance review of a marketing agreement before you can start. This one has no agreement to review, so there is less to get through before you share your link.

No referral fees, everWe don't pay loan officers, mortgage brokers, Realtors, or the lenders and brokerages they work for to send us business, and we don't ask anyone to pay us.

No marketing services agreementsWe don't set up "marketing services" or co-branding arrangements that could function as payment for referrals, a gray area regulators watch closely.

No gifts, credits, or things of value tied to volumeNothing is exchanged for sending more business our way, directly or indirectly.

Licensed insurance professionals onlyEvery file is quoted and bound by a licensed Property & Casualty insurance professional. See our Licensing page.

Client choiceClients may choose any insurance provider. Using OneHourBinder is never required.

Why It Matters

The regulatory backdrop, in plain terms

RESPA Section 8 generally prohibits giving or accepting a fee, kickback, or other thing of value in exchange for referrals of settlement-service business connected to a federally related mortgage loan. That's why we don't build referral incentives into our relationships with loan officers or mortgage brokers.

State insurance law is a second, separate layer. Many states independently restrict paying commissions or referral fees to unlicensed individuals for producing insurance business, which can reach Realtors, loan officers, and mortgage brokers whether or not RESPA applies. Paying no referral fees at all avoids the question rather than relying on a narrow exception.

Put simply: rather than building a compensated relationship and structuring it carefully, we built a relationship with no compensation in it.

What an Institution Can Expect

Easy to explain to your own compliance team

No referral payment

Because nothing of value changes hands for the referral, there is no referral payment to track. Your counsel should confirm what, if anything, your own disclosure practices require.

Nothing to renegotiate

There's no marketing budget, co-op arrangement, or fee schedule attached to this relationship, so nothing needs periodic re-review as volume changes.

Verifiable licensing

Our licensing is independently verifiable through the National Insurance Producer Registry. See our Licensing page for details.

Common Questions

What compliance teams usually ask

Do you pay loan officers, mortgage brokers, or Realtors for referrals?

No. We do not pay or accept anything of value for referrals, at the individual level or the institutional level.

Would a partnership involve a marketing services agreement or co-branding fee?

No. We don't structure relationships around paid marketing arrangements. Sharing your link is not a paid arrangement and doesn't require one.

How do you verify your producer licensing?

Our license details and National Producer Number are listed on our Licensing page and can be verified through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).

Does the borrower or buyer have to use OneHourBinder?

No. Clients may choose any insurance provider. Our quote and binder process is an option, never a requirement.

Can our legal or compliance team review this before we move forward?

Yes. We expect and welcome that. This page is meant to make that review easier, not to replace it.

Have compliance questions we haven't answered?

We're happy to walk your team through how this works.

Get in Touch