Arizona life & health third party administrator bonds.
Quote on review.
Every Arizona life and health third party administrator must keep a deposit in favor of the state, and a surety bond is one way to meet it. The statute sizes the bond at 10 percent of the funds you handle, $5,000 minimum. We review the file and return a quote, usually within one business day.
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How much does an Arizona life & health third party administrator bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
From funds handled to bond on file with DIFI.
DIFI will not issue or renew a TPA certificate of registration without the deposit in place. Here is the whole process, start to finish:
Send us your funds handled
Apply online with the bond amount DIFI’s formula produces — the greater of $5,000 or 10 percent of the Arizona charges or premiums collected plus claims paid for insurers — the effective date, and your business details. That is the whole form.
A surety specialist quotes it
A specialist reviews the file and returns your premium. The bond issues the moment you pay — no credit review of any kind, not even a soft pull. No obligation until you accept the quote.
File it with DIFI
Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued on Form E-157 with the surety’s power of attorney attached, ready to upload with your registration application or annual renewal through DIFI’s Third Party Administrator Registration Portal.
What it is and who needs it.
What the life and health TPA bond actually guarantees
Arizona regulates third party administrators under Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 9. Under A.R.S. § 20-485 an administrator is any person who collects charges or premiums from, or adjusts or settles claims by, Arizona residents in connection with life or health insurance coverage or annuities — unless one of eighteen listed exemptions applies. No one may claim to be an administrator in Arizona without a certificate of registration from the director (A.R.S. § 20-485.12), and under § 20-485.12(K) making that claim without one is a class 5 felony.
A.R.S. § 20-485.10 then requires every administrator to “possess and maintain a deposit in favor of this state to be held in trust for the benefit and protection of insureds and insurers whose monies the administrator handles.” The deposit can be cash, eligible securities, or a surety bond in a form acceptable to the director from a corporate surety authorized in Arizona. DIFI’s form is E-157, Bond of Life and Health Administrator, which binds the administrator and surety to the State of Arizona as obligee.
The bond answers for two things. Under the statute and condition 2 of the form, it becomes due if the administrator fails to pay benefits it is legally obligated to pay, or if an insured or insurer suffers a loss through fraud or dishonesty. That matters because § 20-485.06 makes every premium and return premium an administrator collects fiduciary money that must be remitted or deposited promptly into a fiduciary account. The form also makes the principal and surety liable for legal costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees to enforce the bond.
The amount moves with your book. It is 10 percent of total funds handled, never less than $5,000, and it is measured on the preceding year. Because the renewal application is due by March 1 each year and recomputes the required deposit, a growing TPA may have to replace its bond or add to it. It is not insurance for you. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A court bond answers to the court and the party its order protects: if the judgment or order the bond secures is not satisfied, that party can claim against it, up to the penal sum the court set.
The surety pays a valid claim after the court rules, and you repay the surety. A court bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote; a court bond usually runs until the case or appeal it secures is resolved.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
File it with DIFI. Once you accept and pay, the executed bond is issued on Form E-157 with the surety’s power of attorney attached, ready to upload with your registration application or annual renewal through DIFI’s Third Party Administrator Registration Portal.
What sets the price
Court bonds are underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount the court sets and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one specialist review.
These are the actual fields: the bond amount DIFI’s formula produces, the effective date, and your business and contact details. A surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Arizona bonds.
Requirements checked on the carrier’s application, .
Get your TPA deposit on file.
Send us your Arizona funds handled, and a surety specialist sizes the bond to DIFI’s rule and quotes it — typically within one business day. Free until issued.