Arkansas surplus lines broker bonds.
$500 flat.
Before the Arkansas Insurance Department issues a resident surplus lines broker license, the applicant files securities in favor of the State of Arkansas in the penal sum of $50,000 under A.C.A. 23-65-308 — ours is $500 flat, and the price you see is the price at checkout. No credit check, and most applications approve instantly.
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How much does an Arkansas surplus lines broker bond cost?
$500 at the $50,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is the easy half of a surplus lines license — the exam and the three-year producer history are the slow parts. Here is the entire bond process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That is the application — the $50,000 penal sum is already set by statute, so there is nothing to size and no financials to assemble.
Pay & e-sign
Licensing bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
File with the Insurance Department
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Licensing Division alongside your surplus lines broker application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the surplus lines bond actually guarantees
A surplus lines broker places coverage that admitted Arkansas carriers will not write — the hard-to-place, high-hazard, and unusual risks that fall outside the standard market. Because those placements go to non-admitted insurers outside the Department’s solvency oversight and outside guaranty-fund protection, Arkansas licenses the broker tightly instead. A resident applicant must already hold a property, casualty, surety, and marine producer license, must have held it for three years, must be found competent and trustworthy, and must pass a competency examination.
The bond is the financial backstop on that license. Under A.C.A. 23-65-308 the resident applicant files securities acceptable to the Commissioner in favor of the State of Arkansas in the penal sum of $50,000, aggregate liability, conditioned that the broker will conduct business according to the surplus lines subchapter and will promptly remit the taxes the law provides. That tax obligation is the practical heart of it: a surplus lines broker collects a 4% broker’s tax on the business placed and remits it quarterly through the Department, with an annual return due March 1 even in a year with no business written.
Keep it in force and unimpaired. The securities must stay live for as long as the license is in effect, and they cannot be terminated unless at least 60 days’ prior written notice is filed with the Commissioner. The license year runs from the date of issuance to the following January 1, so plan the bond’s effective date around your renewal. Nonresident brokers already licensed as surplus lines brokers in their home state are exempt from both the bond and the examination.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $50,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with the Insurance Department. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Licensing Division alongside your surplus lines broker application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $500 at the $50,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Arkansas bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your surplus lines filing today.
$500 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.