DE self-insured private plan bonds.
1.5% of the bond amount.

Delaware lets an employer step out of the state Paid Leave program by running an approved private plan — and an employer that self-insures that plan must furnish a bond running to the State, filed with the Department of Labor, Division of Paid Leave. The bond is sized at one year of the contributions the plan would otherwise owe. Our premium is 1.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and the application includes a credit consent that authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score.

✓

Filed with the Delaware Division of Paid Leave as the security behind a self-insured private plan under 19 Del. C. § 3716

✓

Sized at one year of total contributions — 52 weeks of covered Delaware wages, computed by a CPA or qualified actuary

✓

1.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — enter your required amount and see your exact price at the application

1.5% rate$100 minimumSoft pullnever a hard inquiryInstantissued the moment you pay

Trusted by industry leaders

How it works

Apply to filed in one sitting.

Nothing here waits on an underwriting queue — enter the amount your CPA or actuary computed, pay, and upload the executed bond with your private plan application. Here is the whole thing:

TODAY · ONLINE

Apply online

Your company details, years in business, the bond amount your private plan filing requires, and the effective date — plus a one-time consent that authorizes a soft credit pull.

INSTANTLY

Pay & e-sign

Your price is final at checkout — 1.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.

SAME DAY

File with the Division of Paid Leave

Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to upload with your self-insured private plan application alongside the plan documents and proof of the pre-funded claims account. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the self-insured private plan bond actually guarantees

The Healthy Delaware Families Act (19 Del. C. ch. 37) created a statewide paid family and medical leave program: contributions began in 2025 and benefits in 2026, funded by a contribution of 0.8% of covered wages for 2025–2026 — 0.4% for medical leave, 0.32% for parental leave and 0.08% for family caregiving — capped at the Social Security wage base, with employers permitted to deduct up to half from employee wages. An employer may substitute a private plan under 19 Del. C. § 3716 if it gives employees rights and benefits at least as favourable as the state program. That plan can be fully insured through an approved carrier or employer self-insured — and only the self-insured route requires this bond.

The bond is the Division's backstop for contributions the state fund never received. On the Division's form you are the principal, the surety carrier stands behind you, and the State of Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Paid Leave is the obligee. If your self-insured plan is terminated, decertified or withdrawn — voluntarily or not — and you fail to pay, within 30 days, an amount equal to the contributions that would have been due for the previous 52 weeks, the Division may execute on the bond, and the surety pays the full bond amount less whatever you already paid. It is not insurance for you: if the surety pays, you repay the surety.

A self-insured plan carries obligations the bond does not replace. The Division's rules expect at least 100 covered individuals, a dedicated pre-funded claims account, quarterly enrolment, wage and hour reporting within 30 days of each quarter's end, and an annual re-application — private plans end December 31 whatever date they started. Keep the bond in force for the life of the plan: the surety may only cancel after the initial one-year approval period, and then only on 90 days' written notice to you and to the Director of the Division of Paid Leave. If your covered headcount falls below 100 at renewal, the plan is decertified and the 52-week contribution bill comes due.

19 Del. C. § 3716 · 19 Del. Admin. C. § 1401-17.0Delaware permits an employer to substitute a private plan for the state Paid Leave program under 19 Del. C. § 3716, implemented by the Division of Paid Leave's private plan rules at 19 Del. Admin. C. § 1401-17.0. Section 3716 requires an employer whose private plan takes the form of self-insurance to furnish a bond running to the State, with a surety company authorized to transact business in this State, in a form approved by the Department and in an amount required by the Department; the requirement does not reach public employers. Rule 1401-17.4.5 fixes that amount at one year of total contributions for each line of coverage being self-insured, based on 52 weeks of projected wages — the last four quarters reported on the Division's wage and hour report; failing that, the last four quarters of Social Security wages and tips reported on IRS Form 941, lines 5a and 5b, counting Delaware wages only; failing that, four quarters of wages actually paid up to the Social Security wage limit; failing that, a documented estimate of the next 52 weeks. Rule 1401-17.4.5.4 requires the calculation to be performed by a Certified Public Accountant or an actuary who meets the American Academy of Actuaries' qualification standards, supported by documentation. The Division's bond form names the Department of Labor, Division of Paid Leave as obligee, is continuous until cancelled, and lets the surety cancel only after the initial one-year approval period on 90 days' written notice to the principal and to the Director, with a replacement bond reported within 10 days of its effective date. Private plan applications run in an annual window — October 1 to December 1 for a January 1 effective date — and § 3716 also directs the Department to accept applications on a rolling basis with January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1 effective dates. Confirm your required amount with the Division of Paid Leave before you file.

You need this bond if you are

✓

An employer applying to self-insure a Delaware Paid Leave private plan rather than buying an approved paid-leave policy

✓

Renewing an approved self-insured plan whose bond amount moved with last year’s Delaware payroll

✓

Switching from a fully insured private plan to self-insurance and posting security for the first time

✓

Replacing a cancelled bond after a surety gave its 90-day notice to the Director

One application, issued instantly.

These are the actual issuing fields — company details, the bond amount your filing requires, an effective date, and a consent that authorizes a soft credit pull only.

Start the application →

FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Delaware self-insured private plan bond?The premium is 1.5% of the bond amount your filing requires, with a $100 minimum. Enter the figure your CPA or actuary computed and your exact price appears at the application, before you pay.

What bond amount should I enter?One year of the contributions your plan would otherwise owe the state fund, computed on 52 weeks of covered Delaware wages — the Division's rule points first at the last four quarters on your wage and hour report, then at Form 941 lines 5a and 5b for Delaware wages, then at four quarters of payroll up to the Social Security wage limit, and finally at a documented estimate. A CPA or a qualified actuary has to run the number.

Do I pay the full bond amount?No. You pay the premium. The bond amount is the surety's maximum liability if the Division ever executes on the bond — it is not a deposit, and nobody holds your money.

What happens if my private plan ends?If the plan is terminated, decertified or withdrawn, you owe the state fund an amount equal to the contributions that would have been due for the previous 52 weeks. Pay it within 30 days and the bond is untouched; miss that window and the Division may execute on the bond for the full amount less anything you paid — and you then repay the surety.

Is there a credit check?The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.

Related bonds

Other Delaware bonds.

Private plan waiting on one filing.

1.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.

Start application

Your premiumfrom $100

Apply now →

DE self-insured private plan bonds.1.5% of the bond amount.