KY surplus lines broker bonds.
$500 flat.

A licensed resident surplus lines broker in Kentucky has to keep a $50,000 bond in favor of the State of Kentucky in force for as long as the license is — it guarantees you run the license by the book and remit the surplus lines tax on time. Ours is $500 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price. Any credit screen is a soft pull only — it never affects your score.

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Required of a Kentucky resident surplus lines broker under KRS 304.10-140(1)(b)

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Backs the surplus lines tax — the premium tax you remit under KRS 304.10-180 is one of the two bonded conditions

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Fixed penal sum, fixed price — $50,000 bond, $500, no quote round-trip

A-ratedA.M. Best carriersInstantissued the moment you pay1–3 yrterms available

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How it works

Three steps. One sitting.

The bond is the fastest line item on a surplus lines broker application. Here's the entire process:

NOW · ONLINE

Apply online

Business details, an effective date, and a term. The one unusual field is your Social Security number, which the application says is entered only onto the bond form itself.

INSTANTLY

Pay & e-sign

This bond is checkout-priced, so it issues the moment you pay — your executed bond and power of attorney generate on the spot.

SAME DAY

File it with the Department

Your e-signed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Kentucky Department of Insurance against your surplus lines broker license. Wet-ink original mailed on request.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the bond actually guarantees

A surplus lines broker places coverage with nonadmitted insurers — the market you go to when admitted Kentucky carriers decline the risk. That business sits outside the state's guaranty-fund safety net, and the broker collects a state premium tax at the point of sale, so KRS 304.10-140(1)(b) makes a licensed resident broker keep a $50,000 bond in favor of the State of Kentucky, written by an authorized corporate surety, for as long as the license remains in effect.

The bond carries exactly two conditions: that you conduct business under the license in accordance with Subtitle 10 of the insurance code, and that you promptly remit the taxes required by KRS 304.10-180. In practice the tax condition is the one with teeth — under 806 KAR 10:030 you file a Kentucky surplus lines affidavit electronically within 15 days of the invoice or effective date, whichever is later, and pay the premium tax within 30 days after each calendar quarter closes. The statute caps the surety's exposure: aggregate liability for any and all claims on the bond can in no event exceed the penal sum.

It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays the Commonwealth, you repay the surety. And it is not your errors-and-omissions coverage: KRS 304.10-140(1)(a) separately requires evidence of financial responsibility of at least a million dollars per occurrence and two million in the aggregate, which most brokers satisfy with an E&O policy. Two obligations, two filings. We track this one's term and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out so the license never sits uncovered.

KRS 304.10-140(1)(b)KRS 304.10-140 requires a licensed resident surplus lines broker to keep in force a bond in favor of the State of Kentucky in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), with an authorized corporate surety, guaranteeing that the broker will conduct business under the license in accordance with Subtitle 10 and will promptly remit the taxes required by KRS 304.10-180, with the aggregate liability of the surety for any and all claims on any bond in no event exceeding the penal sum. The same subsection separately requires evidence of financial responsibility of not less than one million dollars per occurrence and two million dollars in the aggregate for all occurrences within one year — an errors and omissions policy from an authorized insurer, a bond from an authorized corporate surety, a deposit, or a combination of bond and deposit — which is a different obligation from this penal bond and is not satisfied by it. Subsection (2) permits a deductible endorsement, and a licensee who fails to reimburse the insurer for a deductible has the surplus lines broker license and all other licenses issued by the commissioner revoked and surrendered without demand. Resident and nonresident surplus lines brokers are both licensed through the Department of Insurance Division of Agent Licensing, but the bond in subsection (1) is written against the resident license — confirm your own filing requirement with the Division before you buy.

You need this bond if you're

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Applying for a Kentucky resident surplus lines broker license — the bond has to be in force for as long as the license is

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A resident property & casualty producer adding surplus lines to place excess and surplus risks admitted carriers decline

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Licensing a business entity as a surplus lines broker — the agency itself carries the filing alongside its designated licensee

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Renewing, reinstating, or replacing a cancelled bond — a lapse leaves the license without the security the statute demands

One application, issued instantly.

These are the actual issuing fields — business details, an effective date, and a Social Security number the application says is entered only onto the bond form.

Start the application →

FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Kentucky surplus lines broker bond?The premium is $500 flat — set by our carrier's rate book for this bond, the same for every broker. The $50,000 penal sum is fixed by KRS 304.10-140(1)(b), so there is no quote process and the price you see is the checkout price.

Do I pay the $50,000?No. You pay $500. The $50,000 is the surety's maximum liability if a valid claim is made against the bond — the statute says aggregate liability can never exceed the penal sum. It is not a deposit, and nobody holds your money.

How fast will I have the bond?This one is checkout-priced, so it issues the moment you pay — most brokers finish the application and have the executed bond and power of attorney in the same sitting, ready to file against the license.

Is there a credit check?Any screen that runs on this bond is a soft credit inquiry — a soft pull that never affects your score, and no hard inquiry runs on this bond. The application does ask for a Social Security number, and it says plainly why: the number is entered onto the bond form itself, not used to shop lenders.

Does this bond satisfy the $1,000,000 financial responsibility requirement?No — they are two different obligations in the same statute. KRS 304.10-140(1)(b) is this $50,000 penal bond, guaranteeing the license conduct and the tax remittance. KRS 304.10-140(1)(a) is separate evidence of financial responsibility, at least a million dollars per occurrence and two million in the aggregate, which brokers normally carry as an errors and omissions policy. You need both.

Related bonds

Other Kentucky bonds.

Get your surplus lines bond on file today.

$500 flat for the $50,000 penal bond, issued the moment you pay, soft pull only. Free until issued.

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Your price$500

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