Kentucky 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. Ours is $500 flat. The application asks for a Social Security number; the form does not say whether a credit check follows.
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How much does a Kentucky surplus lines broker bond cost?
$500 at the $50,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is the fastest line item on a surplus lines broker application. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date, and a term. The application asks for a Social Security number; the form does not say whether a credit check follows.
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.
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.
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.
You need this bond if you're
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 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.
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.
The application asks for a Social Security number; the form does not say whether a credit check follows.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. The application asks for a Social Security number; the form does not say whether a credit check follows.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Kentucky bonds.
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Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get your surplus lines bond on file today.
$500 flat for the $50,000 penal bond, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.