Washington surplus line broker bonds.
From $100.
A resident Washington surplus line broker keeps two bonds: a $20,000 bond in favor of the state under RCW 48.15.070(5), and a second bond for the people of the state equal to the greater of $2,500 or five percent of prior-year surplus line premiums, capped at $100,000 aggregate liability. Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount, from $100.
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How much does a Washington surplus line broker bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue on a broker bond of this size — enter your amount, pay, and put the bond in your license file. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your agency details, the bond amount, and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check up to $100,000.
Pay & e-sign
No credit check up to $100,000, and most applications approve instantly. Your exact premium is calculated from the amount you enter, so the price you see is the price you pay.
Put it in your records
The Office of the Insurance Commissioner does not require the bond to be filed with it — you keep it in your records and produce it on request. Your e-signed bond and power of attorney arrive by email; wet-ink originals mailed when a carrier or an examiner insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the surplus line broker bonds actually cover
A surplus line broker is the licensee who may place coverage with non-admitted insurers — carriers not authorized in Washington — when the coverage a client needs cannot be procured from authorized insurers. Washington licenses these brokers under chapter 48.15 RCW through the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. The prerequisites are an active Washington producer license with property and casualty authority and a passing score on the surplus line exam; licensees also join the Surplus Line Association of Washington and report policy data to it monthly.
There are two bonds, not one. RCW 48.15.070(5) requires a bond in favor of the state of Washington in the penal sum of $20,000, with authorized corporate sureties approved by the commissioner, conditioned that the licensee will conduct business under the license in accordance with chapter 48.15 RCW and will promptly remit the taxes provided by RCW 48.15.120. RCW 48.15.070(6) adds a bond in favor of the people of the state of Washington — or a named insured such that the people of the state are covered — in the amount of $2,500 or five percent of the premiums from placement of coverage with surplus line insurers in the previous calendar year, whichever is greater, but not to exceed $100,000 total aggregate liability, conditioned that the licensee will account to any person requesting insurance for moneys or premiums collected.
Both bonds stay in force for as long as the license remains in effect, and failure to have and maintain them is grounds for revocation under RCW 48.15.140. A surety may cancel and be released from further liability on thirty days’ written notice in advance to the principal, which does not touch liabilities incurred before that period runs — so a cancellation notice is a deadline to replace the bond, not a reason to let the license lapse. It is not insurance for you: if the surety pays a claim, you reimburse it.
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 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.
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
Put it in your records. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner does not require the bond to be filed with it — you keep it in your records and produce it on request. Your e-signed bond and power of attorney arrive by email; wet-ink originals mailed when a carrier or an examiner insists.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $100,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check up to $100,000. Enter the bond amount your filing requires.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Washington bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Both surplus line bonds, in force today.
From $100. Enter your amount and keep the executed bond in your license file the same day. Free until issued.