WI motor club bonds.
$500 flat.

Wisconsin will not let a company sell or offer motor club service until it has put security in front of the Commissioner of Insurance — either $25,000 in cash or approved securities on deposit, or, in lieu of that, a $50,000 bond payable to the State of Wisconsin under Wis. Stat. 616.72. Ours is $500 flat, and the price you see is the price at checkout. The application collects no credit information.

Required before you sell or offer for sale any motor club service in Wisconsin, under Wis. Stat. 616.72
Fixed amount, fixed price — a $50,000 bond, $500 flat, no quote process
The bond stands in for the $25,000 cash deposit — the Commissioner accepts either, and only one of them ties up your money
A-ratedA.M. Best carriersInstantissued the moment you pay10-mo termsup to three
Trusted by industry leaders
NYCEDC
BDG
Capital
McKinney
Terra
JLL
Triple Five
Georgetown
NYCEDC
BDG
Capital
McKinney
Terra
JLL
Triple Five
Georgetown
How it works

Three steps. One sitting.

A fixed-amount insurance filing is about the simplest thing in surety. Here is the entire process:

NOW · ONLINE

Apply online

Company details, entity type, contact and owner information, an effective date and a term. That is the whole application — there is no credit section to fill out, because this application collects no credit information.

MINUTES, USUALLY

Pay & e-sign

Fixed-amount filings like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.

SAME DAY

File with the Commissioner

Your executed $50,000 bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to notarize and send to OCI with the rest of the form 21-190 packet. Wet-ink original mailed on request — the Commissioner wants ink and a notary seal on this one.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the bond actually guarantees

Wisconsin does not regulate motor clubs through the DMV — it regulates them as miscellaneous insurers, under subchapter IV of Wis. Stat. ch. 616, administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The test at 616.71(12) is a counting exercise: furnish, render or procure three or more of eleven listed services — towing, emergency road, insurance, bail bond, legal, discount, financial, buying and selling, theft, map and touring service — in connection with someone’s ownership, operation, use or maintenance of a motor vehicle, and you are a "company" selling motor club service. Bundle three of those into a membership and the certificate-of-authority requirement attaches, whatever you call the product.

Section 616.72 gives you two ways to satisfy the Commissioner and only one of them is cheap. You can deposit $25,000 in cash or securities the Commissioner approves, or file a bond in the form the Commissioner prescribes, payable to the state of Wisconsin, in the sum of $50,000, with corporate surety the Commissioner approves. The bond is conditioned on the faithful performance in the sale or rendering of motor club service and on payment of any fines or penalties levied for failure to comply with the chapter — so it answers to the members who bought a service contract you did not honor, and to the state. Once the security is on file, the statute makes issuing the certificate of authority a duty, not a discretion.

It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The statute is unusually explicit that the deposit or bond "is not required in any instance as a penalty, but for the protection of the public only." Your certificate of authority expires every July 1 under 616.74(3), and OCI’s bond form is written to the license period expiring not later than July 2 and every succeeding renewal period — which is why the term on this bond lands on that date rather than a year from your effective date. We track it and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.

Wis. Stat. § 616.72 · OCI form 21-190Section 616.72 bars any company from selling or offering motor club service without first depositing $25,000 in cash or Commissioner-approved securities, or in lieu of that a bond in the Commissioner’s prescribed form, payable to the state of Wisconsin, in the sum of $50,000 with approved corporate surety. A narrow grandfather clause excuses a company organized and in continuous operation in Wisconsin for more than three years immediately prior to May 24, 1933 with a fully paid annual membership above 500 members. Section 616.74 lists what else the Commissioner needs before a certificate issues: a formal application under oath from the president or other principal officer, a certified copy of the charter or articles and bylaws, a Department of Financial Institutions certificate for a nonprofit corporation or a Division of Securities certificate for a corporation whose stock is sold to the public, and the fee required by s. 601.31(1)(b); every certificate expires annually on July 1. The bond form itself sits inside OCI application packet 21-190, which also carries the Declaration of Liability as Surety that a club offering bail bond service files under s. 345.61 for guaranteed arrest bond certificates, and it requires all signatures to be acknowledged before a notary. Completed packets go to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, PO Box 7873, Madison WI 53707-7873. Section 616.82 exempts an attorney at law acting in the usual course of the profession and any insurance, bonding or surety company regularly licensed in Wisconsin. Confirm your service list and filing status with OCI before you file.

You need this bond if you are

Applying for a motor club certificate of authority with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Renewing a certificate of authority before it expires on July 1
Selling roadside, towing or travel memberships that bundle three or more of the services listed at s. 616.71(12)
Replacing the $25,000 deposit you would rather not leave sitting with the Commissioner

One application, issued instantly.

These are the actual issuing fields — no credit section, because this application collects no credit information.

Start the application →
FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Wisconsin motor club bond?The premium is $500 flat — the price our carrier’s rate book sets for this specific bond, the same for every club. The $50,000 penal sum is fixed by Wis. Stat. 616.72, so there is no quote process and no sizing exercise.
Do I pay the $50,000?No. You pay the flat premium. The $50,000 is the surety’s maximum liability to the state and to your members if the club fails to perform the motor club service it sold — it is not a deposit, and nobody holds your money.
Can I deposit $25,000 with the Commissioner instead?You can. Section 616.72 accepts $25,000 in cash or Commissioner-approved securities in place of the bond. Most clubs take the bond because the deposit locks up the entire sum for as long as you hold the certificate of authority, while the bond costs one flat premium per 10-month term and leaves your capital working.
How fast will I have the bond, and when does it renew?Bonds like this are among the thousands of types that issue right after purchase — many clubs finish the application and have the executed bond in the same sitting; at most, 1–2 business days. Renewal follows the license year rather than your purchase date: the certificate of authority expires every July 1, and OCI’s bond form runs to the license period ending no later than July 2 plus every succeeding renewal period.
Is there a credit check?The application collects no credit information — there is no credit section to fill out — and most applications approve instantly. If a check ever runs on this bond, it is a soft pull that will not affect your score.
Related bonds

Other Wisconsin bonds.

Get the motor club certificate moving.

$500 flat for the $50,000 filing, issued the moment you pay, e-signed and ready for the OCI packet. Free until issued.

Your price$500
Apply now →