What is a Private Investigator Bond?
The private investigator surety bond is a licensing bond required in many states of individuals who wish to become private investigators or open a detective agency. The bond is a licensing requirement, which means that without it you cannot obtain a license.
Private investigator bonds provide guarantee to clients that investigators are licensed. Being licensed and bonded requires investigators to comply with state regulations, cooperate with state justice agencies, if requested, conduct business honestly and more.
If an investigator fails to fulfill their obligations or violates state regulations by acting dishonestly or even fraudulently, clients can file a claim against their bond. By filing a claim, they can be compensated by the surety for any damages or losses they have suffered due to those actions.
This makes the private investigator surety bond a three-part agreement between the investigator (the bond principal), the clients and the state (the bond obligees), and the surety bond company which backs the bond and vouches for the investigator’s reliability. During the claims process, the surety will investigate the claim. If the claim is valid, it will compensate the claimant up to the full amount of the surety bond.
If this happens, the bonded private investigator or agency must repay the surety bond company for the compensation it has extended. This means that surety bonds are more like a line of credit that is extended to principal. It’s best to resolve bond claims before they arise, and avoid causing them altogether.
To find out more about how much your bond will cost, see the next section.
Private Investigator Bond Cost
The cost of your surety bond is a percentage of the total bonding amount that’s required in your state. Whether you will have a lower or higher percentage depends on your financial data.
Your personal credit score is the most important factor determining the cost of your bond. The higher your credit score, the lower your surety bond rate, or premium, will be. Sureties also take into account your personal and business financial statements, as well as your assets and past work records when determining your cost.
Applicants whose credit scores are very high can expect to receive a standard market rate which is between 0.75% and 2.5% of the full bonding amount.
Picking the right surety bond agency can also affect your surety bond cost. All surety bond agencies have access to different markets and rates, which are determined by the surety bond companies they work with. This means that not all surety agencies can offer you the same prices on your bond.
Bryant Surety Bonds works only with A-rated and T-listed surety bond companies. This gives us access to some of the lowest and most exclusive rates for all our surety bonds. At the same time, these companies are the most reliable and financially stable surety bond companies in the whole country.
By getting your bond with us, you’re getting the best quality at a great cost. Learn more about bonding costs thanks to our surety bond cost guide.
Bad Credit Bonds
Bad credit applicants have the same chances of getting a private investigator surety bond as applicants with a high credit score.
Our Bad Credit Program is designed to enable these applicants to get their bond and obtain their license, so they can succeed in their business. In turn, this enables them to work on their credit score and over time improve the rates they are offered by sureties.
Applicants under this program need to pay a slightly higher rate for their bonds, in order to mitigate the risk involved in bonding them. You can rest assured, though, that if you are applying for a bond under this program, you will still be getting it from the same expert surety bond companies we work with for all our bonds.
How to Get Your Private Investigator Bond
Want to get your bond and start working as a private investigator? Simply fill in and submit our easy online surety bond application. If you’re not quite ready to get your bond but would like to receive a free quote, just go ahead and submit an application, and we’ll be in touch shortly with your no-obligations free quote.
For more information regarding bonding requirements for private investigators in your state, give us a call at 866.450.3412. Our surety experts will be happy to answer your questions, or help you with your application. We look forward to hearing from you.
