Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all your Idaho title bond needs.
What Are They?
An Idaho title bond is required in order to obtain a bonded title. A bonded title allows you to register, insure, sell, or otherwise transfer ownership of a car that is lacking a valid certificate of title. The title bond serves these important purposes:
- It guarantees that the person claiming ownership is the legitimate owner of the vehicle by obtaining an Idaho title bond and a bonded title.
- It provides financial protection for the true owner and any potential future owner of the vehicle if someone other than the bonded individual can prove ownership of the vehicle or a lien against it during the three years that the Idaho title bond is in force.
- It protects the Idaho Transportation Department against liability for having issued a bonded title to someone who should not have received one.
- It ensures that funds will be available to compensate the true owner or lienholder for any financial loss incurred as a result of the issuance of a bonded title to someone not legally entitled to it.
Who Needs Them?
Anyone who does not have a valid certificate of title for a vehicle will need to obtain a bonded title before the vehicle can be insured, registered, sold, donated, or otherwise disposed of. The most common reasons for this lack of a valid title are:
- The seller did not provide a certificate of title at the time the vehicle was purchased.
- The seller provided a title that is deemed invalid because it was improperly assigned, forged, or damaged in such a way as to be illegible.
- The seller provided a title, but it was lost or stolen before the new owner could register the vehicle in his or her own name.
The required bond amount must be equal to 1.5 times the appraised value of the vehicle.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
A surety bond agreement is a legally binding contract between three parties:
- The party requiring the title bond, the Idaho Transportation Department, is the “obligee.”
- The party purchasing the Idaho title bond is the “principal.”
- The bonding company authorizing the bond is the “surety.”
It’s possible that someone will come forward during the three-year term of an Idaho title bond and be able to prove that the bond’s principal is not the rightful owner of the vehicle. It’s also possible that by that point, the principal may have sold or crashed the vehicle, resulting in a financial loss to the rightful owner. If that is the case, the rightful owner, as the injured party, can file a claim against the Idaho title bond and be compensated for the loss.
The surety bond agreement legally obligates the principal to pay all valid claims. But in practice, the surety will investigate to confirm the claim’s validity and then go ahead and pay it on behalf of the principal. Paying the claim creates a debt that the principal must subsequently repay to the surety.
What Do They Cost?
The premium costs for Idaho title bonds are structured in tiers. The top tier, which includes bonds for $25,000 and over, are the only bonds that are subject to underwriting. The main underwriting factor is the principal’s creditworthiness, because the surety is concerned about getting repaid for claims paid on behalf of the principal.
A principal with a high personal credit score will pay the lowest premium rate, as low as 1 to 1.5 percent of the required bond amount. Those with lesser credit will pay a much higher premium rate because of the bigger risk the surety is assuming in issuing an Idaho title bond.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Idaho title bond you need at a competitive rate.