Why bond a notary public?
A notary is an official appointed position by the Secretary of State’s office in a given state. Just like most public officials, the State specifies that the person get a surety or notary bond prior to getting their appointment. This bond “makes sure” that if the official violates the public trust through neglect of their responsibilities, finances are available to reimburse the State for its loss.
The main responsibility of notaries public is to ensure that the individual parties to an agreement are who they claim to be. The State can suffer a loss if the notary public neglects to correctly confirm the identity of each party.
As a public official, the notary public causes harm to the public good by failing in their duty to confirm identity. If a District of Columbia notary doesn’t verify identity and a loss occurs, an injured party might file a claim with that State for their loss, because the State was negligent through its appointed officer.
A surety bond is a guarantee of payment to the obligee (the State) if losses occur for a limit of the bond. Surety bonds are usually issued by a surety company (typically an insurance carrier). The bond generally runs concurrently with the period of the notary’s commission.
You’re probably familiar with a vehicle insurance policy. If a person has an Indiana auto insurance claim, the insurance carrier pays the claim and writes off the loss. You aren’t asked to pay back the company for the claim. Unlike an auto insurance policy however, a notary bond is simply a promise that the funds will be available when a loss occur. The surety (insurance company) pays the State up to the penalty amount of the bond. However, this claim paid by the company is not simply written off. The company will most likely seek reimbursement from the bonded party, the notary themself.
A notary bond protects the public. Who protects the notary? Insurance coverage is available to provide this protection – it’s called Notary Public E & O and may also be obtained for a nominal fee from insurance companies.
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 5:04 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.