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These surety bonds are general for all states.
Learn more about telemarketing bonds, and apply today. Absolute Surety offers surety bonds nationwide through a convenient online application system.
A telemarketing bond is a type of license and permit surety bond that is required in most states in order to become licensed to operate a telemarketing call center. They are also called telemarketer bonds or phone solicitor bonds.
These bonds ensure that telemarketing companies abide by all relevant laws and regulations, such as not placing calls to those on the Do Not Call List. Therefore, they provide protection for the state and for the public, not for the telemarketing company.
The bond usually expires one year from the date of issuance. They need to be renewed annually in order to keep a telemarketing license current.
In addition to the bond required to become licensed in the state where a call center is physically located, a bond may also be required by the states into which calls will be made. A single call center may need to purchase multiple bonds—one for each state that will be called.
Whether you will need a telemarketing bond at all or end up needing multiple bonds depends entirely on the laws of each state in which you will be conducting business or calling into. Different states have different criteria for determining whether a bond is required. For example, companies making calls manually may be treated differently than those using auto dialers. The products and services being sold and other factors may also come into play.
Each telemarketer bond is a contract between the state licensing agency requiring the bond (the obligee), the telemarketing company (the principal), and the company underwriting and issuing the bond (the surety). The principal guarantees that it will obey all applicable laws and regulations of the obligee, and the surety agrees to pay any claims it deems valid.
Telemarketers that are bonded in multiple states have a heavy compliance burden. Ignorance of the law or accidentally breaking a rule is not an excuse. If the surety finds a claim to be valid and pays it, the telemarketing company must repay the full claim amount to the surety.
The bond amounts established by the states that require these bonds vary. Most states have set a bond amount in the range of $25,000 to $50,000, but if you need a bond from Arizona or California, the required amount is $100,000. In Texas, it’s only $10,000.
The bond amount is only half of the cost formula. The other factor is the premium rate—the percentage that an applicant will pay as the annual premium. The surety sets the premium rate based largely on the applicant’s credit history. Applicants with good credit typically pay a premium rate of from 1-4% of the bond amount, while those with poor credit can pay as much as 15%.
Use our convenient online system to apply for a telemarketing bond today.
