How a notary bond protects the public
A notary public is an official appointed position by the Secretary of State’s department in a given state. As with most public officials, the State specifies that the individual obtain a surety or notary bond before receiving the appointment. This bond “makes sure” that if the notary violates the public trust through neglect of their duties, finances are available to reimburse the State for its loss.
The main duty of notary publics is to ensure that the individual parties to an agreement are who they claim to be. The State may suffer a loss if the notary public neglects to properly ensure the identity of the parties.
As a public official, the notary public violates the public trust by failing in their duty to confirm identity. If a Kansas notary public doesn’t confirm identity and a loss occurs, an injured party can file a claim against that State for their loss, because the State was negligent through its appointed representative.
A notary bond is a guarantee of payment to the obligee (the State) when losses occur for a penalty amount of the bond. Notary bonds are generally provided 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 homeowners insurance policy. If you have a homeowners insurance in Indiana claim, the insurance carrier pays the loss and writes off the loss. You aren’t required to reimburse the company for the damages. Unlike a homeowners insurance policy however, a notary bond is simply a promise that the finances will be available when losses occur. The surety (insurance company) pays the State up to the penalty amount of the bond. However, this loss paid by the company is not simply written off. The carrier will most likely seek reimbursement from the bonded person, 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 can also be purchased for a nominal fee from insurance carriers.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 4:17 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.