Why bond a notary public?
A notary public is an appointed position by the Secretary of State’s department in a given state. Like many public officials, the State specifies that the person get a notary bond prior to receiving the appointment. This bond “makes sure” that if the notary violates the public good through negligence of their responsibilities, finances are available to reimburse the State for its loss.
The main responsibility of notary publics is to confirm that the individual parties to a contract are who they claim to be. The State might suffer a loss if the notary forgets to correctly confirm the identity of each party.
As a public official, the notary harms the public trust by failing in their responsibility to verify identity. If a notary in West Virginia doesn’t confirm identity and a loss occurs, an injured party may file a claim with the State for its loss, because the State was negligent through its appointed official.
A surety bond is a guarantee of payment to the obligee (the State) if losses occur for the penalty amount of the bond. Notary Public bonds are generally issued by a surety company (typically an insurance carrier). The bond usually runs concurrently with the term of the notary’s commission.
You’re probably familiar with a truck insurance policy. When you have an Indiana car insurance claim, the insurance company pays the claim and writes off the loss. You aren’t required to reimburse the carrier for the loss. Unlike a car insurance policy however, a notary bond is simply a guarantee that the finances will be available if losses occur. The surety (insurance carrier) pays the State up to the limit of the bond. However, this loss 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 Errors and Omissions and may also be purchased for a nominal fee from insurance carriers.
This entry was posted on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 4:22 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.