How to Purchase
a Bond Online

1. New users click the Join Now link. Members click the Members link.

2. Log in.

3. Click Order a New Bond.

4. On each screen verify your information and click the Next button to continue.

5. After payment is received your bond will display for printing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to many of the questions you might have about our service. If you have one that is not listed, please e-mail sales@bondsi.com.

1. What does Bondsi.com do again?
2. What is a license and permit bond?
3. Does it cost anything to be a Bondsi.com member?
4. How much does a license and permit bond cost?
5. Can I add a hold harmless clause to the bond?
6. How will I renew a bond I purchased?
7. What insurance company is the bond written with?
8. What states is Bondsi.com able to do business in?
9. Can I get License and Permit Bonds for cities, towns, and villages outside Illinois?
10. Who can I call after buying a bond and I have a problem printing?
11. Is my credit card number secure on the Bondsi.com web site?
12. What web browsers work with Bondsi.com?

1. What does Bondsi.com do again?

We specialize in instant delivery of contractors' license and permit bonds that are required in many cities, towns and villages. You simply join our site and order the bond for the location you need, enter your credit card info and then print the bond on YOUR office printer. Sign the bond and take it to the city building department.

No more calls to your insurance agency and then waiting for the bond to be delivered, or worse yet, wasting time by sending an employee to your insurance agency to pick up the bond.

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2. What is a license and permit bond?

License and permit bonds are those required by State law, municipal ordinance, or by regulation and in some instances by the Federal Government or its agencies as a condition to the granting of a license to engage in a particular business or the granting of a permit to exercise a particular privilege. In practice, the terms "license" and "permit" are used interchangeably.

These bonds are generally divided into two broad classifications:

1. Bonds which provide indemnification to the governmental body named as obligee for loss or damage resulting from failure of the principal to comply with the applicable law, ordinance or regulations including payment of any tax covered by the bond.
2. Bonds which give third parties a right of action in their own name or in the name of the obligee to recover a loss or damage resulting from default by the principal of his obligations under the law, ordinance, or regulations under which the bond is required.

The term or period covered by a license and permit bond corresponds to the term or period covered by the license or permit. The right to file claims under the bond for losses sustained while the bond was in force continues for varying periods depending on the law of the particular state.

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3. Does it cost anything to be a Bondsi.com member?

Joining Bondsi.com is absolutely free! You pay only for the bond(s) you order.

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4. How much does a license and permit bond cost?

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5. Can I add a hold harmless clause to the bond?

Yes, but the clause doubles the cost of the bond due to the increased exposure of the insurer.

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6. What insurance company is the bond written with?

West Bend Mutual Insurance Company located in West Bend, Wisconsin. Formed in 1894, West Bend has been rated "A+" by Best's Rating Guide since 1974.

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7. How will I renew a bond I purchased?

You will receive a reminder e-mail about one month prior to the bond's expiration date. You can then return to Bondsi.com to simply purchase another bond with the renewal effective date matching the expiration date.

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8. What states is Bondsi.com able to do business in?

Right now Bondsi.com is licensed in the State of Illinois. In the near future, we intend to offer bonds in many other states.

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9. Can I get License and Permit Bonds for cities, towns, and villages outside Illinois?

No, right now we are limited to Illinois. Keep checking the What's New page for additional states.

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10. Who can I call after buying a bond and I have a problem printing?

You can reprint your bond at any time by using the "View or print bonds you have purchased previously" link on the Member Menu. If you still have trouble, call 630-443-7300 and ask for Bondsi.com customer service. This telephone is staffed from 8-5 Central Time Monday through Friday. If you receive an error code or message, please make a note of it.

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11. Is my credit card number secure on the Bondsi.com web site?

Yes. Bondsi.com's web server uses a secure connection between your web browser and our site. It is not immediately visible in your browser window, as we have to access the page inside our frameset to work around a bug in America Online 4.0. Your browser also transmits this information directly to our payment processor over a secure connection.

You can verify this by right clicking on the page and choosing View Frame Info (Netscape Navigator) or Properties (Internet Explorer).  The page address uses "https://..." which indicates a secure connection.

The card number is not stored, online or offline, by Bondsi.com. Our payment processor stores the number internally for payment records, but it is even hidden from us.

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12. What web browsers work with Bondsi.com?

We have tested Bondsi.com with a wide variety of web browsers. If you are having trouble using or connecting to parts of our site (such as the secure server for the payment forms) we suggest upgrading to the latest version of Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. Current versions as of this writing are 4.72 (Netscape) and 5.01 (Microsoft).

If you have America Online or CompuServe 2000 as your ISP and are having trouble, try upgrading to the latest version of their software. If you cannot do that, or still have trouble, dial in as you normally do, then minimize your AOL/CompuServe session (without signing off) and start another web browser such as Internet Explorer to connect to Bondsi.com and/or other web sites.

If you have AOL, CompuServe 2000, or Internet Explorer, ensure your Security level for your Internet (WWW) preferences is set to Medium (the default). If you set it to High you may have trouble logging in.

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