This is a bit off topic, but let's set the record straight. I feel it is important to remind people that bail bonds are insurance too and bail bondsmen are really insurance agents. So often I hear people refer to bail bondsmen as law enforcement officials, when they are not. In fact, bail bonds are administered & regulated at the state level in most parts of the country.
Typically each state's department of insurance oversees the bail bonds industry within its borders. Bail bondsmen are usually licensed through their state's department of insurance. Meaning the department administers tests, collects fees and enforces regulatory actions.
Why are bail bonds under the department of insurance umbrella? Well, the reason are a specific type of surety bond. Surety bonds, are an insurance. When a bail bondsman posts bail to the court in order to gain the release of a prisoner, they are ensuring that person will appear in court as ordered. As collateral, the bail bondsman posts a surety bond to the court. This is essentially a promise to the court that that they will pay a fee if the prisoner doesn't appear. That financial promise, is in the form of a bond......which is basically insurance.
So, your local bail bondsman is in fact the same as your local insurance agent. The only difference is that he can drop you back in jail if you don't live up to your end of the bargain. Imagine if your local life insurance salesman could do the same. Our jails would fuller than ever!
