Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your Iowa title bond needs.
What Are They?
A title bond provides a way for a vehicle owner who does not have a proper title to get one from the Iowa Department of Transportation. This will allow the vehicle to be registered, sold, donated, or otherwise transferred to someone else. You can’t do any of those things without a legitimate vehicle title. Purchasing a three-year title bond—often referred to as a lost title bond—enables someone in this situation to obtain a bonded title for the vehicle that will permit the vehicle to be registered in his or her own name.
The title bond provides financial protection for anyone who can prove ownership of the vehicle or has a lien against the vehicle during the three years that the bond is in effect. It also protects the DOT against being held liable for any financial loss the rightful owner might have incurred because the vehicle was sold, stolen, damaged, or demolished by the bonded title holder and provides funds for compensating that owner.
Who Needs Them?
You’ll need a bonded title if you purchased or were given a vehicle and one of the following occurred:
- You never received a title
- You received a title, but it was defaced, altered, or otherwise invalid
- You received a title but it was lost or stolen before you could register the vehicle in your name
If you need a bonded title, you need an Iowa title bond.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
Before you can purchase the title bond you need, you’ll have to submit an application for a bonded title to the DOT, Office of Vehicle & Motor Carrier Services. DOT will make sure the vehicle has not been reported as stolen, and will then send you the bond form showing the vehicle’s appraised value and the required bond amount, which is 1 ½ times that value. After purchasing the required title bond, there are a few more steps you’ll need to take to get a bonded title issued by your Country Treasurer’s office.
During the three years that the bond is in force, anyone who can prove an ownership interest can file a claim against the bond and be compensated for the financial loss they experienced as a result of you claiming the vehicle as your own. While the surety will ensure that the claim is valid, attempt to negotiate a settlement, and pay the claim if no settlement is agreed upon, you’re the one who is legally obligated to pay the claim, not the surety. Therefore you must reimburse the company in full.
If no claims are filed against the bond, when it expires in three years, you will be issued a standard title.
What Do They Cost?
To purchase an Iowa title bond, you’ll pay a small percentage of the required bond amount. While the bond amount is based on the car’s appraised value, the percentage you’ll pay (the premium rate) is based largely on your personal credit score. With good credit, your premium rate could be as low as 1%.
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Rest assured that our surety bond professionals will get you the Iowa title bond you need at a competitive rate.