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>A bond is a guarantee provided by a third party, the bondsman, that you will appear in court. How can bondsmen stay in business? I have no idea what the turn

>A bond is a guarantee provided by a third party, the bondsman, that you will appear in court. How can bondsmen stay in business? I have no idea what the turn up rate of appearing in court is, but I doubt it's 100%. So how are they allowed to stay in business if just one person they bailed out fails to appear in court?

angersock 11y ago
If I understand it correctly, a warrant is filed, and then it's no longer their problem--they are, in effect, a hapless victim of the now at-large criminal! :|
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  No, it's a problem for them. The bondsman or their insurer is out the amount of the bail.
  - angersock 11y ago
    Ah, I stand corrected. If it goes to insurer, though, is it still a problem?
    - fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
      Yes, an insurer isn't going to pay many of these claims before they cancel your insurance, and or your insurance costs will go up quickly to the point where you cannot remain profitable.
msbarnett 11y ago
In this case, if the OP failed to show up in court, the bondsman would be out the $30,000. The bondsman will then hire (or, just as likely, act as himself) a bounty hunter in order to track down the defendant and drag him back to the jurisdiction and recover their money. They can also sue any indemnitors or guarantors who were party to the bail arrangement to try to recover their loss. Basically 90% of being a profitable bondsman is being good at skip tracing in order to keep your losses low
fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
They stay in business by making sure their clients make it to their court date, or by at least knowing the whereabouts of the clients so that they, or a bounty hunter (that the bondsman would hire), or the police can take them into custody. They can also go after bail jumpers in civil court (place liens on property). The OP article mentions a peculiarity of the economics of the business in that many bondsmen won't touch small bail amounts because there isn't enough profit in it for the risk. So, it has the effect that people sometimes sit in jail for very low level offenses while people charged with more serious crimes get bonded out. >So how are they allowed to stay in business if just one person they bailed out fails to appear in court? The bondsman has to go and get their client and turn them in, or reimburse the amount of the bail. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/bail-bond-companies-work-4645.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/bail-bond-companies-work-4645...

angersock 11y ago

If I understand it correctly, a warrant is filed, and then it's no longer their problem--they are, in effect, a hapless victim of the now at-large criminal! :|

fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
No, it's a problem for them. The bondsman or their insurer is out the amount of the bail.
- angersock 11y ago
  Ah, I stand corrected. If it goes to insurer, though, is it still a problem?
  - fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
    Yes, an insurer isn't going to pay many of these claims before they cancel your insurance, and or your insurance costs will go up quickly to the point where you cannot remain profitable.

msbarnett 11y ago

In this case, if the OP failed to show up in court, the bondsman would be out the $30,000. The bondsman will then hire (or, just as likely, act as himself) a bounty hunter in order to track down the defendant and drag him back to the jurisdiction and recover their money. They can also sue any indemnitors or guarantors who were party to the bail arrangement to try to recover their loss. Basically 90% of being a profitable bondsman is being good at skip tracing in order to keep your losses low

fnordfnordfnord 11y ago

They stay in business by making sure their clients make it to their court date, or by at least knowing the whereabouts of the clients so that they, or a bounty hunter (that the bondsman would hire), or the police can take them into custody. They can also go after bail jumpers in civil court (place liens on property). The OP article mentions a peculiarity of the economics of the business in that many bondsmen won't touch small bail amounts because there isn't enough profit in it for the risk. So, it has the effect that people sometimes sit in jail for very low level offenses while people charged with more serious crimes get bonded out. >So how are they allowed to stay in business if just one person they bailed out fails to appear in court? The bondsman has to go and get their client and turn them in, or reimburse the amount of the bail. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/bail-bond-companies-work-4645.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/bail-bond-companies-work-4645...