Once a continuous U.S. Customs bond takes effect the bond will remain in effect until it is terminated by the principal or the surety. Our office would handle any termination requests for bonds we write to ensure the bond is terminated appropriately in the Customs database.
While many other lines of insurance can be terminated on any day the client chooses, Customs bonds require sufficient notice and some forethought before being cancelled. When the surety or principal would like to terminate the bond, they must provide Customs with a request that includes a specific termination date. Unfortunately, Customs does not allow the termination date to be backdated and the amount of time require to terminate a bond can be a little confusing.
The timing element of the termination is very important when there is a specific date the principal would like a bond to be terminated, such as the renewal date. If the renewal of a bond is not needed it is important to provide Customs with sufficient time, prior to the renewal date, in order for the termination to be processed on the correct date. The first thing to consider, when calculating the termination date, is if the bond is a “paper” bond or eBond since the timing required by Customs varies between these types of bonds:
Terminating a “paper” bond
A “paper” bond is defined as a physical bond that was filed with Customs prior to January 2015. For these bonds, when the termination request is made by a principal, Customs requires the termination date to be at least 10 business days after Customs receives the request. Alternatively, if the surety company requests termination of the bond, the termination date must be at least 30 calendar days after Customs receives the request. Additionally, the surety is required to provide notice of the termination via certified mail to the principal.
Terminating an eBond
An eBond is defined as an electronically filed bond that was filed with Customs starting in January 2015. Regardless of who is requesting the termination, Customs requires the termination date to be at least 15 calendar days after Customs receives the request. It is important to note that there is no requirement for the surety to notify the principal via certified mail of the termination of this bond if the termination request is made by the surety.
There are many variables to consider when a bond is to be terminated. If you have any questions regarding terminations or would like to terminate a bond, please contact our bond department.