Surety Bond Producers Automation Association, LLC

TERMS OF SERVICE 

Please Read Through  

The following Terms of Service, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference  constitutes a binding legal contract between you and SuretyCloud^™ and its parent company SURETY BOND PRODUCERS AUTOMATION ASSOCIATION, LLC (collectively “SBPAA”), and govern your access and use of www.suretycloud.com, www.surety-cloud.com, and www.suretybond.org (collectively the “Websites”).  Please carefully read these terms before you use the Website, as they affect your legal rights.  You ("User") are invited to consult with counsel prior to accepting these Terms of Service.  Before you use the services provided by SuretyCloud^™ and the Website, you must read and accept all of the terms and conditions in, and linked to, this User TOS. 

This TOS outlines the terms that, in conjunction with other written agreements entered into between you and SBPAA, govern your use of the SuretyCloud^™ services, www.surety-cloud.com and together with all updates, additional terms, software licenses, and all of the SuretyCloud^™ rules and policies referred to in this agreement – collectively constitute the Terms of Service between you and SBPAA and its related websites.  To agree to these terms, select “I read and accept the Terms of Service” checkbox and click in the ‘Submit’ button.  If you do not agree to these terms just exit the page, and do not use the SuretyCloud^™ services. You must accept and abide by these terms of use as presented to you in these Terms of Service; changes, additions, or deletions are not acceptable, and SBPAA reserves the right to refuse access to the SuretyCloud^™ service for non-compliance with any part of these Terms of Service.

By accessing the Website and using the services provided by SuretyCloud^™, you are agreeing to the following terms, including those available by hyperlink with SBPAA and the general principles for the Websites.

SBPAA provides Surety Bond Consulting Services through its online Surety Bond Management Systems known as SuretyCloud™ which is accessible from www.surety-cloud.com.  SuretyCloud^™ and its Websites allow its users to request, underwrite, and offer Surety Bonds through a virtual Surety Bonds marketplace. 

By entering and using the SuretyCloud^™ services and Websites, you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions:

PRIVACY

SBPAA’s and the Websites’ top priority is protecting User privacy. SBPAA is dedicated to safeguarding your information. By using SuretyCloud^™, you are agreeing that SuretyCloud^™ may store the information you provided as part of the registration or surety bond request process and as described in the SuretyCloud™ - Privacy Policy below. 

Privacy Policy

Personal and Organizational Information (collectively “Personal Information”) is collected by SuretyCloud™ and its parent company, SURETY BOND PRODUCERS AUTOMATION ASSOCIATION, LLC (collectively “SBPAA”), for the purposes of: enabling the use of the SuretyCloud™ application  providing Surety Bond Consulting Services through its online Surety Bond Management Systems known as SuretyCloud™ which is accessible from www.surety-cloud.com; sharing with parties as set forth in the SuretyCloud services Agreement, and responding to authorized requests related to information audits and legislative requirements.

In addition, where our SuretyCloud™ products or services (“Services”) are involved, we use Personal Information as an integral part of an ongoing process of maintenance of our SuretyCloud™ accounts, including but not limited to: considering, establishing and maintaining a SuretyCloud™ User profile, assessing the online use of the application as it relates to performance and pricing policies and execution, investigating, evaluating and handling potential system security breach claims, providing evidentiary support for recovering losses under indemnities and guarantees provided in support of SuretyCloud™ profile guarantees. In using Personal Information for these purposes SBPAA sometimes discloses personal information to: SBPAA employees directly involved in handling SuretyCloud™ business and those responsible for corporate governance, regulators and auditors, courts of law, legal counsel retained to advise or assist SBPAA with respect to SuretyCloud™ matters, financial institutions for processing your online payment and companies related to SBPAA.

Individual online usage patterns will not be disclosed to either advertisers or to third parties. SBPAA will not disclose the name of your organization, or the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, or other personal identifying information regarding document signers or Users, without your consent.  SBPAA does not process or store your credit card information on any of its servers. This information is managed by our payment gateway provider.

By using this service, you are agreeing that SBPAA will store the documents administered within its online servers and make them accessible to you and the Users you share these documents with.  For enterprise accounts, the documents may also be available to your enterprise administrator(s) and business associates.

By clicking “I accept the Terms of Service” you are agreeing that:

1. SBPAA has your consent to use the Personal Information you provide about yourself for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
2. The SBPAA, as well as any and all insurance agency(s) using SuretyCloud installed on their website has the express authority from any and all related consumers in connection with their surety bond application to obtain consumer information from any source which will be used to determine bonding eligibility. This includes obtaining credit reports and consumer information at the time of application for surety credit, in any review or renewal of any surety bonds, at the time of any potential or actual claim, or for any other legitimate purposes as determined by the surety in its reasonable discretion.
3. When you provide Personal Information about others you have that person’s consent to disclose information about them to SBPAA for the purposes described above.
4. The specific personal information you are authorized to access under your User ID and Password will be used only for purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
5. SBPAA has your consent to send you, the other persons whose consent you have and your business associates’ information relevant to the SBPAA Services via email or any other electronic or print method.
6. SBPAA has your consent to make your Surety bond requests available to its partner surety bonding companies (“Partner Carriers”), for the purpose of presenting a no obligation offer to you.
7. SBPAA will retain Personal Information within SuretyCloud™ for the same period of time it is requested by SuretyCloud™ Users to retain the documents containing the Personal information. By using the SuretyCloud™ Services, you are agreeing that SBPAA may store the information you provided as part of the registration process and as described in this Privacy Policy.

Sharing of Information Received 

SBPAA shares Personal Information only as described below and with controls that either are subject to the SBPAA Privacy Policy or follow practices at least as protective as those described in this TOS.

1. PARTNER BUSINESSES WE DO NOT CONTROL: We work closely with companies you have established a business relationship. In some cases, these businesses may invite you and in other cases, you may invite them within SuretyCloud™ to be part of your working group. Or other organization users may request the verification of the authenticity of documents signed and sealed by you.  We may also share the information related to the surety bond transactions with any party that you have submitted a request to receive an offer for surety bonds or wishes to verify of the authenticity of documents signed or sealed by you.
2. THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS: We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include data centers, email, postal mail and e-mail service providers, removing repetitive information in SuretyCloud™, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, providing search results and links (including paid listings and links), processing credit card and other electronic payments, credit report bureaus, electronic signature service providers and other providing customer service. They may have access to your personal information needed to perform their functions but may not use it for other purposes.
3. SBPAA PARTNER CARRIER OFFERS: Sometimes we may send surety bond related offers to selected Agency Users groups of SuretyCloud™ on behalf of our Partner Carriers.  These Partner Carriers offers are intended to provide the Agency Users with alternative options for to choose from.  You are under no obligation to accept these offers.
4. PROMOTIONAL OFFERS: Sometimes we send offers to selected groups of SuretyCloud™ customers on behalf of our businesses. If you do not want to receive such offers, please contact us to remove you from any marketing communication.
5. BUSINESS TRANSFERS: As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy subsidiaries, or business units. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Statement (unless, of course, the customer consents otherwise). Also, in the unlikely event that SuretyCloud™, or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.
6. PROTECTION OF SBPAA AND OTHERS: We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply our Terms of Service and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of SBPAA, SuretyCloud™, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.  Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing, or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in violation of the commitments set forth in this Privacy Policy statement.
7. WITH YOUR CONSENT: Other than as set out above, you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.

Any questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement or about SBPAA’s policies or practices in dealing with personal information should be directed to SBPAA’s Privacy Officer: Sandy Miller, SURETY BOND PRODUCERS AUTOMATION ASSOCIATION, LLC at: sandy@suretybond.org. 

Access and Security

SBPAA is committed to security. We use secured datacenters with redundant power and internet connectivity. SuretyCloud^™ employs commercially reasonable precautions to maintain the security of the system, including the use of industry standard encryption methods to prevent unauthorized access to customer documents and account information stored on our servers. The Service also protects information with the HTTPS security protocol during transmission to your web browser.

To access the Websites or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

Cookies

Cookies are unique identifiers that we transfer to your device to enable our systems to recognize your device and to provide features such as, personalized user interface and seamless navigation throughout the SuretyCloud™ Web sites, and session tracking.

USER REPRESENTATIONS AND OBLIGATIONS

Amendment

SBPAA reserves the right to amend the Websites as well as the TOS without prior consent of or notice to the User, and in its sole discretion.  You can review the most current version of the TOS at any time by clicking the ‘Terms of Service’ link located  the bottom of the Website pages.  Additionally, when using particular SuretyCloud™ owned or operated services, you are subject to any posted guidelines or rules applicable to such services, which may be posted from time to time.

You are responsible for reviewing the current version of the Customer TOS periodically.  SuretyCloud^™ may amend this TOS by (a) posting a revised Customer TOS on the SuretyCloud^™ Websites, or (b) sending information regarding the amendment at login or to the email address you provide to SuretyCloud^™.  Continued use of the Service will be deemed acceptance of the amended TOS.

Proper Use

You agree to comply with these Terms of Service and with all applicable local, state, federal and international laws and regulations and all Internet regulations, policies and procedures, including all export and other laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from any country through the Service. You agree that you will not use the Service for illegal purposes, to disrupt to the Service, or to distribute content that violates the privacy, intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any third party, or for purposes that SuretyCloud^™ reasonably determines to be unlawful, obscene, defamatory, harassing, fraudulent, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, or otherwise objectionable. You are wholly responsible for the contents of your transactions through the Service.

No Resale of Services Permitted:

Except as may be authorized by separate written agreement between the User and SBPAA, you agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the SuretyCloud^™ Service (including your SuretyCloud^™ ID), use of the Service, or access to the Service without the written consent of SBPAA.

Eligibility

The SuretyCloud^™ service is available only to persons who have entered into a separate written agreement with SBPAA. The Websites (other than www.suretybonds.org) are not available for use by any person other than the party to such agreements, or its qualified agents or employees.  By entering the Website and entering these Terms of Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age (or, as applicable, the age of majority in the state in which you reside), and that you possess the legal right and ability to enter into these Terms of Service and you certify that you are of legal age and not restricted to using the Website by any United States or International law, or otherwise by any other contract, law or regulation.

Account Registration

The SuretyCloud^™ may require you to register for a password-protected account. You represent and warrant that all of the information you provide to SuretyCloud^™ is true, accurate and complete, and that you have legal right to use the e-mail address(es) you provide. You agree to keep your information current by updating your account information. You agree to maintain the confidentiality of your password and account. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to this Website or portions of it using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information. You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account. SBPAA and SuretyCloud^™ reserve the right to disable any user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Service.  Further, SBPAA and SuretyCloud^™ shall have the right to deactivate or close your account if your account remains inactive for more than twelve months.

User Credentials

The SuretyCloud^™ service may use various electronic document signing providers within SuretyCloud for electronically signed SuretyCloud^™ documents.  Throughout the Website, the SuretyCloud^™ service may request from you to provide the answer to the Security Questions or your PIN as a confirmation of your identity and your intent to sign or seal electronic documents from a 3^rd party service provider.  In the event that someone other than you presents the answers to the Security Questions or your PIN to the request, SuretyCloud^™ shall consider the action as a request from you or your attorney-in-fact and shall complete the request. You agree that all requests authorized by answering the Security Questions or PIN entries in the SuretyCloud^™ by your attorney-in-fact or you, shall be valid and enforceable, and shall be legally binding on you or your company in a same manner as a wet-ink signature and/or a seal application.

Payment Obligations

In the event that you choose to purchase one of the service plans that SuretyCloud^™ makes available (a “Paid Account”), you agree to pay for using such a Paid Account according to the service plan you select. Payment of your SuretyCloud^™ account balance is due monthly or yearly in advance and must be made by the credit or debit card you designate, unless you have arranged and agreed to a separate post-pay arrangement with SuretyCloud^™ or one of its partner organizations.

Account Cancellation

If your account is paid-in-full, you may cancel your account and terminate this TOS at any time. SuretyCloud^™ recommends printing or copying any important documents because you will lose access to documents, messages or other content contained in your account after cancellation. SuretyCloud^™ reserves the right to terminate any account that violates the terms of this TOS.

Communication

You agree that the official time for all transactions using the Service will be the timestamps recorded by the SuretyCloud^™ Service’s servers. You also agree that all electronic communications or notices sent to the e-mail address you provide to SuretyCloud^™, placed in your account, or posted on the Web Site will be considered “in writing” and received within five (5) business days of its dissemination. SuretyCloud^™ disclaims all responsibility for all failures in communication caused by failures of third parties to properly process or deliver SuretyCloud^™’s electronic communications.

SURETYCLOUD^™'S RIGHTS AND DISCLAIMERS

Relationship to Documents

Except as provided in any separate written agreement with SBPAA, SuretyCloud^™’s relationship to all documents and transactions completed using the Service is that of a trusted, disinterested third party. Accordingly, SuretyCloud^™ disclaims any representations of any kind regarding the documents or transactions that pass through the Service. You are responsible for recognizing the parties of interest in all transactions you complete using the Service and assessing all associated risks.

Maintenance

The Service will occasionally be unavailable during system maintenance and upgrades. SuretyCloud^™ scheduled maintenance will usually take place on the second and fourth Saturday of every month between 7am-10pm EST. SuretyCloud^™ will make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the Service will be available during this period. However, SuretyCloud^™ disclaims all responsibility for any interruptions or problems with the Service caused by external forces affecting the reliability of the Internet or computer systems.

Limitation of Liability

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT SBPAA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF SUCH SBPAA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF), AND INCLUDING DAMAGES RESULTING FROM: (i) ANY DOCUMENT OR TRANSACTION SENT THROUGH THE SERVICE WHERE SBPAA WAS NOT A DIRECT PARTY; (ii) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, INCLUDING ERRORS, INTERRUPTIONS OR DELAYS; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR DOCUMENTS OR TRANSMISSIONS; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE. SBPAA’s LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, A SUM EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF FEES (IF ANY) PAID TO SBPAA FOR USING THE SERVICE TO COMPLETE THE TRANSACTION UNDER THIS TOS.  YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO THAT YOU WILL AT ALL TIMES INDEMNIFY, AND KEEP INDEMNIFIED, SBPAA, AND HOLD AND SAFE SBPAA HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL LIABILITY, LOSS, COSTS, DAMAGES, CHARGES AND EXPENSES OF WHATSOEVER KIND AND NATURE, INCLUDING EXPENSES, COLELCTIONS FEES AND ATTORNEYS’ FEE, WHICH IT MAY, AT ANY TIME, SUSTAIN OR INCUR BY REASON OF USING SURETYCLOUD OR UNDERTAKING OR ENFORCEING THIS AGREEMENT.

Disclaimer of Warranty

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

1. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. SBPAA PROVIDES THE SERVICE ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. SBPAA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. 
2. SBPAA DOES NOT WARRANT AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, RELIABLE, TIMELY, SECURE, ERROR-FREE OR FREE OF VIRUSES AND OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, (iii) ANY ERRORS ON THE SBPAA WEB SITE OR SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED; AND (iv) THAT DOCUMENTS OR MATERIALS THAT YOU STORE VIA THE SERVICE WILL REMAIN ACCESSIBLE.
3. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, SBPAA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.
4. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM SBPAA, OR THROUGH OR FROM THE WEBSITES OR SERVICE, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS TOS.
5. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSIONS OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Intellectual Property Rights

You acknowledge and agree that SuretyCloud^™ owns all right, title and interest in the Service and the web site, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights, as set forth more fully in the SuretyCloud Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that the Service and the website contain proprietary and confidential information and trade secrets including, but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, software, and icons, that are protected by United States and international intellectual property laws and other applicable laws.

SBPAA retains all right, title and interest to the words "SuretyCloud^™", "SuretyCore^™", and any word, phrase or logo incorporating the foregoing (collectively, the "SuretyCloud^™ Marks"). You agree not to display or use SuretyCloud^™ Marks in any manner without SBPAA’s prior written permission.

General Provisions

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Service, together with any separate written agreement between User and SBPAA, constitute the entire agreement between you and SBPAA and its related Websites and governs your use of the SuretyCloud^™ Service. These Terms of Service supersede all prior terms of service previously shared between you and SBPAA and its related Websites, whether written or oral.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, hold harmless and indemnify SuretyCloud^™ and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, directors, managers, employees, and successors from any claims, losses, damages, suits, demands, liabilities, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees arising from or in any way related to your use of the Service, your breach of any of your obligations under these Terms of Service, or your violation of any applicable laws or regulations.

Severability and Waiver

If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any term or provision in this TOS invalid or unenforceable, you and SBPAA nevertheless agree that the court should construe that term or provision consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the parties’ original intentions, and that the remaining terms and provisions remain in full force and effect. Failure by SBPAA or SuretyCloud™ to exercise or enforce any provision of this TOS shall not constitute a waiver of any such provision.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This TOS shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and SuretyCloud^™ agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA, or the federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.