Maryland Health Club Bond

Get Your Maryland Health Club Bond

Why is a Maryland Health Club Bond Required?

The Maryland Attorney General requires the following health businesses and professionals to register:

• Health clubs
• Personal trainers
• Weight loss centers, programs, and counselors
• Self defense schools and instructors
• Exercise and fitness programs

This registration process includes steps such as:

• Providing business formation documents
• Sales agreement or lease of your location
• A list of all services you'll provide to members and clients
• An outline of the owners of the business
• Paying applicable fees to get up and running

If your location is not open but you want to take pre-sales of memberships or pre-sales of programs, you must purchase a surety bond.

If you don't offer pre-sales, you do not have to purchase a surety bond.

Why is the Maryland Health Club Bond Required?

Requirements like these are put in place to protect the public from fraudulent businesses.

Because you're a business taking people's money up front for a service you promise to provide in the future, the Maryland Attorney General wants to make sure you keep your promises.

This surety bond, or health club bond, is the primary tool used to hold you accountable.

It's unfortunate, but in years past, there have been facilities who will purposefully and financially harm their customer by:

• Stealing from customer deposits
• Charging for fraudulent deposits
• Mismanaging fees and prepaid fees for memberships

It's because of these fraudulent facilities that the Maryland Attorney General requires new dance studios and health clubs to purchase a bond if they accept pre-sales from members.

If a dance studio or health facility is found guilty of purposefully mismanaging custom funds, the customer and/or customers can make a claim against the security deposit or surety bond for financial compensation.

The amount of compensation is limited by the amount of the surety bond.

How Much Does a Maryland Health Club Bond Cost?

The bond amount you're required to purchase is going to be a minimum of $50,000.

If you're facility or business is planning on accepting more than $50,000 in pre-sales, the bond amount must be equal to or greater than the amount.

So if you have a set presale figure you hope to hit and you know you won't go over, that will be your bond amount.

If you are hoping to pre-sale as much as possible, it's best to choose a bond amount you know is well above the pre-sales you expect to bring in.

As you'll see the price will not change too drastically.

How Pricing Is Calculated

With a minimum bond amount of $50,000, these health club surety bonds are credit driven.

This means the price you'll pay will be based, primarily on, these factors:

• The personal credit of the owner or owners
• Business industry and experience
• Prior bond claims if they exist

A surety is responsible for using these factors to determine a custom rate. A surety is an insurance company that underwrites health club surety bonds.

The rate multiplied by the bond amount is price you pay.

It's one payment for the entire term of the bond. In these cases the bond term is typically 12 months.

How You Can Save Hundreds Of Dollars Purchasing Your Surety Bond

At Surety Bonds Direct, we are a specialized surety agency. This means we work with the highest A-rated sureties who provide health club bonds to find you the lowest price.

It's our sole job to:

• Price shop for you
• Find the lowest rate
• And therefore the lowest price

All you have to do is complete our online price quote request form and you'll be assigned a bond specialist to help you save money.

The best part is you don't have to purchase from us. So get your pricing by completing the form or you can call a bond specialist at 1-800-608-9950.

Health Club Surety Bond Price Examples

Let's use the bond minimum of $50,000 for our price example. Just remember, if you need a great amount, these price differences will be larger.

Notice how a 1% to 2% change in the rate can make a huge difference in the cost of the bond.

You can see getting a lower rate makes a big difference in the cost. It's a no-brainer to have us price shop for you and find the lowest rate.

You can take these cost savings and put them towards marketing to get all your membership pre-sold.

How Long Does Maryland Health Club Surety Bond Last?

When you agree to a price, you can complete your purchase online. During your purchase, you will choose an effective date.

The effective date is the "active" date.

Once you pay for your bond, our bond issuance team will prepare your bond:

• On the correct bond form
• With the required signatures
• All the required seals
• And the power of attorney

This process typically only takes 1 business day to complete.

The Maryland Attorney General will accept a copy of the bond, so we can email it to you.

Remember, when you purchase your bond it's good for a 12 month term. In most cases you will not need to renew your bond beyond the 12 month period.

However, if you continue to accept pre-sales beyond a 12 month period, you will need to renew the bond and maybe adjust the amount.

It's also good to keep in mind that this bond applies to a single location. So if you open a new location and you accept pre-sales, you'll have to get that location bonded as well.

Health Club Bonds And Getting Your Maryland Business License/Registration

Getting your health club or health business registered is not a lengthy process. It mainly consists of these steps:

• Complete the Application for Registration
• Have proof of your business being legally created with the Secretary of State
• Pay the correct fees based on whether you're a bonded club or not
• Purchase your surety bond if it applies to your business
• Provide your business license and Certificate of Good Standing.