Florida Bail Bonds Practice Exam

What does the term “fee received as payment for writing a bond” refer to?

1. Penalty

2. Rebate

3. Premium

4. Commission

The correct answer is: Premium

The term “fee received as payment for writing a bond” refers to a premium. In the context of bail bonds, the premium is the amount charged by a bail bondsman for the service of posting bail on behalf of a defendant. This fee is typically a percentage of the total bail amount set by the court and is non-refundable, even if the defendant appears in court and the bond is exonerated. While terms like penalty, rebate, and commission might be relevant in other financial contexts, they do not accurately describe the payment structure involved in bail bonds. A penalty usually refers to a punishment or fine involved with a violation, a rebate involves a return of a portion of the payment after the fact, and a commission generally pertains to earnings received for facilitating a transaction, such as in sales, rather than a direct service like bail bonding. Therefore, the most appropriate and precise term in this scenario is premium.