Electronic Signature Accepted on Surety General Indemnity Agreements
September 27, 2021
RLI Surety has announced a simplified process to execute Contract* and Account-Based Commercial Surety General Indemnity Agreements (GIA) using electronic signatures. RLI producers now can offer customers convenience afforded by RLI Surety’s secure, electronic GIA, which eliminates the need for physical paperwork and notary signatures.
“The remote work environment, spurred by COVID-19 in 2020, accelerated the need to modernize the industry’s surety business administration,” said Bob Kirk, Vice President, Commercial Surety. “RLI’s ability to respond by offering electronic signature options will allow our indemnitors to sign any time and from any place, thus enabling our producers and clients to operate more efficiently.”
The RLI electronic GIA is quick and easy. By providing names and email addresses for all indemnitors, the process automatically sends an online ID verification, using industry leading methods**, including Knowledge Based Authentication (KBA) and Government ID Authentication.
KBA offers up questions to answer about each indemnitor, based on basic information held in public records and databases. Government ID Authentication prompts indemnitors to upload images of acceptable Government IDs, such as a driver’s license or passport. Images are authenticated in real time, resulting in a quick process.
“We realize that time has a cost, and by providing our customers the capability to sign the GIA electronically, we can save them time and create value through modern technology,” said Brian Schick, Vice President, Contract Surety.
Agents and brokers are copied on all emails to monitor the progress of the agreement. Once all signatures are completed, all parties receive an email notification with a link to a copy of the fully executed agreement. Download our eGIA Customer Guide to learn more.
Contact your contract or commercial RLI underwriter to execute your next GIA electronically.
*Contract bonds in AK, MA, MI, NJ, NY, OK, or VT are not currently available for electronic GIA
**RLI Surety does not have access to or store the personal information included with online ID verification.
