Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2026  ·  Last Updated: January 1, 2026

1. Who We Are

SuretyMarketplace.com ("we," "us," or "our") is operated by Etowah Insurance Group, Inc., a licensed insurance agency located at PO Box 14, Silver Creek, Georgia 30173. SuretyMarketplace.com is a digital platform that allows individuals and businesses to search for and purchase surety bonds in all 50 states.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at suretymarketplace.com or make a purchase through our platform. Please read it carefully. If you disagree with its terms, please discontinue use of the site.

For questions about this policy, contact us at: info@suretymarketplace.com or 706-237-8319.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

When you use our platform, we may collect the following categories of personal information:

  • Identity information: full legal name, date of birth, Social Security Number or Federal Tax ID (required for surety underwriting)
  • Contact information: mailing address, email address, phone number
  • Business information: business name, business address, license numbers, years in operation
  • Financial information: payment card details (processed by our payment processor — we do not store full card numbers), billing address
  • Transaction records: bond type purchased, bond amount, effective dates, obligee information
  • Communications: messages you send us via email, phone, or contact forms

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain technical information, including:

  • IP address and approximate geographic location
  • Browser type and version, operating system, device type
  • Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs
  • Clickstream data and navigation paths
  • Cookie identifiers and similar tracking technologies

Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party sources, including:

  • Credit reporting agencies (for bond underwriting purposes, as permitted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act)
  • Our surety partners and underwriters
  • State licensing databases (to verify license status)
  • Payment processors for fraud prevention

Insurance-Specific Notice: As an insurance agency, we are subject to state insurance privacy regulations in addition to general privacy laws. The collection of personal information including SSN, financial history, and credit information is a standard and legally required part of the insurance and surety underwriting process.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To Provide Our Services

  • Process your bond application and purchase
  • Issue and deliver bond documents
  • Conduct credit and underwriting reviews required by surety companies
  • Verify your identity to prevent fraud
  • Maintain records as required by state insurance regulations
  • Renew bonds and send expiration notices

To Communicate With You

  • Respond to your inquiries and support requests
  • Send order confirmations, receipts, and bond documents
  • Notify you of bond renewals, expirations, and changes
  • Send service updates and important legal notices

To Improve Our Platform

  • Analyze usage patterns to improve site performance and usability
  • Develop new features and bond offerings
  • Monitor for technical errors and security threats

Legal and Compliance Obligations

  • Comply with state and federal insurance laws and regulations
  • Respond to lawful requests from government authorities
  • Enforce our Terms of Service and protect our legal rights
  • Maintain records required by insurance regulators

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We do not use your information to make automated decisions that produce legal effects without human review.

4. Sharing Your Information

We share your personal information only in the following circumstances:

Surety Companies and Underwriters

To issue your bond, we must share your application information with one or more licensed surety companies. This sharing is an inherent and necessary part of the bonding process and is governed by applicable insurance privacy regulations.

Service Providers

We work with third-party vendors who assist in operating our platform, including payment processors, technology providers, email delivery services, and data analytics providers. These vendors are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the services they provide to us.

Regulatory and Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information to state insurance departments, licensing authorities, or law enforcement when required by law, court order, or regulatory inquiry.

Business Transfers

If Etowah Insurance Group, Inc. is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on our website before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

5. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience on our site. Cookies are small data files stored on your device.

Types of Cookies We Use

  • Essential cookies: Required for the site to function (e.g., maintaining your session during checkout). Cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site. We use this data in aggregate to improve performance.
  • Preference cookies: Remember your settings and preferences for future visits.

Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse cookies, delete existing cookies, or be notified when cookies are set. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect site functionality. For more information, visit allaboutcookies.org.

We do not respond to "Do Not Track" signals at this time, but we do honor opt-out requests submitted directly to us.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

  • SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted to and from our website
  • Encrypted storage of sensitive personal and financial data
  • Access controls limiting who within our organization can access personal data
  • Regular security assessments and monitoring
  • Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliant payment processing

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify affected individuals as required by applicable state breach notification laws.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with our legal obligations. Specifically:

  • Bond records: Retained for a minimum of 7 years after bond expiration, as required by state insurance regulations in most jurisdictions
  • Financial transaction records: Retained for 7 years for tax and accounting compliance
  • Credit inquiry records: Retained as required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act
  • Communications: Retained for 3 years unless a longer period is required by law
  • Website analytics: Retained in aggregate, anonymized form

When retention periods expire, we securely delete or anonymize your data. You may request earlier deletion subject to our legal retention obligations — see Your Rights below.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right to Know / Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
  • Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
  • Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
  • Right to Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
  • Right to Opt Out of Sale: We do not sell personal information, but you may formally opt out of any future data sale
  • Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any privacy rights
  • Right to Limit Sensitive Data Use: Limit our use of sensitive personal information beyond what is required to provide our services

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at:

Email: info@suretymarketplace.com

Phone: 706-237-8319

Mail: Etowah Insurance Group, Inc., PO Box 14, Silver Creek, GA 30173

We will respond to verifiable requests within 45 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. We will not charge a fee for requests unless they are excessive or repetitive.

9. State-Specific Privacy Rights

Because we operate in all 50 states, we recognize the privacy rights granted by individual state laws. The following states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy legislation that grants residents enhanced rights. Residents of these states may have additional rights beyond those described above:

California CCPA / CPRA — Right to know, delete, correct, limit, and opt out of sale/sharing. Right to opt out of automated decision-making.
Virginia CDPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out of targeted advertising and profiling.
Colorado CPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out. Right to appeal our decisions.
Connecticut CTDPA — Similar rights to Virginia and Colorado, including opt out of profiling.
Texas TDPSA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out of sale and targeted advertising.
Florida FDBR — Right to access, correct, delete, and opt out of sale of personal data.
Montana MCDPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out.
Oregon OCPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out of sale and targeted advertising.
New Hampshire NHPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out.
New Jersey NJDPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, opt out of sale and profiling.
Delaware DPDPA — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and opt out.
Iowa ICDPA — Right to access, delete, portability, and opt out of sale.

Residents of all other states are protected under applicable federal laws including GLBA, FCRA, and HIPAA (where applicable), as well as state insurance privacy regulations enforced by each state's Department of Insurance.

California Residents — Additional Disclosures

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), California residents have the right to:

  • Know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
  • Delete personal information held by us (subject to exceptions)
  • Correct inaccurate personal information
  • Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information
  • Limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information
  • Non-discrimination for exercising CCPA rights

In the preceding 12 months, we have not sold California residents' personal information. To submit a California privacy request, email info@suretymarketplace.com with the subject line "California Privacy Request."

Nevada Residents

Nevada residents may opt out of the sale of covered information under Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A by emailing info@suretymarketplace.com.

Insurance-Specific Privacy Laws

As a licensed insurance agency, we are also governed by the NAIC Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Model Act, as adopted by individual states. This law provides additional rights regarding nonpublic personal financial information collected in the course of insurance transactions, including the right to access your insurance records and correct inaccuracies.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately at info@suretymarketplace.com and we will promptly delete it.

This policy is consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.

11. Accessibility

SuretyMarketplace.com is committed to ensuring that our website and all of its content — including this Privacy Policy — is accessible to individuals with disabilities in compliance with:

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title III
  • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA
  • State-level accessibility laws, including California's Unruh Civil Rights Act and similar statutes in other states

If you experience any difficulty accessing this Privacy Policy or any part of our website due to a disability, please contact us and we will provide the information in an accessible alternative format:

Email: info@suretymarketplace.com

Phone (TTY/TDD available upon request): 706-237-8319

Mail: Etowah Insurance Group, Inc., PO Box 14, Silver Creek, GA 30173

We are committed to responding to accessibility requests within 5 business days.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other business reasons. When we make material changes, we will:

  • Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
  • Post a prominent notice on our website for at least 30 days
  • Send an email notification to customers with active bonds or recent transactions

Your continued use of our website after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Etowah Insurance Group, Inc. — Privacy Officer

Email: info@suretymarketplace.com

Phone: 706-237-8319

Mail: PO Box 14, Silver Creek, GA 30173

If you have an unresolved privacy concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, you may contact your state's Attorney General or Department of Insurance. A list of state insurance departments is available at naic.org.