Florida Bail Bonds

I think there is much misconception of what bail is, and what Florida Bail Bondsman do.  I get this question a lot, “well if the bail is $20,000.00 then why do you need collateral and the $2,000 premium?  I though is was one or the other.  Unfortunately this is not the case.  The 10% standard premium is the fee for the bail bondsman to post the full amount of the bond to the jail.  They do this either with a Power of Attorney or some professional bondsman use cash.  Either way, the jail has the full $20,000 bond at the jail.   The reason collateral may be needed is to secure the full amount of the bond, the $20,000 in the event the defendant skip bail and the bail bondsman has to pay the bond.  Some may be asking why even use a bail bondsman though.  Firstly, the jail doesn’t take 10%, they will require the full amount of the bail bond in cash.  County jails do not accept property or other items of value as security for the bond.  These are all the things that make using a bail bondsman convenient.  Talk to you bondsman, they will explain everything to you.