website terms of use

Last Modified: July 1, 2023

Acceptance of the Terms of Use

These terms of use are entered into by and between You and Merchants Bonding Company (Mutual) ("Company," "we," or "us"). The following terms and conditions "Terms of Use" govern your access to and use of www.merchantsbonding.com, including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through www.merchantsbonding.com  (the "Website"), whether as a guest or a registered user. However, these Terms of Use do not apply to the Merchant Bonding Company “the Hub” or “the Hub Express” systems, which are governed by separate agreements.

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website and by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use  or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.

This Website is offered and available to users who are 18 years of age or older and reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with the Company and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.

Changes to the Terms of Use

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter.

Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this each time you access this Website so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Accessing the Website and Account Security

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.

You are responsible for both:

  • Making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website.
  • Ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them.

To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Privacy Policy

and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password, or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to this Website or portions of it using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.

We have the right to disable any user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof are owned by the Company, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your business and commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:

  • Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.
  • You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes.
  • You may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own business and commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.
  • If we provide desktop, mobile, or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own business and commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.

If you wish to make any use of material on the Website other than that set out in this section, please address your request to info@merchantsbonding.com.

If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Trademarks

The Company name,  the Company logo,  the Company trademarks which include 

, all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, slogans, and related intellectual property rights in the Website are trademarks of the Company or its affiliates or licensors. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, slogans, and related intellectual property on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality are owned, controlled, or licensed by Company, and are protected by common law and statutory trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. Except as expressly provided in this policy, you may not copy, display, distribute, transmit, transfer, link to, reproduce, license, frame, alter, create derivative works of, reverse engineer, or republish all or any portion of the site for any commercial or public purpose without our prior written consent. You may, however, view information available on the Website for your informational purposes. You may download from the Website materials, except for software or source code, but only for your professional or internal business purposes. You acknowledge and agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights of any kind by downloading materials from the Website.

Prohibited Uses

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:

  • In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
  • For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
  • To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use, or re-use any material that does not comply with the Content Standards captured below and set out in these Terms of Use.
  • To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any "junk mail," "chain letter," "spam," or any other similar solicitation.
  • To impersonate or attempt to impersonate the Company, a Company employee, another user, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing).
  • To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm the Company or users of the Website, or expose them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

  • Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party's use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.
  • Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
  • Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, without our prior written consent.
  • Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
  • Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website.
  • Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
  • Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

Copyright Infringement

The Website contains copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information.

The Company or Company’s licensors own all copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such information and data, as well as in some or all of the content original to it. The Website contains links to and accesses proprietary databases of Company and third parties and employs proprietary software of Company and third parties. The Website, and all parts thereof, are created by or on behalf of Company. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the software applications, materials or services hosted on or obtained from the Website, in whole or in part. You may download content from the Website for Your professional use only and only to the extent permitted by this Agreement. Any information or content You download from the Website or receive from Company must be protected using the appropriate security measures and may not be retained longer than necessary to achieve the purposes outlined in herein. Except as otherwise expressly permitted by law, no copying, redistribution, retransmission, publication or commercial exploitation of downloaded material will be permitted without the express written permission of Company and, if applicable, the owner of any proprietary rights in such material. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of content obtained from the Website, no changes in or deletion of author attribution, trademark legend or copyright notice may be made. You acknowledge that You do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading material from the Website.

You may not upload, post or otherwise make available on the Website any material protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express written permission of the owner of the copyright, trademark or other proprietary right and the burden of determining that any material is not protected by law rests with You. You will be solely liable for any damage resulting from any infringement of copyrights, proprietary rights, or any other harm resulting from such a submission. By submitting material to the Website, You automatically grant to, or warrant that the owner of such material has expressly granted, Company, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unlimited right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute such material (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright or other right that may exist in such material. You hereby grant Company the rights to edit, copy, publish and distribute any material made available on the Website by You. This paragraph does not apply to specific surety bond information.

Reliance on Information Posted

The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

This Website may include and/or includes content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by the Company, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Company. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

Changes to the Website

We may update the content on this Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

Information About You and Your Visits to the Website

All information we collect on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

Links from the Website

If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

Geographic Restrictions

The owner of the Website is based in the State of Iowa in the United States. We provide this Website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation on Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

The limitation of liability set out above does not apply to liability resulting from our gross negligence or willful misconduct .

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website's content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use, and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Iowa without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule whether of the State of Iowa or any other jurisdiction.

Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of Iowa in each case located in the state of Iowa. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.

Limitation on Time to File Claims

ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES; OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver by the Company of any term or condition set out in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of the Company to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

Arbitration

Disagreements, if any, which arise with respect to the terms of this Agreement and cannot be settled between the parties shall be submitted to two arbitrators, one selected by each party. If the two arbitrators cannot settle the disagreement, they shall select an umpire who is disinterested and who is experienced in business contracts. A decision, in writing, submitted by any two of the persons acting hereunder, shall be binding upon all parties to the Agreement. Cost, if any, of the arbitration shall be born equally by the parties.

Bifurcation

If such controversy or claim involves a claim for injunctive or other equitable relief, and suit or cross-claim for such relief is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction, the litigation shall be bifurcated to the extent feasible, to the end that all issues other than those required to be determined by the court shall be determined by arbitration.

Waiver of Jury Trial

The parties hereto expressly waive any right to a jury trial.

Entire Agreement

The Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and Company regarding the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, regarding the Website.

Your Comments and Concerns

This website is operated by Merchants Bonding Company (Mutual), PO Box 14498, Des Moines, Iowa 50306-3498.

All notices of copyright infringement claims should be sent to the copyright agent designated in the manner and by the means set out therein.

All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to info@merchantsbonding.com