Bonding Company Ordered to Cease Business in Fla.

Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation has ordered a Fort Worth, Texas, company to immediately cease operations in Florida.

Global Bonding has reportedly been soliciting customers for the purchase of contractor surety bonds and has been issuing construction performance bonds and bid bonds. According to the report, Global is unlicensed and unauthorized to transact surety business in Florida.

The order was also issued to Hexagon Consolidated Companies of America and Peeples Mining Company. These entities reportedly issued certificates claiming to back the bonds sold by Global.

Global’s activities were uncovered in an investigation that was prompted by a complaint from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). In one transaction, Global reportedly sold more than $26 million worth of bonds to a Winter Haven construction company. The bonds were then presented to the FDOT to insure a Polk County construction project.

In issuing the cease and desist order against Global, director of the Office of Insurance Regulation, Kevin McCarty, urged all Florida businesses and consumers to make sure any company selling insurance products are authorized to operate in Florida: “By making a simple check, customers can be assured they are receiving the consumer protections and solvency standards required of authorized companies.”

All of the entities named in the order have been ordered to provide a complete accounting of all business conducted in Florida and to honor all contractual obligations in the state. The states of Nevada and Georgia have reportedly issued similar orders against Global.