Insurance for Notary & Signing Services

What underwriters look at

Notaries and loan signing agents perform a small but consequential act: verifying identity and witnessing signatures on documents that often carry major legal and financial weight. An improper acknowledgment, such as notarizing a document without properly verifying the signer's identity, can enable fraud, and the notary can be held responsible for losses that follow, including cases of forged deeds or fraudulent power-of-attorney documents used to improperly transfer property or access accounts.

Loan signing work adds another layer of exposure, since signing agents handle complex closing packages under time pressure, often at a borrower's kitchen table late in the evening. A missing signature, an initialed page in the wrong place, or a document delivered to the wrong party can delay or derail a closing, and lenders or title companies may hold the signing agent responsible for the resulting costs. Given how tightly loan closings are scheduled, even a minor paperwork error can cascade into a real financial loss for the parties involved.

Because notaries and signing agents travel to a wide range of locations, from private homes to hospital rooms to attorneys' offices, they also take on everyday exposures like a slip-and-fall at an appointment or a vehicle accident en route. Most states require notaries to carry a surety bond, but that bond protects the public against the notary's errors rather than protecting the notary's own finances, which is why errors and omissions coverage remains a separate and essential piece of protection.