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Fidelity Bond Cost CalculatorEmployee Dishonesty · Business Services · ERISA

"Fidelity bond" covers three very different products that price three very different ways. Pick your coverage below and get an estimated annual premium range on the spot — typically 0.5%–2% of coverage for employee dishonesty, slightly less for business services crews, and just 0.1%–0.5% for the federally mandated ERISA fidelity bond. When you're ready for a firm number, the full picture of coverage options lives on our fidelity bonds page, or you can request a bound quote and skip the math entirely.

The ERISA mode applies the actual statutory formula — 10% of funds handled, $1,000 minimum, $500,000 cap (or $1,000,000 with employer securities) under 29 USC 1112. Running a benefit plan specifically? The dedicated ERISA bond calculator adds plan-participant context, and the ERISA bond requirements guide walks through who must be bonded. Not sure a fidelity bond is even what you need? See surety bond vs. fidelity bond.

Run Your Estimate

Coverage Type
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Employee dishonesty / business services: enter the coverage limit you want. ERISA: enter total plan assets — the calculator derives the required bond at 10%.

Adjusts the rate band for dishonesty and business services modes.

Three Coverages, Three Pricing Models

The three coverages share a name and almost nothing else. Who the bond protects determines how it prices — and getting the mode wrong can mean buying the wrong coverage entirely.

Employee Dishonesty

~0.5%–2%

estimated, of coverage limit / year

First-party coverage: pays your business when an employee steals cash, inventory, or funds. Priced on coverage limit and headcount. The most common commercial form of fidelity bond coverage.

Business Services

~0.4%–1.5%

estimated, of coverage limit / year

Third-party coverage: pays your client when your employee steals on their premises. Standard for janitorial, house cleaning, home care, and IT field crews — many cleaning contracts also require a janitorial performance bond alongside it.

ERISA Plan

~0.1%–0.5%

estimated, of bond amount / year

Federally mandated coverage protecting benefit-plan participants. The bond amount is set by statute, not by choice — 10% of funds handled. Full product detail on our ERISA bonds page.

ERISA Mode: Where the 10% Formula Comes From

Unlike the two commercial coverages, the ERISA bond amount is not negotiable — federal law dictates it. The calculator's ERISA mode implements the statute exactly as written, including both caps.

Official Federal (ERISA Section 412) Requirements

"Not less than 10 per centum of the amount of funds handled."
United States Code • 29 USC 1112(a)

The base measure

The 10% applies to funds handled during the preceding reporting year — not a snapshot you pick. A plan that handled $800,000 last year needs at least an $80,000 bond this year.

Floor and standard cap

$1,000 minimum no matter how small the plan; $500,000 maximum for standard plans. Past $5,000,000 in funds handled, the required bond stops growing.

The $1M exception

Plans holding employer securities (ESOPs are the classic case) and pooled employer plans substitute a $1,000,000 maximum — that is what the employer-securities checkbox toggles in the calculator above.

Every fiduciary and every person who handles plan funds or property must be covered — trustees, administrators, and employees with access alike. For the who-and-when detail, the ERISA bond requirements guide covers exemptions and edge cases, and the standalone ERISA fidelity bond calculator is purpose-built for plan sponsors.

Sample Fidelity Bond Premiums by Coverage Amount

Estimated annual premium ranges for a small operation (10 or fewer employees) at common coverage limits. Larger headcounts trend toward the upper end of each range; the calculator above adjusts for that automatically.

Coverage AmountEmployee Dishonesty (est.)Business Services (est.)
$10,000$150 – $150/yr$100 – $120/yr
$25,000$150 – $375/yr$100 – $300/yr
$50,000$250 – $750/yr$200 – $600/yr
$100,000$500 – $1,500/yr$400 – $1,200/yr
$250,000$1,250 – $3,750/yr$1,000 – $3,000/yr
$500,000$2,500 – $7,500/yr$2,000 – $6,000/yr

Figures are estimates from typical market rate bands (0.5%–1.5% dishonesty, 0.4%–1.2% business services at this headcount) and are not filed rates or quotes. Minimum premiums apply at small limits. ERISA premiums run lower — roughly 0.1%–0.5% of the bond amount — and are tabled separately on the ERISA calculator.

What Moves a Fidelity Bond Premium

The calculator works from coverage amount and headcount because those are the two inputs every carrier starts with. Underwriting then adjusts from there — generally in these directions.

Headcount and access

More employees with access to cash, inventory, or financial systems means more exposure. A 5-person bookkeeping firm and a 150-person facilities company at the same $100,000 limit will not pay the same premium — the calculator's employee brackets reflect that spread.

What the work touches

Crews working unsupervised inside client homes and offices (cleaning, home care) are priced differently from back-office staff. Cash-intensive and financial-services operations generally sit toward the top of the band.

Internal controls and history

Dual signatures, separated duties, regular audits, and a clean loss history all push pricing down. Prior employee-theft claims push it up — and may add exclusions for specific individuals.

Blanket vs. scheduled coverage

Blanket forms cover every employee automatically; scheduled forms name specific positions or people. Blanket coverage costs somewhat more at the same limit but eliminates the gap when staff turns over — most small businesses buy blanket. The broader rate logic behind all of this is covered in our surety bond cost guide.

Want the real number instead of a range?

Most fidelity bonds quote same-day. Tell us the coverage type and limit, and an underwriter returns firm pricing — or call 1-844-810-BOND (2663).

Get a Fidelity Bond QuoteTalk to an Underwriter

Fidelity Bond Cost Questions

The ERISA figures below come straight from 29 USC 1112; the commercial rate ranges are market estimates, not filed rates.

How much does a fidelity bond cost per year?

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It depends on which of the three coverages you are buying. Employee dishonesty bonds — the first-party coverage that protects your own business from employee theft — typically run an estimated 0.5% to 2% of the coverage amount per year, so $100,000 of coverage often lands between $500 and $2,000 annually. Business services bonds (third-party coverage for janitorial, home care, and similar crews working on client premises) tend to price slightly lower, roughly 0.4% to 1.5%. ERISA fidelity bonds are the cheapest of the three at roughly 0.1% to 0.5% of the bond amount, with minimum premiums around $100. These are market estimate ranges, not filed rates — the carrier sets final pricing after underwriting.

How is the ERISA fidelity bond amount calculated?

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Federal law sets the formula. Under 29 USC 1112(a) — ERISA Section 412 — every person who handles plan funds must be bonded for at least 10% of the amount of funds handled during the preceding reporting year. The statutory minimum bond is $1,000 and the standard maximum is $500,000 per plan. Plans that hold employer securities (such as ESOPs) and pooled employer plans use a higher $1,000,000 maximum. The ERISA mode of this calculator applies that exact formula: enter your plan assets and it returns the required bond amount plus an estimated premium.

Does employee count change the price of an employee dishonesty bond?

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Yes — more hands on the money means more exposure. Underwriters generally price a 5-person office near the bottom of the rate band and a 200-person operation near the top, because each additional employee with access to cash, inventory, or financial systems adds a potential loss vector. As a rough guide, businesses with 10 or fewer employees often see estimated rates around 0.5%–1.5% of coverage, while operations above 50 employees trend toward 0.75%–2%. Very large headcounts (200+) usually trigger individual underwriter review rather than table rating.

What is the difference between an employee dishonesty bond and a business services bond?

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Direction of protection. An employee dishonesty bond is first-party coverage: it reimburses YOUR business when your own employee steals from you. A business services bond is third-party coverage: it reimburses YOUR CLIENT when your employee steals from them while working on their premises — the classic buyers are janitorial companies, house cleaners, home health agencies, and IT field-service firms. Because the business services bond covers a narrower, more specific loss scenario, it generally prices a touch lower than blanket employee dishonesty coverage at the same limit.

Can I get a $1 million fidelity bond?

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Yes, on two tracks. For ERISA plans, 29 USC 1112(a) itself raises the maximum required bond from $500,000 to $1,000,000 for plans that hold employer securities or operate as pooled employer plans — so a $1M ERISA bond is a statutory category, not an exception. For commercial employee dishonesty coverage, $1M limits are routinely written for businesses that handle significant cash or client funds, though carriers will want financials and internal-controls details at that size. At an estimated 0.5%–2% rate band, a $1M dishonesty limit prices roughly $5,000–$20,000 per year depending on underwriting.

Is a fidelity bond the same as a surety bond?

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No, and the difference matters at claim time. A standard surety bond is a three-party guarantee that protects an obligee (a state agency, a court, a project owner) and the surety recovers any claim payment from you. A fidelity bond works more like insurance: it pays your business (or your client, in the business-services version) for employee-theft losses, and you are not automatically on the hook to repay the carrier. They are sold through the same channels and often confused, but they answer different questions — surety bonds guarantee your obligations to others; fidelity bonds insure against dishonesty inside your walls.

From Estimate to Issued Bond, Usually Same Day

Whether it's a $25,000 employee dishonesty limit for a bookkeeping firm, a business services bond for a cleaning crew, or the statutory ERISA fidelity bond for your 401(k), the path from this estimate to a bound policy is one short application.

Start Your Fidelity Bond Quote1-844-810-BOND
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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