As former Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Potter Stewart famously said, “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” The NASBP Ethics Committee is a standing committee that works to heighten membership awareness of ethics by working to highlight the Association’s Code of Ethics and to elevate individual and collective ethics of surety bond producers and the overall surety industry.

NASBP and its members know that the three-party relationships in surety bonding—between principal, obligee, and surety—create complex situations and require a strong corporate ethical culture. That is why the NASBP Code of Ethics is included in all membership applications. This focus exemplifies the Association’s commitment to promoting sound practices in the surety industry. In addition to promoting the awareness of NASBP’s Code of Ethics, through articles like this and the NASBP Blog post titled “Don’t Sink Ships,” the Ethics Committee has worked with the NASBP Professional Development Committee to develop an on-demand, online course hosted through NASBP’s relationship with WebCE and titled Ethics for Surety Bond Producers. This course is intended for bond producers and all bond department employees at all levels of experience. The course explores ethical philosophies and helps participants understand how to create a framework in which they can resolve the unique ethical challenges that confront them every day. Also, the course analyzes objectives of corporate ethics codes and discusses how to create and maintain a viable code. Find out more and register for Ethics for Surety Bond Producers now.

Another important activity of the NASBP Ethics Committee is gathering educational materials such as scenarios for all of the NASBP Surety Schools. In fact, the ethics section of Level 2 of the NASBP Surety School is led by NASBP’s current president and includes these resources described in this article. The NASBP President’s involvement in the delivery of this content further signifies the importance of promoting sound practices in the surety industry. Additionally, Levels I and II of the NASBP Commercial Surety School are being refined and developed, and the NASBP Ethics Committee is assembling materials that offer commercial surety-specific ethics case studies and scenarios for both Levels! The Committee welcomes suggestions for case scenarios from anyone in the NASBP membership.

Sign up to be a part of the NASBP Ethics Committee!

NASBP Ethics Committee Chair Andy Tokasz, Vice-President and Director of Surety Bonds at USI Insurance Services in Buffalo, NY, had this to say about his experience with the committee:

“Being a member and a Chair of the NASBP Ethics Committee has been educating and compelling. I always look forward to other members sharing their experiences and discussing ethical situations surety bond professionals find themselves in daily.”

This Pipeline article is the eleventh in a series describing how NASBP Committees are the cornerstone foundation of the Association. See the CEO Column that introduced this series, which was published in the March/April 2021 issue. See other Pipeline articles that describe the NASBP Industry Relations Committee, Government Relations Committee, Membership Committee, Professional Development Committee, Automation and Technology Committee, 5-15 Leadership Committee, Small & Emerging Business Committee, Finance Committee, International Committee, and Commercial Surety Committee. (NASBP login required.)