By Michael J. Whitlock, Executive Vice President – Bail Division
It’s the second week of March, and I’ve only made one trip this year—attending the 2026 ASC Agent Appreciation Dinner and PBUS Conference in Las Vegas. Very unusual for me. My dad died recently, not long after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been in declining health, and I was not going to be caught out of town when he passed, as I was when my mom died.
John T. Whitlock—who most called Jack and fewer called John T.—backed into his career selling bail bonds in 1966 while living in Kansas City, Missouri, known to the locals as KCMO. He worked for Allstate at the time, providing for an ever‑growing family.
Dad continued working in the bail bond business for the next four decades, moving his family to four different states before settling in Indianapolis in 1984. His professional journey took him from a retail bail agent to a general agent, multi‑state GA, national MGA, surety representative, and eventually into buying and growing an insurance company. In 1993, he and his partner Bill Carmichael acquired ASC and grew it from operating in one state to all fifty. Jack retired in 2004. ASC was acquired by Core Specialty in 2024, where it is being taken to new heights.
Entering my 45th year in the industry (I started young), my dad’s and my career overlapped for twenty of those years. How bail is underwritten, marketed, processed, and who is required to post bail has changed dramatically since Jack posted his first bond in 1966. We’ve gone from pads and pencils, carbon paper, and typewriters to texting, iPads, e‑signatures, cash apps, facial recognition, and ankle monitors. People were once arrested and required to post bail for public intoxication, minor marijuana possession, and driving without insurance. Sixty years later, those same offenses, in many instances, receive OR releases, citations, or warnings.
While how bail bonds are processed has changed—and who must post bail has changed—the purpose of bail has not. Producing the defendant in court at all times required, or risking payment of the bond, remains the obligation of every bail agent. Obtaining third‑party guarantors—moms, dads, friends, employers—has not changed. Because criminal cases now take longer to prosecute, bail bonds can remain in force for three years or more for a single premium. That’s a long time to keep track of someone, sometimes for as little as a $100 premium.
Searching for someone who has absconded or missed court hasn’t changed. Every state has a time by which the defendant must be surrendered to the court to avoid payment of the bond. Skip‑tracing tools are more sophisticated than they were even ten years ago, but so too are the absconders. People can still disconnect if they want to, non-contracted cell phones, staying off of social media and sleeping on a borrowed couch can be effective.
While American Surety Company was never a family‑owned business, I cannot deny that I am a bail bond nepo‑baby. I own it. Twenty of the most productive and memorable years of my life were spent working with my dad. The eighties and nineties seem so long ago, yet also like they were yesterday. My responsibilities today are precisely what my dad’s were for several decades: represent the company well, establish and maintain relationships with bail agents, provide experienced underwriting, and act with integrity and fairness.
On the day of my dad’s funeral, I pulled into the church parking lot, parked, and just before I turned off the car—my hand to God—Cats in the Cradle came on the radio. The lyrics to that song touch a lot of buttons.
Thank you to everyone who sent texts, notes, or called offering condolences and sharing memories of my dad, Jack. The bail bond business is a small, competitive niche market, but at the end of the day, we’re family.
The airlines, hotels, and rental car companies have been missing me, so it’s time to get back to it. I hope to see you soon.