Blog

Becoming Bond-able
Many contractors are wary or unsure of how to create a bonding program or obtain their first surety bonds. The process can actually be quite simple, and best of all, there is no cost to get started. The first step involves understanding your personal credit score. All owners with more than a 10% stake, and their spouses, will have their credit checked (a soft pull) by the surety underwriter. If the scores are over 700 FICO, and there are no bankruptcies or tax liens, you can generally qualify for bonds up to $500,000.

The Benefits of Subcontractor Default Insurance for General Contractors
Subcontractor Default Insurance (SDI) protects general contractors from financial loss when a subcontractor fails to fulfill their contractual obligations. That failure on the subcontractor’s part can include inability to staff the project, delivering defective work, cash flow problems, bankruptcy, and more.

How to Deal with a Recession and a Hardening Surety Market
The Great Recession ended in 2009. Absent the whipsaw economic data caused by the reaction to COVID-19 in 2020, the United States has not experienced

Why a Surety Bond Is Better Than a Letter of Credit
Recently, I met with several successful business owners who are proud to say that they provide letters of credit in lieu of surety bonds for

Tips for General Contractors: How to Secure Your First Surety Bond
Surety bond underwriters want to say yes. Hard to believe, right? But the fact of the matter is that surety companies are in the business