Exactly What is a Construction Surety Bond

A construction surety bond is commonly known as a contractor’s license bond.  It is used to make sure that a construction project is completed as stated within a given contract.  In the event that the contractor is unable to complete said contract on time, within budget or other ramifications stated within the contract the surety company will guarantee payment to the owner to prevent financial loss.  This leaves the contractor on the hook to the surety company to pay back the amount that was paid out by the surety company. 

In short a project owner or oblige enters into a contract with the principal or contractor to complete a specified project.  Then the contractor or principal secures a surety bond from a surety company or surety broker who sells contractor’s license bonds.  Local surety brokers can be found throughout online searches by looking under, “surety bonding firms or surety bonding companies”.

If a contractor fails to complete the project as stated within the contract the surety company must compensate the owner of the project for any loss or find another contractor that can complete the contract as stated.  The surety company may then proceed to seek repayment from the original contractor for their losses.

When it comes to any federal, state or local government project the contractor is required, by law, to be bonded in order to bid.  In fact some areas require a bond be in place before they will even consider issuing a contractor a construction license.

Surety bonds don’t only protect the project owner they work to cover subcontractors that are hired in order to complete projects that are contracted.  The surety bond will cover the expense of suppliers, subcontractors and damage that occurs to the property as a direct result of the construction project as well as tools and materials that are damaged or stolen. 

Construction surety bonds are only sold through certain agencies that are known as bond producers or bond agencies.  The job of a surety agency is to work with contractors throughout the entire process of obtaining a bond as well as creating a relationship where they continue to supply bonds to the contractor as their construction companies grow and take on new commitments.  A bond producer plays an important role.  They should provide the following services:

• The surety company offers advice that increases the profitability of the company by looking into management and all the technical aspects of the business.
• The surety company will help contractors with their relationships with other service providers such as industry experts like accountants and attorneys.
• In order to ensure that the financial requirements are met by the contractor seeking a surety bond the company is responsible to review all financial documents that are required by contractors seeking bonds.
• The surety company is responsible for ensuring that the contractor has a surety bond that matches up with their needs. Most surety producers have relationships in which they offer bonds to more than one company.  With this in mind it is important that the surety producer is able to maintain relationships with several various surety carriers at one time.
• The main point of contact for a contractor is the surety producer. This remains the same throughout the entire bonding process.  The surety company must remain in contact with both the contractor and the carrier throughout the entire process of the project. 

Construction Bonding Specialists, LLC are dedicated Surety Bond Professionals that are aligned with several Treasury Listed and AMBest Rated Surety markets which allows them to assist with virtually all Bid, Performance and Payment, Financial Guarantee and Supply bond needs.  Find out more information at http://www.bondingspecialist.com.

Three Basic Bonds Used In the Construction Industry

There are three basic type of bonds used within the construction industry.  They are the bid bond, the performance bond and the payment bond.   These three basic types of bonds are used to guarantee that contractor will perform the work contracted, at the price contracted within the period of time contracted.  If this doesn’t occur the bond company will pay the owner to prevent financial loss and the bond company will collect payment from the contractor.  Below is exactly how bid, performance and payment bonds work.

• Bid Bonds: This type of bond is obtained to guarantee that the bid that is submitted is in good faith. It states that the contractor enters into the contract at the price that is bid and will perform the required performance and payment bonds.
• Performance Bonds: This type of bond is obtained to protect the owner of a project from any financial loss if the contractor fails to perform the contractor as stated in the terms and conditions. 
• Payment Bonds: This type of bond assurers that a contractor will pay the price specified to subcontractors, laborers and material suppliers as guaranteed within the contract.

In order to prequalify contractor needs to prove to a sureties company that they are an acceptable risk.  It is up to sureties to accept the risk of contractor’s failure based on a thorough analysis that pre-qualifies the contractor.  This ensures that the contractors business is a risk worth taking.  It is an in-depth analysis that ensures the contractor’s business operations are legit.  

The surety company must be completely content that the contractor meets certain criteria before issuing a bond.  The criterion looks something like the following:

• High-quality references with integrity and solid business reputations.
• A strong ability to meet all of their current and future obligations in respect to both financial and employee abilities.
• Industry experience that matches the requirements that are stated within the contract.
• Equipment that is necessary to perform the work that needs to be done or the ability to obtain it when it is needed.
• The strength financially to support the desired load of work that is contracted within the contract period.
• A credit history that is established and a relationship with a bank that extends a line of credit if needed.

As a surety company it is important that they are satisfied that the contractors that they have extended surety bonds to will satisfy their requirements. The contractor should run a well managed, profitable company that fulfills their word fairly and performs all of their obligations within a timely manner.

Construction Bonding Specialists, LLC are dedicated Surety Bond Professionals that are aligned with several Treasury Listed and AMBest Rated Surety markets which allows them to assist with virtually all Bid, Performance and Payment, Financial Guarantee and Supply bond needs.  Find out more information at http://www.bondingspecialist.com.