Surety Bonds insurance · Nationwide
Get bonded, and get the bonding line your next job needs
Public work and most sizeable private contracts won't let you mobilize without a bond in the owner's hands. We connect you with surety specialists who can place the bond and grow the capacity behind it.
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Coverage bonded contractors carry
A bond is not insurance and does not replace it. The surety guarantees the owner that your contract gets finished, and if it pays out it comes to you for the money, so the policies below sit underneath the bond, protecting the business the surety is relying on.
General Liability
Third-party injury and property damage, including completed operations after a job is handed over.
Sureties read your GL before they set a line. A contractor without solid liability cover looks like one loss away from being unable to finish the next contract.
Workers' Compensation
Medical bills and lost wages for your crews, required in nearly every state once anyone is on payroll.
A public job will not let you on site without a certificate, and an uninsured injury is exactly the sort of shock that turns a tight schedule into a default.
Commercial Auto
Trucks and trailers moving crews and materials: liability, collision, and hired or non-owned autos.
Bonded work is usually scheduled work. Losing a truck for two weeks is a scheduling problem as much as a vehicle one, which is what the surety cares about.
Commercial Umbrella
Extra limits above general liability and auto, frequently specified in the contract itself.
Public and institutional contracts commonly require $5M alongside the bond. The requirement usually appears in the same document as the bonding condition.
Tools & Equipment
Tools, equipment, and materials stolen from a site or damaged in transit.
Materials stored on site before installation are the gap most contractors miss, and losing them mid-contract is a direct threat to the completion date.
Commercial Property
Your yard, shop, and the materials staged for a bonded contract, against fire, theft, and storms.
Include business income. The surety's concern is whether you can keep performing, and a fire at the yard stops that as effectively as anything on site.
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
No. Insurance is a two-party contract that absorbs your losses; a bond is a three-party guarantee that protects the project owner. If the surety pays a claim on your bond, the indemnity agreement requires you to pay the surety back in full.
A bid bond guarantees you'll sign the contract at the price you bid. A performance bond guarantees the work gets completed to the contract terms. A payment bond guarantees your subcontractors and suppliers get paid. Public jobs commonly require all three at different stages.
Premiums typically run 1%–3% of the contract value, and the rate moves with your credit, financial statements and bonding history rather than with the job itself. Well-qualified contractors sit at the low end, and the rate per thousand usually drops as contract size climbs.
Federal construction contracts above $150,000 require both a performance bond and a payment bond under the Federal Acquisition Regulation's implementation of the Miller Act. Between $35,000 and $150,000 the contracting officer can accept alternative payment protection instead.
Yes. The SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program backs a portion of the surety's risk for small contractors who can't qualify on their own, covering bid, performance, payment and ancillary bonds on contracts up to $9 million, and up to $14 million on federal contracts when the contracting officer certifies the need.
Effectively always. The bond guarantees the contract gets performed; it pays nothing toward an injured worker, a damaged building or a third-party claim. Your surety underwriter will also expect to see active general liability and workers' comp certificates before extending a bonding line.