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Surety Bond Professionals

Category: Performance Bond

Performance Bonds for Private Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Are Performance Bonds? Performance bonds are surety bonds commonly used in the construction industry to protect project owners against the risk of default by contractors who cannot complete a job under contractual requirements. A performance bond transfers that risk from the project owner to a “surety,” typically an insurance company or division of an insurance company. Surety bonding dates back over 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians and has developed over the millennia to its current form. Since 1893, law has mandated performance bonds for federally funded projects. Under the Miller Act of 1932, performance bonds and payment bonds are required for all federal construction contracts valued in excess of $100,000. At the state level, similar legislation, commonly referred to as “Little Miller Acts,” requires both performance and payment bonds for state-funded public works projects. Today, performance bonds, once exclusively used in taxpayer-funded construction, are increasingly required by private construction project owners. Why Are Performance Bonds Now Being Required...

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Common Surety Bond Terms Every Contractor Should Know

For commercial construction contractors, securing a surety bond is often the key to winning public work and scaling up to larger private projects. Along the way, you’ll encounter specialized surety terminology that isn’t always easy to understand. This quick-reference guide explains the essential surety terms, financial concepts, underwriting terminology, and construction bond types every contractor should know to navigate the bonding process with confidence. New to surety bonds? Start with our Construction Surety Bonds Explained guide for an overview of how surety bonds work before exploring the terminology below. The Three Parties to a Surety Bond Every surety bond is a legally binding agreement involving three distinct parties. Understanding each party’s role is fundamental to knowing where the financial responsibility ultimately lies. Party Definition Principal The contractor or construction business required to obtain the bond and fulfill the obligations of the contract. Obligee The project owner, municipality, or government agency requiring the bond to protect public or private funds. Surety The specialized bonding company that financially backs and guarantees the contractor’s obligations to the obligee. The Five Most Common Construction Bond Types These are the core construction bonds contractors encounter most frequently when bidding on and executing projects. Bond...

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