Surety bonds are similar to insurance, in that they are risk transfer method.  Unlike insurance, they involve three parties:

1. Principal
2. Obligee
3. Surety Carrier

Insurance only involves two parties: Insured and Insurer.

A surety bond is a guarantee for the principal’s obligations to the obligee (usually the principal’s customer).  In the event of a claim, the principal is financially liable, not the surety carrier.

The surety simply guarantees the principal and will require the principal to reimburse them if payments are ever made on their behalf.

Surety carriers underwrite based on financial strength, so they are more like a bank issuing credit, in some ways, than an insurance company.

SURETY BONDS VS INSURANCE

Types of Surety Bonds

Surety bonds can be broken down into four main categories:

• License & Permit – Auto Dealer, Contractor License, Freight Broker, Notary and many others
• Construction Bonds – Performance, Supply, Payment, Bid bonds and many others
• Commercial Bonds – Employee Theft, Janitorial Service, and many others
• Court Bonds – Probate, Custodian, Executor and many others

There are companies who specialize in providing bonds like those at BaysideSurety.com.  At Shields Insurance Agency, we issue many types of bonds as a courtesy to clients, but the only ones we really focus on issuing are Construction Bonds.  Our contractor clients often require Bid and Performance bonds and we have the expertise to handle these needs.