Real questions, with real answers

The premium depends on the bond type, the bond amount and your credit. Standard contract bonds price at roughly 1–3% of the bonded amount on standard credit. License and permit bonds are usually a flat annual fee. Court and probate bonds price on the estate or matter size. Send the specifics and we'll quote it within a business day.

Most license, permit and commercial bonds are priced as an annual premium — you pay the same amount each year the bond is in force. Contract bonds (performance / payment) are priced for the contract term but may include a small extension charge if the job runs long.

Some bonds issue in minutes — small license, permit or court bonds with clean credit. Larger performance bonds or first-time contract submissions can take three to seven business days while the underwriter reviews financials. Once your file is on record, follow-up bonds on the same line usually issue same-day.

Yes — call the direct line, tell us the deadline (bid opening, court hearing, license issue date), and we escalate to the underwriter the same hour. On clean-credit small bonds we regularly hit sub-two-hour turnarounds.

No. Standard markets underwrite on prime credit; specialty markets accept files with tax liens, bankruptcies or credit hits, usually at a higher premium and sometimes with partial cash collateral. The bond issues either way.

The personal credit of the owner-guarantors who sign the indemnity agreement. For an LLC or corporation, that's usually the owners with 10%+ equity. Court and probate bonds pull the fiduciary's personal credit.

Surety is closer to mortgage underwriting than insurance — the carrier is taking unsecured credit risk against a zero-loss expectation. Financials, work-on-hand and personal indemnity let the underwriter make a real decision rather than a precautionary decline. Once the file is on record, future bonds move faster.

Current business financial statements, personal financial statements from the owner-guarantors, a work-on-hand schedule and personal-credit consent. Larger bonds (federal Miller Act) require CPA-reviewed or audited statements.

Yes. Our specialty desk exists for files declined by the standard market — bad credit, prior claims, contested probate, distressed financials. Tell us what you've been declined for and we'll tell you the realistic path.

Typically 1.5×–4× a prime-credit rate, sometimes with a partial cash collateral requirement (10–30% of the bond amount). The bond still issues, and it can usually be refinanced onto a standard market after two clean years.

Yes. Every carrier we submit to is on the US Treasury Department's Circular 570 register — the federal government's approved-surety list. Miller Act performance and payment bonds file on SF-25 and SF-25A respectively.

"A-rated" is the financial-strength rating AM Best (or another independent agency) assigns to a surety carrier. "T-listed" means the US Treasury Department has approved the carrier to write federal bonds, with a published underwriting limit. Both are required for many public-sector obligees.

Every bond in our book is calendared. Renewal invoices go out 30–45 days before expiration; once paid, the surety files the continuation certificate with the obligee. The bond stays continuously in force.

Usually yes — subject to the bond form's cancellation clause, which typically requires 30–60 days' written notice to the obligee. Premium is usually earned on an annual basis, so mid-year cancellation may not generate a large refund.

The carrier acknowledges the claim, notifies you, and requests a written response. Most claims resolve at the response step (billing disputes, contract-interpretation issues). Where a claim is valid, the carrier pays the obligee up to the bond limit and recovers from you under the indemnity agreement.

Call us the same day. A co-ordinated, timely response almost always resolves the matter before payment. A late or unrepresented response ratchets it up.

A three-party agreement: a principal (you), an obligee (government, court or contracting party requiring it), and a surety company guaranteeing you'll meet the bond's obligation. If you fail to perform, the surety pays out and you reimburse the surety. It is credit, not insurance.

No. We're headquartered in Mahwah, NJ, but we place license and permit bonds in 40+ states and write federal, court, ERISA and specialty bonds nationwide.