What Makes A Good Surety Bond Producer?

The difference between bond producers can be night and day. A good construction bond producer knows the surety industry and the construction industry. For contractors, a bond producer is a key to the door of suretyship.

The differences in contract producers could be the difference in approval and declination, bond line size, and collateral requirements versus no collateral. A good bond producer can make all of the difference in the world to an active contractor, and they can also make a difference when it comes to commercial surety.

What is a Surety Bond Producer?

Surety bond producers are middle men between the surety company and the contractor. Because every surety company has different underwriting standards and practices, having guidance from an experienced surety bond producer is crucial when trying to obtain surety credit.

What is the Role of Surety Bond Producer?

The surety bond producer’s role is to serve as an expert and guide for the contractor as they make their way through the bonding process. Surety bond producers are good at creating business relationships, so they can work with the surety company on behalf of the contractor and help manage the surety bond for them.

What Makes a Good Surety Bond Producer?

There are many characteristics that make up a good surety bond producer. When it comes down to it, surety bond producers are good with people and the best bond producers put your best interest above your own. The following characteristics can turn a good surety bond producer into a great one:

• Good at creating relationships
• Aware of local and national construction markets
• Proficient in accounting and finance
• Knows their markets and what they are willing to write
• Proficient at reviewing statements and bond application requirements
• Able to obtain the best rate possible
• Cares about your future as a contractor
• Gives honest evaluations — no empty promises

Suretyship is an industry built on relationships; commercial and contract bond producers must have good relationships with their principals and their underwriters. Underwriters will likely be more open to new ideas and various risks of a producer that they respect and are friendly with.

A good producer will be aware of local and national construction markets.The producer must possess knowledge of contracts and construction law.

The most important capability any producer can possess is proficiency in accounting and finance. A producer that can adequately evaluate an account prior to sending to his/her underwriters is worth their weight in gold. If a producer does not know how to interpret the information at hand, then the application will more than likely be submitted to every resource available.

A good producer knows their markets and what they are willing to write. A professional producer will not waste their time by submitting applications destined for declination. A paper pushing bond producer is not a good route for any intelligent principal.

A good bond producer is proficient when it comes to reviewing financial statements and other bond application requirements. The producer will think about the best solution for an account rather than submitting it to every market they are appointed with. You can also take a look at the most frequent surety bond related questions here.

A good commercial producer will be mindful of the owner(s) personal credit, obtain the best rate possible, and be able to offer a variety of solutions when necessary.

A contract bond producer should have an interest in seeing his/her accounts grow. The producer will give the contractor the best advice possible and should be seen as part of the company. A contractor should look for a new producer if they feel the current bond producer cares more about booking premium than the contractor’s future.

Principals should expect honest evaluations from their producers, not empty promises of what can be done in an attempt to keep business. It is time to look for a new surety source if a producer is consistently failing to provide what is discussed.