How to Choose the Right Bond Agency
Not Every Surety Bond Service is Created Equally
There are thousands of bonding agents across the U.S. that offer surety bonds. However, many of them primarily offer insurance, and write surety bonds on the side (people sometimes refer to them as a bond insurance agency).
Unfortunately, this often means they don’t have the proper surety bond knowledge, which can leader to higher pricing, a slower process and unnecessary claim costs.
The Wrong Bonding Agency Can Increase Turnaround Time and Costs
Although there are many companies that provide bonding services, a large majority of them can’t approve surety bonds for their clients in-house. This means that if you apply with the wrong surety bond agent with no access to specialty bond programs to get you approved, they will broker you out to another agency leading to a significantly slower turnaround time and increased costs when purchasing your bond.
Your Surety Agent May Not Defend You from Claims
It’s important that to understand that you’re responsible for claims on your surety bond up to the full bond amount (including any legal costs). Most bond agencies will not get involved with the claim process, as they will sell you your surety bond, collect payment and move on to the next customer as fast as possible. If your current contract or commercial surety bond agency doesn’t take the time to explain that you’re responsible for bond claims and how to avoid them, you should strongly reconsider working with them (this can be particularly true when it comes to freight broker bonds, which is a n industry that experiences a high claim volume). You can learn more about how surety bonds work and how they benefit you.
Our Bond Services Are Fast and Protect You
We are the largest volume producing MGU, which means when you partner with us you are in direct contact with the decision maker for your bond approval. If you choose our company, you will not have to worry about longer turnaround time and increased costs due to being brokered out to middlemen, as we have access to specialty programs and the ability to approve and write your surety bond in-house. Additionally, our industry first technology allows you to apply and pay for your bond directly on our website.
As mentioned above, companies offering surety services will not explain how claims can hurt you or defend you from them. However, a crucial difference with our bond service is that we take educating you about how bond claims work very seriously. If claims occur, we have a team of claims specialists that will defend you from false ones, and work with the surety companies to ensure you pay as little as possible for legitimate ones. You can find out more about what makes JW Surety Bonds different from the rest.
What is a Surety Agent? A Quick Explanation
Surety agents work with applicants and surety companies to determine which surety best fits your specific bond needs. Since surety companies usually do not work directly with applicants, bond agencies are appointed to represent them. The best sureties only work with agencies that provide a large bond premium volume and fully understand the intricacies of surety bonds. Surety companies (or bonding companies) are who back the bond, and are separate from surety agencies. You can learn more about bond companies here.