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Verifying a Surety Bond

Surety bonds serve to protect the obligee by guaranteeing the performance or payment of an obligation. A valid surety bond can be an excellent tool to protect owners, consumers, contractors, and suppliers. Unfortunately, many people who ask for surety bonds do not take the extra steps to verify those bonds or to make sure they […]

The “3 C’s” of Contract Bond Underwriting

Hello and welcome back to Work In Progress. My name is Ben Williams with MG Surety Bonds and this is our show dedicated to surety bonding and all things construction. Today we’re going to be giving you some insight into contract bond underwriting so you can make yourself more bond-able. Specifically, we’re going to talk […]

Performance and Payments Bonds for Solar Contractors

Although some tax credits have gone away, green construction is not going anywhere. In fact, solar energy projects have continued to grow around the word as the technology improves and the price of panels continues to decrease. China and the U.S. lead the way and are project to have the most solar panels installations by […]

Everything Contractors Need to Know about Bid Bonds in 2020

Hello, and welcome back to Work in Progress. My name is Ben Williams with MG Surety Bonds, and this is our show dedicated to surety bonding and all things construction. Today we’re going back to the basics to talk about one of the most common types of contract surety bonds, which of course are bid […]

Contractor Bonds – 4 Easy Tips for Increasing Surety Bond Capacity

Hello and welcome. My name is Ben Williams with MG Surety Bonds. And this is our show, Work In Progress dedicated to surety bonding and all things construction. Today we’re going to give contractors four easy tips for increasing their bond capacity. Let’s get started. One thing we get asked by contractors of all sizes […]

Surety Bonds and the New Changes in Lease Accounting

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) began to overhaul the lease standard approximately 13 years ago. Educational materials can be found on their website. The new standard became applicable to private companies on December 15, 2019 (which means it is already in effect). Note that this change only affects private companies, as public business entities […]

Georgia Contractor License Bond

Contractors in Georgia usually need a license and a Contractor License Bond to perform construction work in the state. It is the Georgia Board for Residential and General Contractors that is responsible for regulating and licensing individuals and businesses.

Performance and Payment Bonds vs. Subcontractor Default Insurance

We often get asked about subcontractor default insurance (SDI) and how it compares to surety bonding. Some people just call it “Subguard”. Subguard is Zurich’s proprietary product that was first introduced to the market, and that many contractors are familiar with that term. However, many insurance companies have entered this product field over the years. […]

ESOPs and Surety Bonding

Continuity and succession planning are important to bond companies. There are many ways in which contractors can accomplish the transitioning of their business. One popular method we are seeing more of is the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs). ESOPs are a tax-qualified retirement plan that invests in the stock of the company. They can be […]

California Broker of Construction Trucking Bonds

Several years ago, Senate Bill 1092 was approved, which revised the existing surety bond requirements for all construction trucking service brokers in the state of California. This bill was signed into law in September of 2012 and it went into effect in January of 2013.