Translating the Top 5 Most Cringeworthy Surety Conversations

This post is part of a series sponsored by Old Republic Surety.

As an independent insurance agent, you’ve probably had an awkward moment or two with clients. They’re good learning experiences. In this article, a seasoned surety bond manager shares his own awkward conversations with clients and what they really meant. You’ll find them instructive as you begin to build your agency’s surety book of business.

As bond managers, we always look for ways to help our agents, contractors and project owners better understand surety. It can be a pretty arcane subject, and not everyone who has a hand in the process is familiar with bonding. But that doesn’t mean we still don’t get the occasional cringeworthy moment! It just underscores how necessary education still is in the bonding world.

Here are my top five cringeworthy surety conversations and their “translations.” Maybe you have your own list as well.

• Rates are almost always passed on to the owner as part of the job cost.
• Rate differences rarely determine whether a contractor is the low bidder.
• If an account was picked up based on rate, it will likely be lost on rate. Competition is healthy in any industry, but contract surety shouldn’t be treated as a commodity.

Old Republic Surety enjoys working with all levels of expertise. The more we can educate everyone about our industry, the greater the value we can generate. Let’s hear your cringeworthy moments, but let’s do what we can to eliminate those conversations.