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The Surety Bond Domino Effect
I have written many articles about the hard surety bond market. To my surprise many want to know more details as to how we got to where we are at. Like all industries the surety bond industry is heavily influenced by the economy. We can all remember the strength of the US economy at the end of the millennium; it seemed that businesses were flourishing with prosperity everywhere you turned. By the end of 2000 the economy began to slow down. The success of any contractor is directly effected by changes in the economy, thus more contractor's businesses began to fail. With the failing of the contractor businesses came an abundance of claims. This is not to say that the soft economy was the only cause for the increase in claims, but it was the start of the domino effect. What actions set up the rest of the dominos to trigger the current hard market? In an attempt to generate more premium bonding companies used very loose underwriting practices. These loose underwriting guidelines allowed for contractors to be approved for bonds they should not qualify for. The sureties were not only writing bonds for contractors that do not qualify, they also wrote bonds that should not be written even for the best contractors. Maintenance bonds exceeding 5 years were a lot more common, these days anything over 3 years is pretty much unheard of. To put it simply the sureties grew too hungry for business and wrote what they should not have and got burnt because of it. The bonding companies set up the dominos and the softening economy started the chain reaction of them falling. What was the outcome for the bonding companies? In the past, the surety bond industry will see losses around 25%. In 2001 the industry saw an staggering 82% loss for the year. In 2002 the industry produced $3.7 billion in premium, however the industry as a whole showed a 70% loss. The 2002 Insurance Expense Exhibit reported the industry losing more than $2.5 billion from 2000-2002. The end result of the losses was many bonding companies getting downgraded to junk status by AM Best other simply had to close their doors permanently. The rest of the sureties took note and quickly changed their ways. Underwriters have returned to more traditional underwriting guidelines and go through accounts with a fine tooth comb. The entire industry has become much more cautious about how to use capital. Contractors has since seen their bond lines reduced for single contracts and their aggregate capacity. If you are a contractor and are discouraged with your current bonding limitations, keep in mind you are not the only one. Many contractors compare what they have today to what they had a couple years back and go looking for a new agency only to find similar terms elsewhere. Always keep in mind that every cloud has a silver lining. Bond lines have been reduced, however the value of a bond has improved due to the conservative underwriting practices in place; contractors can no longer obtain the bonding required to participate on contracts they are not financially qualified for (obviously this is only a plus for contractors that are financially healthy). It is more important than ever for contractors to have an agent that truly understands suretyship. A surety bond agent should be able to give you sound advice to improve your financial situation and help your business grow. A good agent does not just write bonds, they consult contractors to make changes so the bonding companies have less of a risk, thus increasing bond capacity and lowering premium rates. A contractor must be comfortable that their agent is knowledgeable enough to help them make the right decisions, it is absolutely necessary in today's surety bond market. Webmaster of several Surety Bond related web sites including the Surety Bond Blog and the Surety Bond Forums.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Futures flat; Lehman buyout news, data awaited (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as investors awaited news on the fate of Lehman Brothers after a slide in its stock this week heightened fears over whether the investment bank can survive. Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. Help News pick Stadium's greatest moment (New York Daily News) The News is marking the countdown to the final game at The House That Ruth Built by reflecting on Yankee Stadium's greatest moments - and we're asking you - the reader - to help us pick out the best of the best. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. Site: news - Google News News Analysis A Difficult Road Awaits Panetta at the CIA - New York Times
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for insurance NC insurance commissioner orders lower auto rates (AP via Yahoo! Finance) North Carolina State Insurance Commissioner Jim Long on Thursday rejected an industry request for an almost 13 percent increase in auto rates and has ordered a reduction instead. Auto-insurance rates in N.C. ordered cut by 16.1 percent (Winston-Salem Journal) N.C. Insurance Commissioner Jim Long rejected yesterday an industry request for an almost 13 percent increase in auto rates and has ordered a reduction instead. Survey: Insurance Industry Expects Subprime Issues to Negatively Impact 2009 Performance (Insurance Journal) Insurance executives expect subprime and other credit issues to continue to have a significantly negative impact on the industry's financial performance in 2009, and they see credit and pricing risks Nevada Names Baker Acting Insurance Commissioner (Insurance Journal) The Nevada Department of Business & Industry named Betty C. Baker acting commissioner of the Division of Insurance. Baker will oversee the Division while a replacement is sought for Alice Molasky-Arma Here's the lowdown on 'private' bank and broker insurance (USA Today) Q: I've noticed several banks and brokerage firms claiming they have private insurance that protects accounts above the FDIC and SIPC limits. Should investors trust those promises? State unemployment insurance claims up (Macon Telegraph) The Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday that 59,090 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance benefits in August, an increase of 72.1 percent from August 2007, but a slight decrease from July to August this year. Fitch Ratings Gives Island Insurance an "Aq" (Insurance Journal) Island Insurance Co. Ltd., Hawaii's largest locally owned and managed property and casualty insurance carrier, has reaffirmed its "Aq" rating for Quantitative Insurer Financial Strength (Q-IFS) by Fit Looking for Free or Low-cost Health Insurance? (Carteret County News-Times) (ARA) - It's no secret that accessing health care is a challenge for the 47 million Americans who are uninsured. Lack of health insurance forces many Americans to choose the health care they receive based on what they can afford, not what they actually need. Uganda: Health Insurance May Face NSSF Fate (AllAfrica.com) The government has finally resolved that all salaried workers and employers, will with effect from July 2009, be required to make compulsory contributions to the new National Social Health Insurance Scheme. The net inflow from life insurance companies into equity stood at Rs550bn till March 31, 2008 , foreign institutional ... (India Infoline) The life insurance industry was the largest investor in the Indian equity markets, ahead of foreign institutional investors and mutual funds, according to the reports. Site: insurance - Google News Obama Plan for Government Insurance Draws Criticism - Bloomberg
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