Surety

The Surety Department provides the following services to our clients:

Proposal To Underwriter:  From information provided by the client, we prepare a comprehensive proposal for submission to the surety underwriter.  The evaluation covers the details of the financial statements, presents input on trends, includes a resume on management, highlights banking arrangements, and perpetuation plans, etc.  Our propose is to make a clear presentation, which the underwriter can understand and respond to in a minimum amount of time with a maximum amount of information and direction.

Review and Negotiation of Program Support Level: We will work closely with our existing clients to develop strategies to maximize their available bond credit.  Our bond tracking system follows all outstanding bonds, notifies underwriters when projects are completed, and continually updates work on hand.  This allows underwriters to adjust credit limits accordingly.  In addition, we routinely provide quotations for bidding purposes, delivering bid bonds and final bonds to meet tight deadlines.

Subcontractor/Prime Contractor Investigations: We review credit information, such as NACM and Dun & Bradstreet Reports to determine the subcontractor's standing in the credit community.  We include this information within the related construction industry and the performance and track record of the subcontractor or prime contractor.

Owner Investigations:  We review the owner's background and history, his/her experience as an owner, and what the reputation of his/her company is as a buyer of construction services.

Confirmation of Financing on Private Work:  We review the financing arrangements between the owner and lender to include the take-out lender.  We can confirm that all conditions of the lending requirements have been met by the borrower (owner) and that the lender (bank) is prepared to disburse funds for construction.

Out of State Facilities:  We maintain broker licenses in all 50 states.  Included in our clientele list are several firms with nationwide and international operations.

Bond Form Analysis:  As an ongoing service, we review bond forms required as a contractor by the owners or others to insure that the contractor's rights and obligations are protected under the owner's form.  In addition, we review lower tier subcontractor bond forms to determine the payment and performance obligations of the subcontract are being guaranteed under the bond form.  We will also recommend or provide sample bond forms for use by the subcontractors.

Surety Seminars:  For the benefit of our clients, we provide seminar classes for all levels of management beginning with the basics to the most complex areas of suretyship.  We believe that it is important that both the field and home office personnel have an appreciation for credit function of suretyship and its effect on the company's goals.

In addition, we offer seminars of suretyship to the general business community to include lenders, contracting associations and owners groups.  Our goal is to educate those who may or do use surety bonds in support of the construction process.

Reputation and credibility with Surety Companies:  Bill Clark & Associates enjoys a strong allegiance among the surety markets we represent.  Our record of performance with these markets gives our clients intangible advantages in our negotiations for surety credit on their behalf.  The value of this subjective consideration is measured by our list of clients and our performance on their behalf.  We are pleased to provide references upon request.