The Real Life of Regional Vice President Shayne Albine: Making Surety Cool
“Seeing people grow into their roles and assisting them reaching their full potential is something I am very passionate about,” says Shayne Albine, who has worked ...
Navigating Obstacles to Go the Extra Mile for Clients
Going the extra mile is a well-known staple of good customer service, but sometimes that mile is not a direct route. It requires working around obstacles and ...
FastBond: Simplifying Smaller Bid Performance and Payment Bonds for Agents and Contractors
“We’ve targeted tight turnaround times from submission to approval using Old Republic Surety’s (ORS) FastBond process — the faster, the better,” says Todd Taylor, ...
Taking Your Construction Company to the Next Level
There are many ways to grow a business, but the first step is to understand how you got to where you are, then decide what you need to do next to take your ...
The Alphabet Soup of Federal Contracting
A day in the life of a contract surety underwriter almost always includes wading through dozens of acronyms in bid documents and contracts. There are acronyms for ...
7 Tips to Help Your Agency Show Up Online
It has been said that if Google can’t find you no one can. That’s certainly the case with commercial surety bonds, a product that many small contractors first ...
Old Republic Surety Goes High-Tech with Pittsburgh Pirates Video Project
A major league ballpark can be a feast for the senses, from colorful fan gear to a tasty barbecue sandwich. There’s always plenty of action down on the field, but ...
Charity Year in Review 2023
"We do what we can to help others achieve more." A motto that Old Republic Surety employees believe in so strongly that it is engrained in our core value of ...
Lessons from the Eclipse: Contractors need not tremble at indemnity agreements
A narrow 60-mile-wide path across the Unites States from Texas to Maine will witness a total eclipse of the sun on April 8, 2024. Solar eclipses are visible ...
Private-Project Bonds Have Unique Underwriting Issues
There are several issues specific to construction bonds for privately funded projects that make them substantially different from publicly funded endeavors. For ...
Surety Bonds Protect Taxpayers and Subs for Public Projects
Did you know that subcontractors, material suppliers and laborers working on a public project cannot place a lien on such projects? That’s why performance and ...
The Benefits of Requiring Subcontractor Bonding
If a general contractor retains the primary liability for the completion of a project whether subcontractors are bonded or not, what is the big benefit in ...
Restoring the USS Alabama – A Bond Project with a Past
When the World War II battleship USS Alabama went into retirement, it was with an eye to a long future. But to keep the old “Heroine of the Pacific” healthy ...
Bank Stability Is Crucial to Contractor Bondability
Credit tightening and upcoming regulatory changes in the banking industry are creating an environment where contractor lines of credit may see a pullback. With ...
A Look Into The New ORS Home Office
On May 22nd, we welcomed our new and improved office space located in the heart of Brookfield, WI. To celebrate and help settle into our new environment, we ...
How to Transition from FastBond to a Larger Surety Program
Does your company have growth goals? Does your company need additional surety capacity to reach these growth goals? Maybe you’d like to bid on larger projects, or ...
The Triangle of Trust: Powering Construction Companies to the Next Level
Old Republic Surety regional vice president Darrel Lamb, CPCU, AFSB, often talks about the importance of trust in the surety business – especially on the contract ...
What to Look for in a Surety Bond Partner
According to a recent article in Independent Agent magazine, now is a good time for agents to be in the surety bond business. With a significant amount of capital ...
Old Republic Surety Underwrites Improvements to Historic Battleship
The USS Alabama, an 80-year-old battleship commissioned during World War II, is the main attraction at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. With more than ...
Can Government Spending Keep Construction Up?
As 2023’s economic landscape materializes, it may be valuable to take a quick look back at 2021’s infrastructure funding bill and the implications for surety ...
Build More Secure Payment Guarantees at Every Tier of a Project
Dan Pope, Senior Vice President, Old Republic Surety, offers key considerations for preventing payment-guarantee gaps, in his blog “Mind the Gap: Start Early to ...
NASBP Membership Carries Weight
Darrel Lamb, Regional Vice President, and Todd Taylor, Bond Manager, at Old Republic Surety, discuss in a recent article for the National Association of Surety ...
Profits Versus Christmas Cheer—A Good-Business Lesson
Dan Pope, Senior Vice President of Underwriting at Old Republic Surety, learned a lesson as a young surety rep about the most important numbers at a client’s ...
Getting Contractors Ready for Disaster: Tips for Strong Business Continuity and Recovery Plans
Ninety percent of U.S. counties had a weather disaster in the decade between 2011 and 2021, according to research released in November 2022 by Rebuild by Design. ...
Don’t Be Afraid to Sell Surety – We’ll Show You How
When P&C agents refer a client out for surety needs, they risk losing that account altogether. Old Republic Surety familiarizes agents with the process so ...
Charity Year in Review 2022
The world certainly had it's ups & downs in 2022. Despite the external turmoil, Old Republic Surety stayed our course in giving back - whether monetarily, ...
Why the Full Surety Team Matters
The internal workings of the surety make or break agent experience.
Old Republic Surety Underwrites Oregon’s Largest Minority Construction Contract
Sometimes a construction project is more than just a building, road or green space. It’s a catalyst for economic growth — in this case, the source of minority job ...
Old Republic Surety Underwrites Unique Modular Housing Project in Honolulu
The City and County of Honolulu faced a challenge: how to build affordable, low-income housing on an island known for its high construction costs. The solution ...
Key Items in Your Construction Contract – Damages for Delay
There is a saying in the construction surety world: “Contract is king.” If your contract and bonds end up in a litigation setting, courts tend to hold the surety ...
Marketing Reps Can Make (or Break) a Bond Producer
When a surety marketing representative asks for a visit, be assured there’s a value-add, incentive, or appointment decision that will result.
Reduce Your Chances of a Surety Claim
Identifying Potential Problems In Advance Principals have a lot of control over surety losses. Adequate preparation and consistent follow-through will help ...
What Surety Underwriters Review on Your Bond Applications & Contracts
Surety underwriters ask a lot of questions. They do so to fully understand your business to better support your project opportunities. Part of the process is ...
The Financial Fallout From a Terminated Contract
No one wins — the principal, the obligee or the surety — when a principal is terminated on a bonded project. A termination will generally require the surety to ...
Bringing Communities Together One Baseball Stadium at a Time
America’s love of baseball is about so much more than the game itself. It’s also about the overall ballpark experience.
5 Helpful Tips for New Surety Producers
President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure and Jobs Act that passed in 2021 has opened huge opportunities to construction contractors who have the capacity to help ...
Contractor Capacity: The Oft Neglected Third C
Anyone who has dealt with surety has come across a reference to the three Cs of underwriting: Capital Character Capacity These three criteria have been constants ...
I’ll Be There for You
Dan Pope, Senior Vice President of Underwriting for Old Republic Surety, recently joined NASBP's “Let’s Get Surety” podcast hosts Kat Shamapande and Mark McCallum ...
The Independent Agent’s Role in the Surety ‘Triangle of Trust’
Any definition of surety will list the three signing parties in a contract surety relationship: the principal (or contractor), the obligee (or owner of the ...
What Is NMLS and Why Should Bond Producers Be Using It?
If you have clients who are in the mortgage business, you may already know about the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). It began as a system of record ...
Workers’ Compensation Safety Records Can Affect Your Bond Capacity
Once an owner or developer selects your company for a construction project, one of your many tasks is to ensure that your workers’ compensation program meets all ...
Facts About Probate: Administrator or Executor Bonds
Settling wills and estates is often a straightforward process. But in some circumstances, the probate court may require the fiduciary to obtain an executor or ...
Cash Flow: An Important Measure of Your Company’s Health
The definition of cash flow is pretty straightforward: It’s the money that comes into your business minus the money that goes out. It’s a part of your ...
Contractors Must Know Their Contract and Strategize to Avoid Damage Claims
When a construction project is delayed, damage claims can result, and fingers are quickly pointed at the contractor to be held accountable for these damages. ...
Market Your Agency to Build a Profitable Book of Surety Bond Business
How does an insurance agency go after surety business if they've never sold surety bonds before? Chances are if you are an established insurance agency, you've ...
Beware of Bond Fraud
A recent article in Business Insurance magazine, “Surety bond scammers sentenced to prison time,” reminds us that surety fraud is a serious crime that can have ...
What Bonding Companies Would Like CPAs to Know
If a CPA provides the accounting service for a construction contractor or subcontractor, chances are the client has needed a surety bond. Many contractors ...
Choosing a Bond Producer for the Long Run
The agent you select for your surety bonds has a tremendous impact on your ability to get a project bond approved. Bond producers are key partners in getting that ...
The Difference Between a Balance Sheet and an Income Statement
We often get questions about financial statements and why they are important to the bond underwriting process. Underwriters will generally ask for several key ...
Planning, the Pandemic and Price Increases
In November 2020, I had an opportunity to reflect on what 2021 might look like for the construction industry. You can read my prognostications in Construction ...
The Art of Saying No
A few years ago one of my contractor clients wanted to bid a $24mm project. The project was about three times bigger than anything they had built to date, but the ...
What to Look for in a Commercial Surety Bond Form
Insurance agents will occasionally write a commercial surety bond as an added service to their clients. These agents know their way around property-casualty ...
Construction Company Do’s and Dont's of Smart Contract Bidding
This article originally was published by the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and is being republished with the express permission of NASBP. Placing ...
Contractor Materials Shortages and Materials Price Inflation
We all know well that the availability and prices of many of the materials used by construction contractors have been affected dramatically since the start of the ...
It’s Not Just About Rates. It’s About Valuable Service
In today’s world, we are surrounded by advertisements. And whatever the product is, advertising consistently drives price to hook new customers. But is that the ...
4 Things You Didn’t Know About Surety
Darrel Lamb, Old Republic Surety regional vice president, wrote a great blog post a while back, “7 Things You Didn’t Know about Surety.” Darrel hit the mark with ...
How the Cost of a Contract Bond Is Determined
What goes into determining the cost of a contract bond? Here is a basic introduction.
Translating the Top 5 Most Cringe Worthy Surety Conversations
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 ...
Old Republic Surety Goes Beyond the Numbers to Write an $18 Million Bond
Not every surety decision is strictly by the numbers. CCABH Ebensburg is the story of a dedicated owner who wanted the best construction company for the job and a ...
Do I Need to Increase My Bank Line of Credit?
You’re bidding on a new project, and the surety company says you need to increase your bank line of credit. Why, you may ask, do I need so much credit when I’ve ...
How to Get Your First Bond, Part 2
Are you ready for your first surety bond? In Part 2 of this two-part blog, Mueller provides additional advice. Be sure to read Part 1 here. In my first blog on ...
How to Get Your First Bond, Part 1
This is Part 1 of a two-part article on acquiring your first bond. Be sure to read Part 2 of Mueller’s advice for acquiring your first bond. Are you ready for ...
Advantages of Working with an Independent Agent
Right now, more than ever, we’re living and working in a highly automated, self-service world. Sometimes automation is welcomed — it can be efficient and a great ...
Commercial Surety 101: Why Contractors Need to Be Licensed and Bonded
Most states require contractors to be licensed to obtain permits for projects. State and local jurisdictions may also require contractors to be bonded in order to ...
The Relationship between You, Your Agent and Your Surety
No matter what business you are in, you may need a surety bond at some point in time. This could range from a simple business services bond to a ...
As 2020 Closes: Consider Alternative Accounting Methods on Long-Term Contracts
To say that 2020 has been a challenging year would be an understatement. Many small businesses across all industries were hit hard by the COVID-19 global ...
DocuSign Improves Efficiency for Our Indemnity Agreement Process
Old Republic Surety Company is now accepting electronic signatures for our General Indemnity Agreements and our FastBond Indemnity Agreements. With DocuSign, we ...
Maintaining Surety Credit in Times of Growth and Transition
Most construction companies in the U.S. are owned by an individual or the members of a family. Yet, according to the Family Business Alliance, only 30% of ...
Fast Facts About Fidelity Bonds and Public Official Bonds
Fidelity and public official bonds both involve protection from fraudulent or dishonest behavior by individuals. Are you worried your employees might steal from ...
Direct Bill Versus Agency Bill
“To direct bill or not to direct bill: That is the question…”
Understanding The Claim Process for Bonds vs. Insurance
Thinking about building a book of surety business? As an insurance agent, you’ll want to understand how the surety claims process differs from the insurance ...
What is Remote Notarization?
More than half of U.S. states have passed laws allowing document notarizations to take place remotely - known as Remote Online Notarization (RON), or virtual ...
Why Your Construction Company Needs a Buy-Sell Agreement
Has the topic of buy-sell agreements come up in discussions with your attorney, surety agent or accountant? Chances are someone who cares about the future of your ...
Surety Bond or Letter of Credit for Contractors: What's the Difference?
Surety bonds and letters of credit (LOCs) both provide risk management for construction or development projects. Knowing which is appropriate to use, helps to ...
Contractors: Is Your Internal Record Keeping Helping You or Hurting You?
Let’s face it, the reason you went into construction is because you like being at the job site — not cooped up in an office. So you probably don’t spend as much ...
Abbreviation for Million and Thousand: K & MM Meaning
If you’re confused about the letter designations that stand for thousands and millions, you’re not alone. And it’s not your fault. In fact, it’s one of our most ...
Is It Possible to Cancel a Bond?
We all know bonds are not the same as insurance. While bonds are considered to be a type of specialty insurance, and the surety is usually an insurance company, ...
Why Work in Progress Schedules Are So Important
“Can you send me a WIP that goes with this statement?” “Can you send me the fiscal year-end statement with WIP?” I’m sure you’ve heard those questions or some ...
Increase Your Bonding Capacity by Growing Your Business
Are you ready to grow your business? Maybe you’d like to bid on larger projects. Or the owner of your current job likes your work and wants to hire you for ...
Financial Statements: What to Expect in the Underwriting Process
During the underwriting process, a surety company may request financial statements from both new and established clients. Financial reports provide us with a ...
Worker’s Compensation: Tips on Licenses, Subcontractors, & More
Workers’ compensation can be a sticky wicket for construction firms. It’s an area where new contractors and veterans alike can find themselves in legal and ...
Lessons from the Field: Why Business Continuity Planning Is Essential
Like it or not, ownership and management changes are a certainty in construction. According to FMI, every construction company that isn’t publicly traded will go ...
Expect the Unexpected: The Importance of a Solid Continuity Plan
Growing up in a family that owned an electrical contracting business, I was always surrounded by a strong work ethic and dedication to the business. While my role ...
Cross-Selling Opportunities in Commercial Surety
An insurance agent who can accommodate clients’ surety bond needs along with their insurance is a well-rounded agent. You are providing your insureds with ...
How Sureties and Contractors Can Mitigate Performance Defaults
No one likes it when a job goes south. The owner loses money, subcontractors don’t get paid, and there can be costly litigation. In short, it’s in everyone’s best ...
Contractors Can Seek Relief Through The CARES Act
The vast majority of businesses in the United states are classified as Small Businesses under standards of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Deteriorating ...
Underbilling: Why Your Surety Has Concerns — and You Should, Too
Underbilling occurs when work you’ve completed hasn’t been billed or costs you’ve incurred haven’t been reimbursed. Nearly every contractor has some underbilling ...
Will COVID- 19 Be Considered a Force Majeure?
On March 17, 2020 the City of Boston became the first city, but not likely the last city to close down all construction projects currently in progress due to the ...
How to Prequalify a Surety — and Why It’s So Important
The number of surety companies represented in any region can make the task of prequalifying or differentiating among them challenging to say the least. Many bond ...
Surety Relationship Management
In order to maintain a good relationship with your surety, you must be as transparent as possible. We really don’t like surprises. If anything happens with your ...
How Do I Increase My Bonding Capacity?
We are often asked by agents and contractors about how they would go about increasing their bond capacity. The amount of things a contractor can do to accomplish ...
Consider These 4 Questions When Hiring a Subcontractor
If you’re a general contractor, you know the right subcontractors can mean the difference between a smooth job and a million headaches. While a surety company ...
Adventures of a Corporate Climb: Meet ORSC’s Bond Manager — Scot Albrinck
Everybody has an Everest — a grandiose goal — Scot gives us a sneak peek (or perhaps we should say peak) into his. Staring the mountain in the face A few years ...
What to Expect - The New Revenue Recognition Standard
In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“Topic ...
Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Surety
It’s really old Not only was surety mentioned in the ancient Code of Hammurabi (circa 1754 BC), but it is also mentioned in the Bible and in The Quran. Ancient ...
Horror Stories About Fidelity Coverage
Just in time for Halloween, we have real-life horror stories from the House of Haunted Insurers that are guaranteed to give you chills:
Personal Indemnity: ‘What? You Want My Spouse to Sign?’
We often get questions about the indemnity part of surety, especially regarding spousal indemnity. Contractors often understand the need to obtain a surety bond ...
The ABCs of Surety Bonds
What’s the difference between surety bonds and insurance? That’s a question I hear often, and it’s a good starting point for discussion. Knowing those differences ...
Picture Day for Contractors
If there is one thing I learned in grade school, it is that some days are more important than others. Most notably, in the life of a grade schooler, picture day ...
Insurance Agents Should Promote Business Service Bonds
We like to think that service employees are honest and always have the customer in mind. Unfortunately, an employee working in a customer’s home or business may ...
Construction Oriented CPAs Play Key Role for Contractor's Bonding Needs
We often hear contractors say that getting a job is the hard part – completing the project is the easy part. Many factors go into that, one of which is having ...
Fidelity Bonds: Good for Employers and an Insurance Agency's Bottom Line
It’s an all too common occurrence: A trusted, longtime employee starts stealing from the company. At first, it may be only a few small items. Then the employee ...
A Tale of Two Opportunities: Financing of Risk Through Subcontract Bonds
Last month I met with two contractors where subcontract bonds were a central topic. The first was a paper general contractor, meaning they administered the ...
ORSC’s Bond Manager - Sean Rummel
Sean takes us on his journey through the desert — but there’s nothing dry about his story. In 2013, Sean interviewed at Old Republic Surety in Atlanta, where he ...
Surety Bonds and P3 Projects: A Colorado Case Study
Think of the growing infrastructure projects across American cities. These developments are at times so costly that taxpayer money alone cannot fund them. That’s ...
Influencing (and Increasing) Your Bonding Capacity
Construction bond capacity matters — sometimes more than firms may realize. Simply put, bond capacity can either hold you back from the growth you’ve envisioned ...
Retainage Bonds: A Tool That Can Provide A Benefit To The Contractor
Who Can Benefit From Retainage Bonds? I was holding an annual surety account meeting out on the golf course one day with the agent and the contractor. This ...
Can You Explain Your Bid Spread?
If you were to ask contractors what they like most about construction, they probably wouldn’t say, “I love preparing bids.” Most contractors love being on the job ...
Face-to-Face Meetings with Contractors Are Key
“Your word is your bond.” In no other line of work does this age-old phrase ring as true as in the surety business. We often talk about “the three c’s of credit” ...
In the Spotlight With Old Republic Surety Marketing Rep - Vince Cefalu
From a movie with Clooney to winning multiple awards in marketing, this Hollywood Actor takes us on a tour of his west-coast life. But lucky for us, we get to ...
Letter of Bondability – It Is Not The Prequalification Some Think It Is
You may refer to them as Good Guy Letters, Sunshine Letters or just a Contractor Letter of Bondability. These letters have been around a long time, and their ...
10 Smarketing Hacks For Bond Producers
Smarketing is a term used to describe the synergy between sales and marketing that is aligned around common goals focused on increasing revenue. With smarketing ...
Weather Delays & Construction Contracts - Are You Prepared?
Did you know that since 1980, there have been 246 weather-related disasters in the U.S. that cost $1 billion or more?
The Real Life of Senior Commercial Underwriter – Shayne Albine
Quintessential girl boss, Shayne Albine, paints a picture of her day in the life – and she doesn’t Photoshop any of it. #NoFilterNecessary “I think about the ...
Surety Bond Claims 101
There’s nothing quite like the sinking feeling you get when you hear there’s a claim against your bond. Despite your best intentions, it’s likely that you’ll face ...
The Importance of License and Permit Bonds
There’s an element of risk in every business transaction. License and permit bonds were created so that municipalities could help protect citizens from ...
Corporate Crime: How Fidelity Bonds May Reduce Its Impact on Your Business
Blog updated April 2021. The industry refers to employee theft as a white-collar crime — or corporate crime. It is a financially motivated, nonviolent crime ...
Transitioning From Fastbonds to a Standard Bond Program
Especially now, at the leading edge of the post-pandemic construction boom, your agency’s contractor clients may need to increase their bonding capacity to take ...
It's Pig Iron Under Water!
To some of my fellow insurance professionals, the surety business has always had an air of mystery about it. Perhaps it is the exotic language we use referring to ...
Pure Guts - Pure Michigan
Michigan's two peninsulas were finally connected in 1957, after 20 years of planning, and close to $100 million in construction and engineering costs with the ...
Why Character is So Important for Underwriting Surety Bonds
When a surety company asks personal questions of construction clients, they may think the surety is too invasive. Here’s why the answers to those questions are so ...
Work in Progress Reports Benefit Contractors, Accountants & More
Cost overruns are a common occurrence in the construction industry. It’s far too easy at the mid-point of any project to misjudge billing against the actual ...
7 Red Flags For Contract Bonds & Strategic Approach Fixes
In the process of considering a contract bond request, there are certain circumstances that can raise red flags for a surety underwriter. To maximize their surety ...
Work in Process Reports | Key For Contractors and Surety Companies
The Work in Process schedule (WIP) is one of the most important reports produced by a contractor's accounting system. Surety companies rely heavily on this report ...
4 Key Reasons to Have a Business Services Bond
Even the most trusted employees can cause a loss. Your employees have access to your customer’s valuables while performing duties on their premises. Jewelry, ...
30% of Business Failures Are Caused By Employee Theft
Losses due to embezzlement affect small businesses especially hard, because they cannot afford to absorb the losses. Nearly 30% of all business failures are ...
The Over and Under of Contractor Billings
Large overbillings or underbillings could be an indication of problems that could jeopardize the stability of a construction contractor's bond program. The most ...
8 Tips to Increase Your Agency's Surety Bond Business
Are you an independent insurance agent looking to increase your surety book of business? We suggest to start with your existing customer base. There is tremendous ...
