This submit is a part of a sequence sponsored by Outdated Republic Surety.
“We’ve focused tight turnaround instances from submission to approval utilizing Outdated Republic Surety’s (ORS) FastBond course of — the sooner, the higher,” says Todd Taylor, CPCU, AFSB.
As an ORS Bond Supervisor, Taylor has seen the favorable affect of FastBond, which has been out there for greater than 10 years. “We’ve managed to simplifythe bonding course of for brokers by providing limits as much as $1 million primarily based on credit score solely,” he says. “And since there’s no want for added monetary data and no CPA required, that saves super time and problem. Inside the Quick Bond program, Outdated Republic Surety will take into account non-residential completion bonds as much as $250,000 in bond penalty on credit-based underwriting. Larger limits will be thought-about with further underwriting data.”
What if a consumer does require extra? Taylor explains that they will nonetheless use FastBond to safe as much as $2 million single or combination by including present company and private monetary statements to their software — nonetheless no CPA involvement mandatory.
Taylor notes a current uptick in FastBond exercise as properly. “We now have a historical past of writing accounts utilizing widespread sense underwriting, and Outdated Republic Surety is pleased with our partnership with brokers who write accounts which may be smaller or just have few or very rare bond wants. These are the sorts of accounts which can be an actual plus for therefore many brokers. Though they could not qualify for our contract aspect, they characterize an actual mainstay of the development business.”
Retaining brokers aggressive
To remain forward of the curve and keep a management place in these smaller account markets, Outdated Republic Surety requests agent suggestions and screens business situations. “As in different sectors, building prices have risen throughout the board, making the identical danger are available at a a lot larger worth than it did only a few years in the past,” Taylor says. “We’ve continued to regulate our limits as wanted to maintain tempo with these modifications, which is why we not too long ago elevated limits from $750,000 to $1 million primarily based on credit score. The FastBond software is so simple as earlier than, however larger limits preserve our brokers aggressive, and so they can qualify bigger accounts with much less want for underwriting. Better of all, even at these larger limits, the short turnaround remains to be doable, which will be essential for successful a bid.”
As Taylor notes, contractors usually postpone tackling bond points till the top of a bid course of, and it’s common for them to attend in an agent’s workplace for bond approvals. “Bid time strain will be intense,” he says. “Our fast turnaround alleviates a few of this stress.”
Whereas many brokers are already snug with the FastBond software course of, the ORS workforce is able to leap in and supply steering for any brokers who’re simply getting began in bonds or who would possibly need assistance with the primary few purposes. “We are able to velocity up the educational curve and double-check their work till they’re snug doing an software on their very own,” Taylor says, “However as a result of the shape is so simple and the bond is primarily credit-based or solely requires present monetary statements for larger quantities, most brokers develop into adept fairly rapidly.” He provides that Outdated Republic Surety may present a bond-ability or pre-qualification letter if that’s a requirement earlier than any formal bonding. “We’re all the time pleased to confirm {that a} subcontractor can qualify for a bond if that’s all they want with the intention to submit a bid,” he says.
FastBond will also be a useful stepping-stone for brokers who need to assist their purchasers transition into bigger tasks. “Few purchasers are in a position to leap to a typical bond program in a single day, and a few simply don’t need to make the extra required investments, like CPA involvement,” Taylor says. “With FastBond, the upper limits assist brokers preserve extra of their rising accounts till they’re able to graduate to our contract aspect.”
FastBond benefits
Whereas Taylor considers the upper limits, fast turnaround and simple software course of amongst FastBond’s main advantages, he additionally highlights their bond availability in all 50 states and their consideration of all building trades. “It is a resolution that’s preferrred for shorter period tasks in that candy spot of $1 million to $2 million, however we now have loads of flexibility to debate variations,” he says. “Even when a job is projected to be barely larger, we would like brokers to name us; we’re all the time prepared to debate the underwriting specifics and dig into the main points of a challenge to succeed in an approval. Outdated Republic Surety has all the time primarily based our bond approvals on extra than simply the spreadsheet numbers.”
Taylor provides that the corporate will proceed to judge and regulate FastBond as wanted. One current enchancment is the addition of safe DocuSign digital signatures for purposes. Different workflow options are in fixed evaluation.
“Providing a extra streamlined bonding course of for smaller exposures is without doubt one of the greatest methods to increase alternatives for our brokers,” he says. “And Outdated Republic has actually supported our efforts to enhance small account servicing. In spite of everything, extra bonds imply extra development, and simply because a bond could also be thought-about small by business requirements or a consumer has an rare want, they’re nonetheless a necessity. We’re right here to make getting them as straightforward as doable for our brokers.”
This weblog was initially revealed on the Outdated Republic Surety web site. It’s reproduced right here with permission.
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