A surety bond is a promise to pay one party (the obligee) a certain amount if a second party (the principal) fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract. The surety bond protects the obligee against losses resulting from the principal's failure to meet the obligation.
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A surety bond is a contract among at least three parties:
European surety bonds are issued by banks and are called "Bank Guarantees" in English and "Caution" in French. They pay out cash to the limit of guarantee in the event of default of Principal to uphold his obligations to Obligee, without reference by Obligee to Principal and against obligee's sole verified statement of claim to the bank.
Through a surety bond, the surety agrees to uphold — for the benefit of the obligee — the contractual promises (obligations) made by the principal if the principal fails to uphold its promises to the obligee. The contract is formed so as to induce the obligee to contract with the principal, i.e., to demonstrate the credibility of the principal and guarantee performance and completion per the terms of the agreement.
The principal will pay a premium (usually annually) in exchange for the bonding company's financial strength to extend surety credit. In the event of a claim, the surety will investigate it. If it turns out to be a valid claim, the surety will pay it and then turn to the principal for reimbursement of the amount paid on the claim and any legal fees incurred.
If the principal defaults and the surety turns out to be insolvent, the purpose of the bond is rendered nugatory. Thus, the surety on a bond is usually an insurance company whose solvency is verified by private audit, governmental regulation, or both.
A key term in nearly every surety bond is the penal sum. This is a specified amount of money which is the maximum amount that the surety will be required to pay in the event of the principal's default. This allows the surety to assess the risk involved in giving the bond; the premium charged is determined accordingly.
Surety bonds are also used in other situations, for example, to secure the proper performance of fiduciary duties by persons in positions of private or public trust.
Annual US surety bond premiums are approximately $3.5 billion.[1] State insurance commissioners are responsible for regulating corporate surety activities within their jurisdictions. The commissioners also license and regulate brokers or agents who sell the bonds.
Individual Surety Bonds are the original form of suretyship. The earliest known record of a contract of suretyship is a Mesopotamian tablet written around 2750 BC. There is evidence of Individual Surety Bonds in the Code of Hammurabi and in Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Rome, Carthage, the ancient Hebrews and later England.
The Code of Hammurabi, written around 1790 BC, was the first time suretyship was addressed in a written legal code.[2]
It wasn't until 1837 that the first Corporate Surety was organized, The Guarantee Society of London.
In 1865, the Fidelity Insurance Company became the first US Corporate Surety company, but the venture soon failed.
Contract bonds, used heavily in the construction industry, are a guarantee from a Surety to a project's owner (Obligee) that a general contractor (Principal) will adhere to the provisions of a contract.
Included in this category are: bid bonds (guarantee that a contractor will enter into a contract if awarded the bid), performance bonds (guarantee that a contractor will perform the work as specified by the contract), payment bonds (guarantee that a contractor will pay for services and materials), and maintenance bonds (guarantee that a contractor will provide facility repair and upkeep for a specified period of time). There are also miscellaneous contract bonds that do not fall within the categories above, the most common of which are subdivision and supply bonds.
Commercial bonds represent the broad range of bond types that do not fit the classification of contract. They are generally divided into four sub-types: license and permit, court, public official, and miscellaneous.
License and permit bonds are required by certain federal, state, or municipal governments as prerequisites to receiving a license or permit to engage in certain business activities. These bonds function as a guarantee from a Surety to a government and its constituents (Obligee) that a company (Principal) will comply with an underlying statute, state law, municipal ordinance, or regulation.
Specific examples include:
Court bonds are those bonds prescribed by statue and relate to the courts. They are further broken down into judicial bonds and fiduciary bonds. Judicial bonds arise out of litigation and are posted by parties seeking court remedies or defending against legal actions seeking court remedies. Fiduciary, or probate, bonds are filed in probate courts and courts that exercise equitable jurisdiction; they guarantee that persons whom such courts have entrusted with the care of others’ property will perform their specified duties faithfully.
Examples of judicial bonds include appeal bonds, supersedeas bonds, attachment bonds, replevin bonds, injunction bonds, Mechanic's lien bonds, and bail bonds. Examples of fiduciary bonds include administrator, guardian, and trustee bonds.
Public official bonds guarantee the honesty and faithful performance of those people who are elected or appointed to positions of public trust. Examples of officials sometimes requiring bonds include: notaries public, treasurers, commissioners, judges, town clerks, law enforcement officers, and Credit Union volunteers.
Miscellaneous bonds are those that do not fit well under the other commercial surety bond classifications. They often support private relationships and unique business needs. Examples of significant miscellaneous bonds include: lost securities bonds, hazardous waste removal bonds, credit enhancement financial guarantee bonds, self–insured workers compensation guarantee bonds, and wage and welfare/fringe benefit (Union) bonds..
Fidelity bonds, also known as employee dishonesty coverage, cover theft of an employer's property by its own employees. Though referred to as bonds, fidelity coverage functions as a traditional insurance policy rather than a surety bond.