Bonding

PooreBoy

I had a bond befor and ended up having it claimed,am wondering if it is possible to get another? I'm in Washington any info would be great!
thanx
Dan
hammerandnail@comcast.net

mics_54

Maybe...I think it just costs more. You can post your own.

In contracting...a man's word is his BOND!

HusqyPro

Call the Hartford Group. They're really helpful and reasonably priced. You can also try USAA if you're a vet.

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Kgmz

Your are going to have a tough time getting a bond and it will cost you. You are better off posting cash for the $12,000 bond in your situation.

What is happening with your insurance rates? They are probably going to go up substantially after this.

And you really should up your liabilty insurance, $300,000 does not go very far if you have a claim.

CLWord77

No surety I know of will issue a performance bond for a contractor with an unresolved claim. If the surety hasn't been compensated for payout, then there's absolutely no reason another one would take a chance on that contractor.

A bond isn't an insurance policy- it's a credit backing and guarantee. Sureties base their premiums in terms of a "zero loss" situation. That is why (on most bonds) they base their underwriting criteria first and foremost on the basis of personal credit. Insurance companies write their policies with loss expectation. Sureties do not.

If you've had a claim and you reimbursed the surety, then you shouldn't have a problem finding a new bond. A resolved claim usually won't hurt as bad as you may think. It may result in higher rates, but someone will still issue a bond for your company; you may just not like the rate.

License Guru

Nicely put!

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Astrix

I second that - nicely put.

Expecially where CLWord77 notes that: "Insurance companies write their policies with loss expectation. Sureties do not." If the surety underwriter has done their job correctly, there would never be a claim against their bonding accounts.

Pooreboy: Can you give us some detail regarding the circumstances surrounding the bond claim? What kind of job were you doing and what happened? There are many different possible responses to your question, but it all comes down to the What and Why of that previous history.

KentWhitten

Fix the original bond!

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CLWord77

Sometimes it's possible to dispute the claim, but if you haven't done so by now, that timeframe is likely out the window (sometimes 15-30 days). If the surety hasn't heard back, they'll either investigate themselves, or in the case of smaller claims, they'll just pay it out- they know they're going to get their money back one way or another. It creates an ugly catch-22. Without your bond, you can't legally contract, and you need the money from contracting to pay the claim. Contractors need to cut it off at the pass and dispute client claims if they are without merit.

That is the biggest problem that many contractors have- they don't dispute the claims made by clients. Get out there and defend your business and your good name, contractors!