Category: Bond Articles

This guide is designed to serve obligees who may want to verify the
authenticity of surety bonds that they are being asked to accept. The
most reliable way to authenticate a surety bond is to contact the
issuing surety company directly. However, it is often difficult to
ascertain the correct address, telephone number or person to contact at
the surety.

Accordingly, this guide contains a list of SFAA surety
company members that have volunteered to be included together with
information as to how they can be contacted for the purposes of
authenticating a bond. Since participation in this program is voluntary,
not every surety company is listed.

Verify Your Bond – Bond Obligee Guide

SFAA Addressing Proposed Bond Threshold Increase and P3 Pilot Program in Vermont

SFAA is addressing HB 917, which would increase the bond threshold from $100,000 to $500,000.  As drafted, the bill would have provided for a $1 million bond threshold.  The bill also would provide for a pilot program for the Agency of Transportation to enter into public-private partnerships (P3s) for transportation infrastructure projects.  The state legislature would set the requirements and would have to approve each P3 project, unless the project will have a project lifetime cost that is less than $2 million or the project has been approved in the most recently adopted Transportation Program.  The bill does not specify a bonding requirement for this P3 program.  The program would expire on July 1, 2023.

Members should visit Government Relations / General Info (Members) for more information.

Indiana Bill to Require Bonding in P3s Goes to Study

Indiana HB 1301, as introduced, contained the amendments that SFAA drafted to require the design and construction portion of P3s to be bonded in Indiana. Our bonding amendments were part of the Insurance Department’s bill, and would have required 100% bonds, just as the Indiana Little Miller Act requires for any other project. In the House Insurance Committee, the bill was amended to require 50% payment and performance bonds, and on second reading on the House floor, the bond amount was further reduced to 25% before it later passed the House. It was not possible to reach an agreement to move HB 1301 forward in the Senate. It is likely that the issue of bonding on P3 projects in Indiana will be sent to a summer study committee, which is where the issue was last summer.

Members should visit Government Relations / General Info (Members) for more information.

Draft Minutes from the following
recent meetings have been posted for Members:

• Fidelity Claims Advisory Committee meeting – January 24, 2018
• Board of Directors meeting – December 7, 2017
• Commercial Surety Advisory Committee meeting – December 6, 2017
• Fidelity/Fidelity Claims Advisory Committee meeting – November 8, 2017
• e-Business Advisory Committee conference call – October 4, 2017
• Diversity & Human Resources Advisory Committee meeting – September 28, 2017
• Actuarial Advisory Committee meeting – September 13, 2017
• Contract Bonds Advisory Committee meeting – September 13, 2017
• Government Affairs Advisory Committee meeting – September 13, 2017
• Communications Advisory Committee conference call – September 12, 2017
• Surety Claims Advisory Committee meeting – June 20, 2017
• Fidelity Advisory Committee meeting – May 10, 2017
• International Advisory Committee meeting – May 10, 2017
• Surety Claims / Corporate Counsel Advisory Committees meeting – January 18, 2017
• Joint Automation Committee meeting – September 24-25, 2015
• Statistical Advisory Committee meeting – September 2, 2015

Members should navigate to the Board and Committees section of the website for for additional information
about SFAA Board and Advisory Committees.