Surety Bonds

What is a Surety Bond?

Surety bonds help put landmarks on the map. They also support trade and other business needs. Surety bonds are a credit instrument that provides financial and performance guarantees in a contract. In essence, if one party, known as the principal, fails to fulfill a contractual obligation to another party, referred to the obligee, then the surety promises to pay the obligee a set amount. Since 1890, Zurich surety bonds have helped provide the assurances necessary to build the Hoover Dam, the Confederation Bridge and other visionary structures, including skyscrapers, highways, bridges and canals, both across the country and around the world.

Why Zurich?

Zurich offers deep experience, significant capacity and an empowered team of underwriters in the field. Our Surety Bond Validator allows businesses and governments to ensure that a principal’s bonds are in effect and up to the task. And we deliver when it matters most: Zurich customers rank our Claims service as among the industry-leading.

Top 3
Zurich is the third largest and the longest continuously operating surety provider in the U.S.¹

>90%
of the top 100 contractors choose Zurich for surety or construction protection.²

50 | 25
Zurich can provide surety bonds in all 50 states and approximately 25 countries.

Solutions

Contract surety bonds

Zurich offers a wide array of contract surety bonds to contractors ranging from small to large ENR 400 firms performing public works projects as well as private construction projects:

Bid bonds
Performance bonds
Labor and material payment bonds
Subcontract performance bonds
Subdivision bonds
Maintenance bonds
Supply bonds
License and permit bonds
Environmental surety bonds
Miscellaneous bonds

Learn about the Zurich Public-Private Partnership Performance Bond (217 KB/PDF)

Commercial surety bonds

We provide both account-based and transactional surety solutions. Account-based customers span nearly every industry and include Fortune 2000 and regional companies requiring large individual bond capacities or many different bonds in multiple states. Zurich also provides a range of transactional options, designed for qualified customers who require a limited number of surety bonds each year:

License and permit bonds
Court bonds (judicial bonds and fiduciary bonds)
Workers’ compensation self-insurance bonds
Miscellaneous bonds

International surety bonds

With one of the largest global networks in the industry, Zurich is a leading provider of both contract and commercial surety bonds to international customers. Our international surety bonds are offered in approximately 25 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Public-private partnerships (P3)

Large infrastructure projects often call for public-private partnerships. Our public-private partnership performance bonds can help reduce pursuit costs and the need for increasing bank line limits to secure P3 projects. We can tailor bond language to meet the needs of various stakeholders.

Surety tools

Surety Bond Validator: The stakes are high. This user-friendly tool allows you to quickly confirm the legitimacy of a bond that’s been promised.

Surety Benchmarking Report: Leveraging Zurich’s robust data, this helps our customers compare their financial performance against peers. We can help mine insights on risks and profitability. Zurich surety account executives will customize the report upon request, review details of the report and provide insights on how to better understand finances and overall profitability.

Insights

brush fire — ArticleFacing up to the defining global risk of our age
The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risks Report makes clear that the interconnected risks of... **Read more**

construction project tips — Article6 tips for starting a construction project in a new region
Construction companies working in unfamiliar areas can face a variety of challenges. What general... **Read more**

crane — Fact SheetZurich Surety capabilities you can count on
Zurich surety bonds helped build the Hoover Dam and the Oakland Bay Bridge. We’re the longest... **Read more**

Related industry and insurance

Construction

Learn more >

Property