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Aug
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Rates for surety bonds |
Rates for surety bonds
The first question that comes to our minds while thinking of getting a surety bonds are the rates for surety bonds. This article hopes to address some of the questions regarding rates. Surety bonds are not like insurance policies, they are in fact an extension of credit by the surety to the principal. Hence, since it is issued to the principal, the credentials of the principal will determine the rates for surety bonds, and not everyone is going to get the same rates. Some of the factors which can affect rates are the personal credit rating of the principal, the financial strength of the company of the principal, the financial condition of the owners and also the history of the owners in the business. Thus, personal credit information alone is not enough, hence it would be unwise to expect the agents to provide rates for surety bonds based on only personal credit information. Most of the times, the principals ask for a rough estimate of the rate from the agents while asking for a surety bond. However, the agents are not so forthcoming while committing on the rates. Please don’t confuse the inability of the agents to give a rough quote as their in competency, they are not willing to quote any rates simply because the rates vary a lot from person to person and the actual rates for surety bonds cannot be determined unless the processing of the application is complete. Typically, the rates for surety bonds vary from 3% for low risk principals up to 15% for high risk principals. There are a lot of factors which will push the rates for surety bonds that are issued to a principal upwards. Agents play a very important role in this regard. For example, if the agents are not very competent and they send across incomplete application forms to the bonding companies, they these companies will do a credit inquiry on the principal on their own. Now, if more companies to their individual inquiry, that can severely reduce the credit rating of the principal and thus increase the rates for surety bonds issued to him/her. Thus, it is very important to choose the right agent who knows his job well. The rates of surety bonds are also linked to the guarantee amount. If the guarantee amount changes, the rates for surety bonds may also change accordingly. Also, the rates are higher for bad credit bond market as in that market, the surety bonds are issued to principals with poor credit ratings which leads to higher premiums.