Current News

WHAT IS YOUR answer when an owner, contractor, or lender asks why surety is important? Instead of launching into a detailed technical explanation involving contracts, risks, and performance, try this response: “Surety ensures project—and personal—success.” For more, go to the fall issue of Surety Bond Quarterly.

PEOPLE DO BUSINESS with people and brands that they know, like, and trust. This simple, age-old sales principle still drives our decisions—from the car we drive to the laundry detergent we use to the bank we use to the surety company we do business with. For more, go to the fall issue of Surety.

AS KIDS IN school, just about everyone loved substitute teacher days. They typically meant a departure from the daily routine and a reprieve from the normal class rules. Substitutes meant a little extra time in PE or watching videos. Sometimes, they meant relief in the form of extra time to study for an exam, or to complete an otherwise late assignment. ...

THE CONTRACT DISPUTES ACT (CDA) governs monetary and non-monetary disputes arising out of contracts or implied-in-fact contracts between the federal government and any party to a government contract (contractor). Because the CDA is an exclusive remedy, it is important that contractors and surety professionals be wary of the many pitfalls that may be encountered by a contractor seeking to assert a ...

THIS ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS a contractor’s income statement and key disclosures that should be included in a contractor’s financial statements. When analyzing a contractor’s income statement, there are a few items of significance that should be noted. Regarding contract revenues, cost, and gross profit, ideally there will be a breakdown of the types of construction costs (materials, subcontracts, equipment, etc.) either on ...

The NASBP Resource Directory, which is published annually in the fall issue of NASBP’s Surety Bond Quarterly magazine, offers a valuable listing of NASBP specialist firms that help construction and other businesses qualify for and maintain surety credit. The NASBP Resource Directory lists the NASBP membership in three categories and geographically. For more, go to the fall issue of Surety Bond Quarterly.

IT HAS OFTEN been said that a contractor’s bonding capacity is its lifeblood. On more than one occasion, I have been told by contractors that their bond producer is their most important business partner. In addition to helping contractors get the bonds they need, bond producers must also be prepared to serve as an advisor to the contractor/bond principal when something ...

WHAT WAS THE old Chinese curse? “May you be born in interesting times”? We are most certainly seeing those interesting times, and few sectors have been as affected as construction—housing, commercial activity, and public sector building. These are important parts of any nation’s economy, but in the U.S. the impact is especially profound. Home ownership has been promoted more in the ...

By JACK A. CALLAHAN ON DECEMBER 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The most sweeping tax change since 1986, the Act is intended to encourage economic growth and bring back jobs and profits from overseas by reducing corporate tax rates and providing other incentives. It is too soon to analyze the entire Act and ...

NASBP ANNUALLY SURVEYS its affiliate membership of surety companies to gain an understanding of the state of the surety industry over the prior calendar year, together with a snapshot of the affiliates’ expectations of and experiences in the first quarter of the year in which the survey is conducted. Survey information is gathered through a written survey instrument and is ...