Surety Bond or Letter of Credit for Contractors: What's the Difference? Surety bonds and letters of credit (LOCs) both provide risk management for construction or development projects. Knowing which is appropriate to use, helps to ...

Scot Albrinck, AFSB

Contractors: Is Your Internal Record Keeping Helping You or Hurting You? Let’s face it, the reason you went into construction is because you like being at the job site — not cooped up in an office. So you probably don’t spend as much ...

Wayne Messick, AFSB

Abbreviation for Million and Thousand: K & MM Meaning If you’re confused about the letter designations that stand for thousands and millions, you’re not alone. And it’s not your fault. In fact, it’s one of our most ...

Darrel Lamb, CPCU, AFSB

Is It Possible to Cancel a Bond? We all know bonds are not the same as insurance. While bonds are considered to be a type of specialty insurance, and the surety is usually an insurance company, ...

Shayne Albine

Why Work in Progress Schedules Are So Important “Can you send me a WIP that goes with this statement?” “Can you send me the fiscal year-end statement with WIP?” I’m sure you’ve heard those questions or some ...

Erik Mueller

Increase Your Bonding Capacity by Growing Your Business Are you ready to grow your business? Maybe you’d like to bid on larger projects. Or the owner of your current job likes your work and wants to hire you for ...

Wayne Messick, AFSB

Financial Statements: What to Expect in the Underwriting Process During the underwriting process, a surety company may request financial statements from both new and established clients. Financial reports provide us with a ...

Tammy McBurney

Worker’s Compensation: Tips on Licenses, Subcontractors, & More Workers’ compensation can be a sticky wicket for construction firms. It’s an area where new contractors and veterans alike can find themselves in legal and ...

Old Republic Surety

Lessons from the Field: Why Business Continuity Planning Is Essential Like it or not, ownership and management changes are a certainty in construction. According to FMI, every construction company that isn’t publicly traded will go ...

Wayne Messick, AFSB

Expect the Unexpected: The Importance of a Solid Continuity Plan Growing up in a family that owned an electrical contracting business, I was always surrounded by a strong work ethic and dedication to the business. While my role ...

Scot Albrinck, AFSB