Bonds in Newton, IA

As a business, earning and retaining clients’ trust is integral to protecting your reputation and advancing your future. It’s essential to make wise and responsible investments that provide you and your clients with financial security. With that in mind, your company may find it invaluable to understand and invest in bonds.

How Do Bonds Work?

Insurance bonds act as a form of recourse for organizations in response to various incidents that may have financial ramifications. Several types of bonds may prove to be valuable investments for a business. Two of the most common include surety bonds and fidelity bonds.

Surety Bonds

These bonds provide financial security if one party involved in a contract has concerns over another being able to fulfill their obligations. These arrangements include the following three entities:

• Obligee—This party decides if the principal must purchase surety bonds.
• Principal—This party (e.g., a business) purchases surety bonds as requested by the oblige.
• Surety—This party underwrites and maintains the surety bonds.

These three parties work in tandem to provide financial security to the oblige if the principal fails to uphold their contractual responsibilities. If obligations are not fulfilled, the obligee can file a claim against surety bonds to ensure they receive compensation for financial losses. The surety provides that relief via the bonds and may then pursue repayment for themselves from the principal.

Common types of surety bonds include the following:

• Contract surety bonds—These bonds ensure that even if a contractor defaults on a project, the oblige will be able to recoup their losses or the surety will find another contractor to complete the work in question. These may come in the following forms:
  • Bid bonds
  • Performance bonds
  • Maintenance or warranty bonds
  • Payment bonds
• Commercial surety bonds—This type of bond provides a guarantee of performance by an organization undertaking a task and acts as an assurance that they will adhere to various statutes, regulations and ordinances. Common commercial surety bonds include the following:
  • License and permit bonds
  • Court or judicial bonds
  • Fiduciary or probate bonds
  • Public official bonds
  • Miscellaneous bonds

Fidelity Bonds

Fidelity bonds, also known as employee dishonesty insurance or fidelity guarantee insurance, can provide businesses with financial protection from losses and damages if an employee commits fraudulent or dishonest acts, such as the following:

• Theft
• Fraudulent trading
• Forgery
• Robbery
• Burglary
• Destruction of company property
• Illicit transfer of funds

In general, fidelity bonds can be categorized as one of the following:

• First-party fidelity bonds can provide financial protection for businesses when their own employees’ wrongdoing.
• Third-party fidelity bonds can protect a company if workers employed on a contractual basis commit wrongful acts.

Get the Right Bonds

For your business to thrive and grow, it’s essential that clients, customers and others within its sector see it as reputable and reliable. Bonds may be invaluable for your company to avoid potentially devastating reputational damage and financial losses. Furthermore, these investments provide assurance that may ease the concerns of current clients and earn the confidence of new customers.

At Interstate Insurance Services, our experts are well-equipped to analyze your business’s circumstances and help you secure optimal bonds that will protect your finances, reputation and future. Contact us today to get started.