If you’ve ever felt lost trying to write a surety bond — or frustrated when a client asks for a bond you’ve never heard of — you’re not alone.
Most insurance agents didn’t get into the business planning to become surety experts. Yet surety bonds remain an important part of serving contractors, business owners, and other clients.
The challenge is that surety operates differently from most insurance products.
From confusing bond requirements to limited market access, many agents spend far too much time navigating the process.
In some cases, they end up turning business away altogether.
At ZipBonds, we work with agents across the country every day, helping them write bonds with confidence.
Here are six of the most common frustrations we hear — along with a few insider tips to make the process easier.
1. Surety Bonds Can Be Confusing
One of the biggest challenges in surety is that clients often don’t fully understand what bond they need — and many agents don’t encounter certain bond types often enough to immediately know the answer either.
As a result, it’s easy to end up with the wrong bond form, incomplete information, or unnecessary delays.
We regularly hear from agents who say: “I’ve been trying to help this customer, but I think we may have the wrong bond.”
The good news is that most bond questions can be resolved quickly when you have access to the right resources and expertise.
For example, two bond requirements may sound nearly identical but serve entirely different purposes. A contractor license bond and a contractor tax bond may appear similar on the surface, but they often have different requirements, forms, and underwriting considerations.
Insider Tip: Don’t guess. If there’s any uncertainty about which bond is required, verify the requirement before submitting an application. A few minutes upfront can save days of delays later.
2. Missing Small Details That Make a Big Difference
In surety, small details often matter more than agents realize.
An out-of-state contractor applying for a license bond may have different requirements than a contractor located within the state. While those differences may seem minor, they can significantly impact underwriting and eligibility.
Because many agents focus primarily on property and casualty insurance, it’s easy to overlook details that can affect the bond approval process.
Insider Tip: Gather as much information as possible before submitting a bond request. Location, licensing requirements, contract details, and business structure can all influence underwriting outcomes.
3. Losing Clients to Agencies That Offer Surety
Many agents assume their clients don’t need bonds — until they discover those clients have been purchasing bonds from another agency for years.
Unfortunately, that’s often how new agency relationships begin.
A contractor who buys a bond elsewhere may eventually move additional insurance business as well.
Even small bond opportunities can help strengthen your overall client relationship and position your agency as a more complete resource.
Insider Tip: Ask every business client whether they currently purchase surety bonds.
Even if it’s a $100 or $200 bond, providing that product for them opens the door for you. If you don’t, another agency that does offer surety bonds could not only steal easy surety commissions. They could take your home, auto, and property and casualty insurance business as well.
4. Not Being a Surety Expert
Surety bonds are underwritten differently from traditional insurance products, creating confusion for many agents.
Questions like these are common:
- Why are certain financial documents required?
- Why are some bonds issued instantly while others require underwriting?
- Why does one bond require extensive review while another takes only minutes?
The answer is that surety is a specialized field with its own underwriting standards, terminology, and risk evaluation methods.
That doesn’t mean every agent needs to become a surety expert, but it does help to have access to people who are.
Insider Tip: Focus on understanding the basics and partner with specialists for the technical details. You’ll serve your clients more effectively without spending years mastering every nuance of surety underwriting.
5. Misunderstanding How Surety Works
One of the biggest mindset shifts for insurance agents is understanding that surety isn’t underwritten like traditional insurance.
Insurance pricing assumes losses will occur. Surety underwriting assumes losses should be avoided.
That’s why surety is often compared more closely to banking or financial underwriting than property and casualty insurance.
Financial strength, experience, capacity, and indemnity all play important roles in evaluating risk.
Insider Tip: When discussing surety with clients, think less in terms of an insurance transaction and more in terms of a financial qualification process. Understanding that distinction can help set expectations from the beginning.
6. Limited Access to Surety Markets
Many insurance agencies have relationships with multiple P&C carriers but very few surety markets.
When a client requests a bond outside those limited options, agents can find themselves with nowhere to turn. This can be especially frustrating when the bond requirement is time-sensitive, and the client needs a solution quickly.
Having access to a broad network of surety providers can dramatically increase the likelihood of finding a solution that fits the client’s needs.
Insider Tip: The more bond markets available to you, the more opportunities you’ll have to help clients — and the less likely you’ll be to lose business because of limited options.
Selling Surety Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult
Many agents avoid surety because they assume it’s overly complicated, time-consuming, or outside their expertise.
The reality is that most surety challenges become much easier with the right partner, resources, and guidance.
Whether you’re helping a contractor secure a bid bond, assisting a business owner with a license bond, or navigating a more complex bonding need, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
At ZipBonds, our mission is to help agents sell surety with confidence by providing the expertise, support, and market access needed to serve clients efficiently.
Ready to learn more?
If you’re looking for a simpler way to handle surety bonds, we’d love to show you how ZipBonds helps agents expand their capabilities, serve clients better, and unlock new revenue opportunities.
Book a demo with our team to see the platform in action and get answers to your surety questions!