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Toll Free: 866-430-3322 7:30AM - 4:30PM MST
Want to stay connected and learn about Bonds? Sign up for our newsletter!
We’re excited to share that The Surety Place is relocating on Aug 21. We’re only moving a quick half mile down the road to our new office at:
8767 East Via de Ventura, Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 |
Everything you count on stays exactly the same: the same reliable service, the same familiar agents, and the same phone number and email addresses you already use to reach us. The only thing changing is our address. We’ll share the official move date as it gets closer, and we look forward to continuing to serve you from our new space.
Each year, NASBP surveys its affiliate surety company members on how carriers performed the prior year and where they see the market heading, supplemented by first-quarter interviews with company leadership.
NASBP’s 2026 State of the Surety Industry Survey summary report describes an industry that held its discipline through a period of real uncertainty, including geopolitical risk, inflation, tariffs, and the rapid rise of AI, and emerged financially strong and optimistic.
Several themes warrant attention from producers: capital continues to enter the market, a slower private construction sector is driving more competition into public work, and carrier claims-handling quality is drawing renewed focus.
➤ Carriers posted record-level results while strengthening reserves.
88% met or exceeded their 2025 budget and 85% matched or grew profits over 2024, with several reporting record premium and profit. Discipline drove the performance, as 62% increased their IBNR reserves.
➤ Every carrier expects new capital to enter the market in 2026.
100% of respondents anticipate new capital, drawn by consistent profitability and a softening property and casualty environment. Producers should expect continued capacity and competition.
➤ Contract surety holding steady overall, while markets are shifting from private construction to public projects.
86% expect the contract market to remain about the same in 2026, citing ample capacity and few losses. Private construction has slowed on inflation, higher interest rates, and tariffs, pushing more contractors toward public bids, increasing competition and compressing margins on projects that are growing more complex and longer in duration.
At The Surety Place, we’re seeing that shift as opportunity, growing right alongside our contractors by backing more public work bids and bonding the rising number of private projects that now require surety. |
➤ Commercial surety carriers writing strong with split forecast.
59% see conditions holding, 27% softening, and 14% hardening. Even so, 78% continue to write new commercial opportunities.
➤ Private equity is reshaping how construction accounts transition.
Private-equity acquisition of construction firms remains a significant force and a common way accounts change hands. Many carriers prefer ESOPs but underwrite both selectively, with indemnity and valuation the primary sticking points. This is a useful prompt for succession conversations with contractor clients.
➤ Carriers want producers more involved in the claims process.
Industry claims handling earned a rating of 7.3 out of 10, and 41% said including the professional bond producer would improve it. Executives encouraged agents to place business with sureties that have a proven claims track record.
➤ Many carriers are digitizing, with AI moving into underwriting.
67% digitized processes in 2025, with the same share planning further investment in 2026, integrating AI into underwriting and bond reporting.
We’re using technology to further sharpen our service, with same-day, instant-issue bonds through Direct Bond on Demand. |
➤ Carriers are unanimously optimistic about future forecasts, while watching claim severity.
100% of respondents are optimistic, with 71% “very” optimistic, and 79% feel they overcame their 2025 challenges. That confidence is tempered by growing concern over claim severity as labor scarcity and material costs remain elevated.
August is Family Fun Month, that last golden stretch of summer before backpacks and busy schedules take over. A few ways to make the most of it:
Color outside the lines: Aug 2, National Coloring Book Day
Here’s a fun one: use AI to turn a real photo into a printable coloring page. Kids and adults alike get a kick out of it, whether it’s the family pet, a vacation view, or a favorite photo. It takes about a minute to make, and coloring turns out to be a surprisingly relaxing screen break at any age.
Land a good laugh: Aug 16, National Tell a Joke Day
Quick, how many jokes can you actually recite from memory? For most of us, the list is shorter than we’d like to admit. Consider this your nudge to freshen up a few go-tos. You can even ask Siri or Alexa to tell you a joke if you need a good pickup. A couple of family-friendly classics to get you going:
“Why did the farmer win an award? He was outstanding in his field.”
“What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.”
Ease back into the routine: National Back to School Month
As the new school year rolls in, a little prep goes a long way. Lay out first-day outfits, restart bedtimes a week early, and snap that first-day photo (bonus points if you use AI to turn it into a coloring page for an after school craft).
Wishing you and your family a fun and easy finish to summer!
