SwiftBonds - All about bonds

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Standardized Bond Form Claims

Settlements on Standardized Bond Agreement Forms

A guaranty’s responsibility under a payment or performance bond will develop only if the settlement has satisfied all the needed disorders precedent or step-by-step actions. The bond file itself includes these step-by-step needs, which usually means the typical types from the Engineers Joint Agreement Documents Committee (EJCDC) or the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Payment Bonds

For a payment bond, the surety gives that it will make any providers, subcontractors or laborers entire if they are not paid by the general professional.

The AIA type is the most common type used. In the form, it requires that the surety’s responsibilities do not already existing until the claimant gives notice to the guaranty and proprietor of a case as well as its quantity.

For complaintants that did not obtain the bond straight (known as privity), there are 3 health conditions precedent that should happen: (1) within 90 days after having actually last carried out labor or supplied products consisted of in the claim, created notice to the specialist and also surety have to be given explaining the quantity of the case and name of the party for which the labor or products was given; (2) a plaintiff must either have (a) received a minimum of a partial rejection by the service provider of its created notification, or (b) within 1 Month of that composed notice, not got any kind of interaction from the contractor indicating the case will be paid; and (3) where a complainant is not paid within the 1 Month of its notification, the claimant has to send written notice to the guaranty and specialist mentioning that a settlement is being made, and also consisting of a duplicate of the previously given notification.

The treatments for making a case under basic form bonds differ by the sort of bond and the promoting organization. The process for establishing the procedural requirements of a particular bond must involve a detailed exam of the bond, with concentrate on the obligations troubled the parties, in addition to a contrast of the bond language against the minimum requirements in suitable federal, state, or community statutes.

Performance Bonds

By providing a performance bond, a guaranty assurances that function a specialist has accepted carry out will be supplied to the task owner. The procedures for causing the surety’s obligations under a performance bond rely on the specific and also implied terms of the bond, the bound contract, and the type of bond.

When there has been a default, there are many procedural steps that the owner have to comply with to make a legitimate claim on the bond. Third, the proprietor may, after 20-days’ notification to the specialist and guaranty, proclaim the specialist in default and officially end the professional’s right to complete the contract. The owner must then concur to pay the equilibrium of the contract price to the surety, or to an additional service provider picked by the guaranty.

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Surety Bond premiums expand in the first half of the year in Mexico

The First Half of the Year

One of the great places to find information is from Mexico.  Yes, it’s a whole different country, but their reporting agency can show some pretty accurate information.  Of course, Mexico typically runs a few months behind the United States, but it’s generally a good indicator of what is going on.

Mexico also has a system that is quite different from the United States.  Instead of a whole host of surety bond companies, they have fifteen authorized firms.  These surety companies reported $4.35 billion pesos (approx $333 million US) in premiums.  Significantly, this is a increase of over 12.5% over the previous year.

Administrative bonds, which is 73.2% of the market, had the largest growth in the amount of 18.8%.

Fidelity bonds fell 0.9% (basically, statistical noise) and commercial bonds declined 7.5%.

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Some things to think about before renewing your bond

Surety Agency Unique Selling Proposition

When thinking about an insurance coverage company to manage your surety bond, it is vital to identify exactly what their unique position is in the market. A lot of companies appear to offer similar products, yet many times it is terrific customer support, direct partnerships with insurance coverage suppliers, as well as fast turn-around time that makes all the difference.

Premiums

Every insurance agency claims to have competitive premiums, but direct partnership with insurance coverage business, marked down costs for multiple-year bonds, and also convenient funding choice often times set one agency apart from their competitors.  A good bond agency has built strong, long-lasting partnerships with some of the highest-rated insurance coverage firms in the industry, providing us direct access to the most competitive prices offered.   A professional agency likewise underwrites most bond programs in-house, meanings that a genuine individual assesses your application, not a computer. We comprehend that everybody’s conditions are various; our broad rate framework and individual underwriting allow us to assist clients despite their monetary situation.

We aim to bond and insure our clients as long as they been around, and also we know that loyalty can be difficult ahead by when various other firms market competitive costs. A good agency additionally knows that not every person has best credit history and also can qualify for the lowest prices.

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Relationship Questions - Are you Boring your Clients?

How Good are Your Questions?

A great salesman uses questions to engage clients and bring out the best from them.

A poor salesman uses questions to bore their prospects.

Which one are you?

Nearly every salesman has a variety of questions that they ask their clients and prospects during a sales meeting.  These include:

How can we help you?

What vendor do you currently use?

What do you know about our product?

How long have you used your vendor?

If you could name three things that your vendor does wrong, what are they?

What is your order volume?

What price do you pay?

What if I could get you a better deal?  Interested?

What is your budget?

Can you make the purchasing decision or do you need to talk with someone else?

Here’s the problem with these questions – they bore your customer.

It’s Deja Vu all Over Again

Man, you ask the client all of these questions and get them to answer the questions.  You now have a great list to go back to the office and prepare a proposal.  You are psyched.  But the problem is, your customer is bored.  They hear these questions all the time.  The sales representative from the current vendor asked them last week.  They will probably hear them again next week from someone else.

You are now just like everyone else.

You thought that you benefited from the meeting because you got a bunch of information.

But here’s the key: your client didn’t gain anything from the meeting.  Not. One. Thing.

The sales call went over things that the customer already knew.  The clients that you asked really bored them as they didn’t gain any knowledge from the meeting.  It was like an interrogation to them.  The same one that they undergo all the time.  Yuck.

Conclusion

Question are a powerful took in the sales arsenal. Just be sure that you don’t use questions to bore your client.  They have heard all of them.  Next time, we’ll go over the proper techniques that will energize your client through questions.

  Gary Swiftbonds, Our short bio See more information about us at tumblr and snappages.com

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What is expected of you? Building relationships through questions

So, what do I expect from you?

It is not easy building relationships.  It takes energy and time.  The tools that we are providing in these sales technique posts are just that, tools.  You add these tools to your toolbox along with the basic techniques that you’ve gathered over time.  As you add these new techniques in asking questions, through different question types, you will be adding these new tools that can increase your effectiveness.

Once you have added these tools, you must remember to use them properly.  Any tool is worthless when it is used in the wrong manner (have you ever stripped a bolt when using a set of pliers instead of finding the right size wrench?  Me neither).  Instead of just using the first technique that you learn, you should instead take a bit of time to analyze the situation and create a strategic response.  That way, you can choose the best tool for the job.   But if you just try these techniques haphazardly, then they will not be very effective and it is likely that you will become discouraged from using them in the future.

Once you master the tools, you will start having an incredible effect on people and your satisfaction will skyrocket.  And the real-world results – bottom-line sales – will be stunning.

What sorts of problems are addressed in these posts?

Here are the most common issues that the tools can address:

I have trouble getting my foot in the door.

Prospects are in a hurry.  They want the sales information, but then wait on making a decision.

Customers only say that they value service.  They want the lowest price.

I feel like I am wasting my time on prospects that go nowhere.

I get pushed down and I am forced to deal with non-decision makers.

I feel like I am ready to close the deal and then something happens at the last minute to take it off track.

My prospects says that they are not happy with their current vendors, but when I contact them they say that they are not looking to change at this time.

I just cannot get to the right person.

My presentations seem to fall on deaf ears.

I get the run-around.  Prospects say that they don’t have the money to purchase right now.

All this and more is what we will try and teach you in these posts.  Keep tuned.

Gary Swiftbonds, Our short bio

See more here and here.

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Why should you try and bond through Questions?

Why these three Questions?

The best reason is that by using these questions is that you make the clients more involved, effective and powerful in the sales process.  Specifically, this will:

Motivate the client to do the talking

Clients – don’t think of them as prospects, but instead as Clients – need to do the talking.  You need to make sure that you fight your normal instincts to talk about the product, to tell everything that you need to know about the product and all of your knowledge.  So instead of boring the client with all of your incredible knowledge, you need to get them to open up to you by asking pointed questions and listening to their answers.  The art of listening is the greatest art that you can have in selling.  By listening to them and then understanding their needs, you can gather to yourself enough goodwill to last a lifetime.

Differentiate yourself from your competitors

The best way to differentiate yourself is by asking questions and then listening to those answers.  There are lots of studies around that show that a majority of salesmen have no idea how to ask good questions, or how to ask good questions.  Once you learn how to ask intelligent, probing questions, you will immediately set yourself apart from your competition.

Show empathy for your clients

Once you start asking questions, you will immediately create a reputation as someone that can be trusted.  Your clients will be eager to talk with you.  Because most people want to jump to a solution – instead of listening to the problem – they lose that all-important credibility.  Before most people buy, they want to know that you can solve their problems.  The environment that you create with your customer will allow you to get the information that you need to solve their problems, which most salesmen are not able to uncover.

Help your client understand their needs while coming to their own conclusions

Many times, the answer will be clear to you way in advance of when your client will realize it.  No matter what you do, you must not tell your client what their problems are.  They need to go through the process of discovering it themselves.  Even the clients that know what their problems already are, you are going to have to ask probing questions to help bring that pain to the surface.  It is that pain that will help them try and discover a solution.

Guide the Client to Take Action

Once they know what their problems are and feel the pain that the problems cause, they will be ready to look for solutions.  Most likely, they will be looking to you to find a solution for that problem.

Figure out how you client makes purchasing decisions

One of the key parts in selling is selling to the right person.  You may become a master at selling, but if it’s too the wrong person, then it won’t matter.  But you want to use your selling techniques to not only find the pain, but to also to find the person that will be able to buy from you.

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Relationship Selling - It's all about Who you Connect With

Relationships

Really, it’s all about the relationships that you are able to acquire and nurture.  It is these relationships that create opportunities to sell products and services.

For many people, this idea is really simple.  But for some reason it gets messed up in the process of moving from a conceptual exercise to a practical exercise.   In our personal lives, it really isn’t all that difficult.  We meet people and try to create a relationship with them, by talking to them and trying to understand them and their needs.  Many times, all we really want to do is help them because we care about them.

But for some reason, this understanding gets totally mixed up in the business world.  When we create relationships a business setting, we instead forget all that we have learned from our entire lives and instead move more toward a system of trying to get someone to “buy.”  What we do is to become selfish.  Instead of trying to get to know the other person and what THEY want, people instead tend to move to trying to get what WE want, which is to “sell.”

A true business relationship requires you to understand your customer – get to know their goals, wants, fears, needs and motivations.  The only way to get to know these things is to become a five-year-old child again.  Ask questions, lots of questions.  Like a child, ask “why?”  Ask it over and over until you really get to know your customer.  They want to tell you their story.

Focus on Helping the Customer in Three key Ways

You want to turn your focus to helping the customer.  Here are the three major ways that you can do that:

Reduce your customer’s risk.  One of the biggest impediments to selling is your customer has certain fears.  They fear that if they buy your product or service and it doesn’t work out perfectly, or the timing isn’t quite right, or anything else, that they will get punished for that mistake.  It is your job to figure out what their fears are and then to eliminate them, or at least reduce them as much as possible.  You want to make sure that the customer can be proud of purchasing from you.  A good sign is that your customer does not stay up at night, but instead they sleep well as they are confident in your product.

Enhance your Competitor’s Business.  Your customer, just like anybody else, really just wants to get ahead in life.  So, if your service can make them look good to their boss as well as their peers (especially those at another company), then this will be seen as a way for them to get a leg up on their career.  When that happens, you will find yourself at the negotiating table all the time.

Get your Customer to Reach their Goals.  If you are able to provide a solution to your customer’s problem – whatever that is – then you will become their “go to” guy for nearly anything.  If you can increase profit or decrease cost, especially at a reduced amount of work on their part, then you are simply irreplaceable.

Conclusion

By focusing on your customer’s wants and needs, you can become a key part of their business.  By reducing their risk, enhancing their business profile and helping them reach their goals, you will move from simply being a salesman into being a true partner.

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The importance of not giving up

The Principle

As business people, we often try to cajole, intimidate and otherwise implore our employees, co-workers and anybody else that we have a relationship with to not give up.  That is, we really want everyone to try their hardest, until the last possible moment.  That way, they can squeeze every ounce of productivity and self-fulfillment out of each day.  This leads to increased profitability (which is nice), but also leads to increased employee satisfaction (which is great as this leads to less turnover, better employees, better morale and a ton of other great effects).

The Reality

Unfortunately, many people (most people?) do not try until the last possible moment.  There are tons of factors for this: laziness (yes, some people are just lazy), fear (some people don’t want to try as they believe that they only get punished for problems and not rewarded for solutions and, therefore, there is only downside to trying – is this your company?), and entitlement (they believe that they don’t have to work super-hard as they don’t need it).

The Lesson

Tonight, the United States tied Portugal in soccer, 2-2.  The real problem is that Portugal scored in the final minute.  The United States appeared to believe that the game was over and essentially quit trying to control the ball.  This led to a quick strike in the end by Portugal.

The Conclusion

The lesson here is simple: find a way to get your employees to keep trying.  This will lead to a host of good problems and keep the bad problems away.

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The importance of not giving up

The Principle

As business people, we often try to cajole, intimidate and otherwise implore our employees, co-workers and anybody else that we have a relationship with to not give up.  That is, we really want everyone to try their hardest, until the last possible moment.  That way, they can squeeze every ounce of productivity and self-fulfillment out of each day.  This leads to increased profitability (which is nice), but also leads to increased employee satisfaction (which is great as this leads to less turnover, better employees, better morale and a ton of other great effects).

The Reality

Unfortunately, many people (most people?) do not try until the last possible moment.  There are tons of factors for this: laziness (yes, some people are just lazy), fear (some people don’t want to try as they believe that they only get punished for problems and not rewarded for solutions and, therefore, there is only downside to trying – is this your company?), and entitlement (they believe that they don’t have to work super-hard as they don’t need it).

The Lesson

Tonight, the United States tied Portugal in soccer, 2-2.  The real problem is that Portugal scored in the final minute.  The United States appeared to believe that the game was over and essentially quit trying to control the ball.  This led to a quick strike in the end by Portugal.

The Conclusion

The lesson here is simple: find a way to get your employees to keep trying.  This will lead to a host of good problems and keep the bad problems away.

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Free Your Time – Two easy ways to Save Your Life(style)

I truly believe that most work area employees who spend 60 hours a week at work – each and every week – could easily reduce this to 40-45 hours by sending 2 emails a week to their boss.

Here’s the lifestyle blueprint:

E-mail # 1: Exactly what you intend on getting done this week.

  Email # 2: Exactly what you really got done this week.

  That’s it. These 2 emails will prevent you from sitting in your chair 60 hrs a week, while improving your relationship with your boss and getting the most effective job you have actually ever before done.

  Below’s exactly what E-mail # 1 appears like:

  Subject: My plan for the week.

Dear Boss:

Below is a list of my important tasks for the week in order of top priority. Let me understand if you believe I need to re-prioritize:

Planned Major Activities for the week.

1) Perform X Task.

2) Finish the economic evaluation report that was begun last week.

3) Start Job Y– needs preparation and prep paperwork production. Arranged for Thursday.

  Open products that I will certainly consider, yet I will not complete by the end of the week.

  1) Coordinate tasks for year-end financial close.

2) Study Y product for our communal service team.

Let me know if you have anything else that you need. Thank you!

– You.

  Excuses to Not Sending These Two Emails

My Manager Knows What I am Doing

“But my manager is the one that appoints me the job! He clearly understands exactly what I’m dealing with! Why would I send him this email?”.

  You are so wrong.  You cannot imagine how clearly wrong you are. Let me clue you in on a little key to your work life. Your manager barely has a concept of just what he is doing on his time – so how is he to know just what YOU are working on.  Just how self-centered of you to think he recognizes every little thing you’re investing your time on at the workplace.

  Recommendation for e-mail # 1:

Limit on your own to set up 40 hours of organized work.

I have 60 Hours of Work to Do!

“But I have at the very least 60 hours of work to do. Exactly how on the planet am I visiting do it in 40 hours now? That’s difficult; you have no concept how hectic our group is right now.”

  Have a look at my example e-mail # 1. Did you break your tasks into Must be done vs. Nice to be done or did you left everything into the Must be Done group?

Did you arrange yourself for 60 hrs a week or did your manager timetable you for 60 hrs of week? Think about it.

Your manager’s duty is to delegate you work that you should complete. It is not your manager’s responsibility to figure out how you handle your work. That’s YOUR job!

Reconsider. Where did this idea of you have 60 hrs of work to do come from? Did it come from your employer, or did it originate from you?

I really did not think you had 60 hours of job to do, and neither should you.

I’m Indispensable!

” I’m being straightforward with you. I have at least 60 hours of work to do. I function non-stop and I work during my lunch time. I’ve attempted your dumb little classification technique also, and it doesn’t work. My work just isn’t getting any kind of lighter at any time quickly. I’m pretty certain you reside in this dream world where you could tell your employer that you would simply prefer to look good 40 hours a week and he’ll enjoy with it. I am THAT busy and my employer ANTICIPATES me to function non-stop.”

Look, I understand you. I have actually been there. However prior to I accept that there is nothing you can do, let me ask you one question:

  Let’s imagine that on Wednesday mid-day, a family emergency pops up and it forces you to take the rest of the week off till the upcoming Monday. Every little thing you were working with Wednesday came to a halt. Meetings were canceled and deliverable dates were missed out on. The rest of your workweek was ruined.

Just what takes place on Monday morning when you return to the workplace?

Are your documents still there? Do you still have a job? Are your co-workers still there?

What concerning the deliverables that scheduled on Thursday that you could not complete and you were the only one that knew the best ways to finish it?

Did the building burn down considering that you couldn’t finish them? I’m suspecting none of this occurred.

On Monday early morning, you picked up exactly where you left off and presume exactly what: Everything was OKAY. The deliverables straggle, yet it’s OKAY since everybody knew you had a family emergency situation to take care of. Assumptions were established and as a result of your family emergency, you might not finish the deliverables. So, in truth the deliverables were never ever late due to the fact that you set assumptions that you couldn’t complete them. New expectations were set on when you can deliver them.

  Take that exact same exact circumstance and change a family members emergency situation with you simply vanishing for 3 days without saying to any individual where you went.

Exactly how does that transform your Monday morning when you show up?

It will probably wind up something like this.

Due to the fact that you really did not complete your deliverables you screwed up everybody’s schedule! They rely upon you, and you simply destroyed it! They hung around daily to get the data and you never provided it. Now you’re working extra hrs due to the fact that everyone is waiting on you. Just what a jerk you are.

  Assumptions are powerful. Instead of a family emergency, established assumptions on Monday morning and enjoy exactly how everybody around you adjusts to YOUR timetable. Watch just how your 60-hour week develops into a 40-hour week and nobody will certainly see a thing.

The better you are setting assumptions at Monday morning, the less complicated your life becomes. If you prepare for 40 hrs, you could acquire your planned work done in 40 hours and nobody will complain that you aren’t working 60 hrs. As a matter of fact, you have actually made everyone else’s life much easier due to the fact that they could now plan around you!

  E-mail # 2 on Friday: Exactly what you got done this week.

  It looks something like this:

  Completed this week.

Completed X Report.

Began the preparing for the big project.

Finished the month-end evaluation and provided to financial controller for assessment.

Made a first draft of the project charter, which is presently being examined by Project Manager Z.

Open items.

I have some inquiries about the kick off day of Y Task, however need to get verification by Tuesday early morning.

We need X Report signed off by EOD next Wednesday. Can you follow-up with Jane to get this signed off?

That all for now. Have an excellent weekend.

– You.

  This Friday report is so straightforward and effective; it’s amazing that people merely leave on Friday without send this to their boss.

  This report does two points very well: It offers closure to the week and gives your manager an idea of what you can finish in a week. In shorts, it establishes assumptions!

Idea for Email # 2.

Focus on what you finished first and open issues 2nd.

Consistently end Friday on an excellent note. If you have concerns introduce that up on Monday early morning. Do not worry your manager out all week, and it will certainly stress you out also.

Conclusion

Two emails can easily change how you schedule your life.  It moves you from being in your chair 60 hours a week to getting things done in the 40 hours that you are there.  More importantly, your boss will appreciate what you are doing more and consider you a better employee.

   Gary Swiftbonds, Our short bio

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Getting a clinical cannabis bond in Colorado

Colorado made news this year by legislating the use of cannabis for entertainment purposes as well as for medical usage.

What is taking place now that both recreational and medical marijuana use is legal? For one point, recreational marijuana usage will be much a lot more heavily exhausted regulated compared to clinical cannabis.  One of these regulations is the clinical cannabis bond.

Just what is a clinical cannabis bond?

While clinical cannabis is presently legal in 20 states and Washington D.C., currently only the State of Colorado needs a clinical cannabis bond (Florida is next on the list, though).  Medical marijuana bonds are commercial types of surety bonds and job bonds much like sales tax bonds.

Just like with other surety bonds, clinical cannabis bonds include three parties. The clinical dispensary is called the principal and is called for to publish the bond. The Colorado Department of Revenue is the obligee, i.e. the side calling for the bond. The third party is called guaranty. That’s a surety bond company underwriting the bond, this way assuring that the obligee will after the disorders of the agreement. In case of a violation or if business defaults, the state could sue and be financially recompensed by the guaranty.

How much is a clinical cannabis bond?

Colorado requires clinical cannabis dispensaries to publish a $5,000 bond.  Instead, each year a dispensary pays an annual premium, which is a certain percentage of the complete bond amount.

The premium is primarily based on the credit history rating of the owner of the dispensary. Guaranty bonds companies always assume a 0% loss proportion when underwriting bonds. When they consider the credit history score they try to identify the probability of triggering a case and making them financially accountable. Therefore, if the owner of the dispensary has good credit, the yearly premiums will certainly be someplace between 1 %– 5 % of the clinical cannabis bond. This translates into $50 to $250 annually.

The owner will likely pay between 5 % and 15 % of the bond quantity. Presently, it’s impossible for folks with late tax liens, kid support payments and open insolvencies to get the clinical cannabis bond, and for that reason a permit.

Summary

It is important to note that recreational marijuana will certainly be a lot more greatly taxed compared to clinical cannabis. While clinical cannabis is presently legal in 20 states and Washington D.C., only the State of Colorado requires a bond.  Medical marijuana bonds are commercial types of guaranty bonds and job considerably like customers tax bonds. Merely like with other surety bonds, medical cannabis bonds consist of three social events. Colorado requires clinical marijuana dispensaries to publish a $5,000 bond.

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Update on Florida's Medical Marijuana law

Medical Marijuana law

Private entrepreneurs are moving much quicker compared to state government in getting ready for the probability that citizens will authorize using marijuana for restricted medical functions in November. There are genuine problems concerning how medical cannabis would certainly be regulated that are currently not addressed by the constitutional amendment and will probably require a lot of regulatory rulemaking. Florida needs to have the same urgency as the private sector, so that it can educate voters on just how it might write guidelines for this brand-new era if the modification is authorized, since Florida should not repeat blunders made by various other states with clinical marijuana.

Current State of Campaign

Current surveys show the clinical marijuana campaign, Modification 2, has additional than the 60 percent citizen authorization called for to be included in the state Constitution. The amendment would certainly permit doctors to back medical weeds for clients with crippling states such as Parkinson’s illness, multiple sclerosis and cancer cells. Patients would certainly be called for to have a state-issued identification card and receive their cannabis from managed dispensaries. Regardless of those basic needs, the change leaves regulative gaps that would need to be filled up. The ballot language leaves the heaviest lifting to the state Department of Wellness, which would establish which could increase, obtain and give the medication. With little or nothing to take place, businesses are emerging around the state with names such as Marijuana Clinic and Cannis-Rx, each wishing to capitalize on the $2.5 billion lawful cannabis market.

The specifications the Legislature lately set up for Charlotte’s Web, a non-euphoric strain of marijuana that is made use of to manage intense epileptic seizures, are a prospective roadway map for more comprehensive clinical weed rule. The costs waiting for Gov. Rick Scott’s signature would certainly limit those weeds farmers to five nurseries around the state that have actually been in business for at least 30 continuous years.

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have approved medical cannabis use. Opponents of clinical cannabis in Florida raise numerous valid inquiries regarding product security, doctor and client values and industry oversight. Without smart solutions, Florida would risk ending up being the following The Golden state, which legislated clinical marijuana in 1996. Legislators there failed to achieve statewide regulations and left the activity to regional governments. In the vacuum, marijuana stores proliferated and abuse was plentiful. Now numerous California towns have disallowed the customer of clinical cannabis, endangering accessibility for the seriously unwell that had wished for a practical, legal electrical outlet for pain comfort. Florida is anticipated to issue statewide regulations, and those policies should be balanced to provide sensible access to clinical cannabis to qualified clients without creating possibilities for shops selling the medicine to practically any person at every crossway.

It is easy to understand that the exclusive market sees clinical marijuana as the following huge point. Patient health and wellness and public safety and security ought to be vital. It would certainly assist citizens make a more educated decision in November on clinical cannabis if the state offered higher clarity on just how it would do the modification’s intent to assist specific clients without transforming Florida into California.

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Get a Bond Now

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How Fidelity Bonds are Underwritten

Part II

Yesterday, we drafted part I of our post on how a surety bond is underwritten.

As you could easily tell, a lot of emphasis is placed on the character of the applicant.  The goal is, of course, how to ably predict how an employee will act in the future, based only on the employee’s past and their position within the company.

Underwriters, therefore, try and ask themselves questions like:

What will be the opportunities to take the employer’s money?

What are the temptations that occur as a direct result of the job?

What are the temptations that occur as an indirect result of the job?

What amount of money will he handle?

To what extent will he have control over the flow of funds?

What opportunities will there be to conceal funds?  And what is the expertise of the employee in the organization as compared with that ability to conceal funds?

What are the employee’s personal expenditures?

What is the total debt of the employee?

Can the employee borrow money and what is the expectation of returning that money?

What auditing capabilities does the company have regarding the position of the employee?

What is the culture of the company?

Most of the underwriters that I know pay particular attention to the company’s culture and auditing capabilities.  That is because a periodical audit of the employee’s files is really a necessary safeguard to reduce the temptation of bad behavior.  Also, such a practice is generally recognized as a part of best business practices and are done without demeaning the integrity of the employee.

Trying to figure out the character of the employee is the utmost concern.  This is done by a thorough investigation of the employee and their history (as discussed in Part I).  Most underwriters interview former employers and colleagues and do a thorough background check.

Once approved, the agent sends a letter of transmittal, which provides all  the information gathered, the investigation into the employee and explaining any other risk areas not explored.

The fidelity bond is writte in one of two ways: as an individual bond or as a schedule bond.

An individual fidelity bond covers the employee only.

A schedule bond, however, covers several persons under the same basic bond (usually six or more).  The general provisions are very much similar to an individual bond with the main difference being a schedule of persons covered under the bond.  This schedule gives the names, positions, liability being underwritten and the premium for each person listed on the schedule.  Then, these schedules can be updated as employees change.

Additions, deductions and other modifications after the bond is issued are made by “change notices” signed by the employer.  Most employers prefer schedule bonds as they are easier to keep track of, including all changes, etc.  Better yet, the renewal dates all fall on the same day and, therefore, the paperwork is substantially reduced.

Both individual and schedule bonds are generally written for one year, with a sixty (60) day window to renew prior to the end of the term.

There are certain risks that are excluded from coverage, which include such things as jewelry employees, outside employees of breweries, etc.

I hope that this has been somewhat helpful for you in understanding how these bonds are underwritten.

Gary Swiftbonds, Our short bio

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How Fidelity Bonds are Underwritten

How Fidelity Bonds are Underwritten

Part I

Yesterday, we posted a short article on the difference between a surety bond and a fidelity bond.  One question that is consistently asked is this: how is a bond underwritten?  Today, we’ll focus on how a fidelity bond is underwritten.

As you may recall, a fidelity bond provides protection against the potential for dishonesty or theft of a person serving in a fiduciary capacity.  Thus, these bonds are typically written for an official or employee of a financial institution, government official, court representative, etc.  These fidelity bonds provide protection, that is they guarantee indemnity, if the bonded person violate the trust by acting in bad faith, misappropriating funds or property under which they are serving in that fiduciary capacity.

Who is covered

Fidelity bonds also cover insurance agents, officers of building and loan associations, U.S. Government officials, and various employees that serve in other fiduciary capacities for our state and municipal government.

Years ago, it was recommended that all mercantile, financial, hotel, real estate companies, telephone companies and manufacturing companies require their employees to provide a corporate fidelity bond.  These bonds would encompass all of the officers, such as presidents, vice-presidents, and other employees that had access, such as secretaries, treasurers, cashiers, book-keepers, clerks, salesmen and collectors.

Fortunately, technology has replaced the need for so many corporate fidelity bonds.  In our current nearly cashless society, there is very little cash to abscond with.  Further, there are numerous robust tracking systems for the employees so that absconding with funds is a much, much smaller concern than it was years ago.

technology

Unfortunately, many small companies do not employ these robust tracking systems.  Thus, there is a lot more fraud in those companies.  The companies that I have dealt with over the years that have experienced fraud were simply not prepared for its devastating effects on growth, operations, and capital.  Many of them did not have the capacity to withstand such a drain on resources, which materially affected the growth and earnings of the company.  Strangely, many times it was a relative of the main principal who was defrauding the company.

Ok, back to fidelity bonds.

You should know that fidelity bonds may be canceled by the surety on thirty days written notice to the employer.

Another thing to know is that the surety company is not liable under a fidelity bond for any act of fraud or dishonesty that was committed by the employee after the employer had knowledge of an act that would start the claim process.  Employers are required to notify the surety promptly of any acts that could lead to a claim and the omission of any such act would relieve the surety company of any liability.

An applicant for a bond must be of the type of person that a surety would underwrite.  This is shown through the applicant’s work history, including both their current employer and their past employers.  The bond is underwritten on the facts presented at the time of bond approval and not any potential future happenings.

So, when an applicant can show a record of personal character that contains the person’s honesty through their actions and position, then the bond is generally written quickly.  However, when an applicant does not have that history, such as when a person has never held a position of trust, then the underwriter will go into more personal history and detail.

See part II for more details.

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Two Types of Bonds - Fidelity and Surety Bonds

Two Types of Bonds – Fidelity and Surety Bonds

I got a great question today from a very good client: what is the difference between a fidelity bond and a surety bond?  So, here’s my best shot at explaining the difference.  Hopefully, you can determine which boat you are in at the end of this.

Boat

Fidelity and surety bonds make up the largest two classes of corporate bonds.  In general, a fidelity bond guarantees the person while a surety bond guarantees the performance.  Thus, a fidelity bond is specific to the individual while the surety bond is specific to the job (and this type of bond can be broken up into a variety of flavors, from payment to performance, etc.).

All bonds that cover positions of trust are fidelity bonds while contract bonds are considered surety bonds.  In the old days, these were both referred to a corporate surety bonds.

There are exceptions, of course, to the general classification above.  These exceptions can be very numerous and sometimes it seems as if the exceptions will overwhelm the basic rule.  Still, it’s nice to know that the general holds true.

Required by the Law

There are also a variety of bonds that are required by law.  All forms of contract bonds that pertain to the Federal government, state, and municipal governments are required by law.  A subset of these are the Little Miller Acts that require bonds on federal jobs.

Bonds that are required by law before one can serve as a administrator, guardian, trustee, executor, assignee or otherwise in connection with a legal transaction (such as is required in any probate situation), before someone is qualified to serve in a public office and before engaging in certain specialized lines of business, such as cigar, tobacco, and liquor sales, also require a fidelity bond.

As a general rule of thumb, a fidelity bond that covers bank employees, persons in fraternal orders, etc. and those that provide security for private companies are not required by law.  These bonds are issued to provide the private organization some assurance that the person serving will not take advantage – or provides a benefit if they are swindled.  These protections are seen by the private companies as beneficial not only to themselves, but to any investors or other stakeholders in the organizations that do not have the same familiarity with the person being asked to serve in a fiduciary capacity.

Why do I have to give a bond if it’s not required by the law?

Well, the first and obviously best answer is that if you want to perform the job being asked, and the bond is required, then you have to do it.

But a better, and deeper, understanding is helpful.  The stability provided by a bond, through its loss-paying power, prompt payment of losses and character of service benefits are clearly helpful to the parties that want to enter into the transaction.  Their lack of perfect information only fuels the fire of the perceived problems that can arise in personal surety, such as absconding with funds, bankruptcy, death, disability, etc.

Thus, these two types of bonds – fidelity bonds and surety bonds – certainly help with the ability to keep commerce flowing.

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Spot Risk and Stay Alive

Our friends at Fall Protection Blog have posted a nice article on how to spot risk and stay alive.  John Braun does a good job on outlining some of the major steps in risk detection.

How to Spot Risk and Stay Alive

A safety professional may read the title of this article and feel it’s child’s play. How could somebody notknow how to look for risk? That same safety professional may even be tempted to use a phrase that I cannot stand: common sense. I once heard a speaker explain that common sense is a learned phenomenon. We cull the experiences of our life and, from them, develop our so-called common sense. This is very true. If I spent my entire career reaching into a machine that wasn’t locked-out and nothing happened to me, I may believe that doing so was safe. This is the experience that develops my common sense.

Can You Rely on Common Sense?

That same scenario may seem like a lack of common sense to somebody who knows better, but we’re assuming that I have no other education or experience to help me come to a better conclusion. Of course, this example is extreme; it would also require that I had no experience or knowledge to let me know that rollers, gears, or blades were dangerous. The point of the matter is this: common sense is different for everybody, and therefore cannot be relied upon.

It’s important for safety professionals to realize that what seems like second-nature to us now, didn’t always. The fact that we can walk onto a construction site or a manufacturing floor and immediately begin pointing out unsafe conditions and practices stems from years of education and experience. When I first began in the industry, I could barely tell one piece of heavy equipment from another, let alone start pointing out problems. It took time to develop that particular skill set.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

To understand where a non-safety professional may be coming from, we need to put ourselves back in their shoes. Maybe you can’t remember what it was like before you knew safety so well, so instead, think of a time more recently when you had to visit a new facility or, worse yet, a new industry with which you were not used to dealing. Sure, there are things that carry over from facility to facility, from industry to industry, but most likely there were things there you had yet to understand – new machines, new procedures, new tasks. The first thing you needed to do was learn what those machines, procedures and tasks were. You needed to find out where the exposures were and how those exposures should be controlled.

The Importance of Risk Assessment

Yes, that’s right, you did a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) or whatever preferred acronym you use for a risk assessment. Whether you stopped and did this on paper or you ran through it in your head, you went through a very methodical process. The problem is that you went through this process because it is a part of your training and background. Not so for your line employees, your laborers, or even members of management. Their inherent focus may be, “How do I properly operate this equipment?”, “What is the most efficient way to operate this?” or even “This is a piece of cake, so I guess I no longer need to pay attention,” not necessarily, “Where and why is this dangerous?”

Don’t Fish for Them, Teach a Them to Fish

It is important to instruct your employees that assessing risk is an important part of their job, not just something that is done for them . Train them on the proper way to perform a JHA. This should include running through some practice assessments and reviewing the existing assessments for your facility. When you see workers on the floor or jobsite, ask them what hazards are presented by their job and what they – or the company – have done to reduce their exposure. This is no time to be protective of your job and skills. You want everybody thinking like you do when you walk into a work area because you cannot be everywhere at once. If the employees can’t tell you what hazards their job presents and what controls are in place, then how can they possibly be aware if those controls or the precautions that they are supposed to be taking are effective?

What’s Wrong with This Picture?

Do you remember – as a child – doing those “What’s wrong with this picture?” puzzles? That’s how I approach every site or facility I enter. Consider the original picture – your frame of reference – to be the OSHA regulations, your company procedures, and your general knowledge of what is safe or unsafe. This original picture is how everything should be, in a perfect world. Next, you have the altered picture – the one with things missing, backwards, changed, whatever. This is reality. This is the facility or jobsite you’ve walked into. Having the first page in hand makes it easy to spot the problems, but what if you didn’t have that first page? What if you hadn’t known exactly how it should be, or had only gotten a quick glance? Now it becomes harder to see the problems. Our jobs must include giving our supervisors and workforce that first page – that frame of reference from which to work.

Do You Have the Right Picture?

To achieve this, they must understand the OSHA regulations that apply to their work, but just citing them chapter and verse helps only a little bit. They need to know how those regulations apply to what they do and be able to use them to help identify hazards. This is what the goal of a good OSHA 10 or 30 hour Outreach course should be – hazard identification. If you’re sitting through a class with an instructor that is just trying to cram as much of the CFR text down your throat as he or she can do in 10 or 30 hours, then your instructor has not been trained well and you have wasted your money. A good course teaches you the regulations and how to recognize if things are not right.

Now Do a Gut Check!

Finally, tell your people to trust their gut. No, common sense isn’t always good, but if something feels wrong to someone, most likely it is wrong, even if they’re not sure why. Tell them to take the time to find out why they feel this way or to get somebody with more experience or knowledge who can review it for them. In order for this to be successful, your company must be receptive to workers doing this. If every time a worker approaches a supervisor with a concern they hear “Just get back to work,” they will quickly stop trying to raise issues. Yet, if your company encourages this, eventually those same employees will begin to know why they feel something is wrong and, most likely, begin to be able to fix problems themselves, where possible.

Experience, knowledge, and good training, with good coaching along the way will help your employees get to a point where spotting risks is child’s play. It won’t happen overnight, but every day that passes is another day they’ve gotten better at it and another day they’ve stayed alive.

  Thanks John.  We really appreciate the advice.

  Gary Swiftbonds, Our short bio