Securing the right bond facility can be the difference between winning major bids and being locked out of lucrative contracts. But not all surety brokers offer the same market access or service level. Before appointing a surety broker, make sure you ask the prospective broker these five essential questions.

Which markets do you work with?

Full access to the UK A-rated surety market is fundamental to a successful, long-term bond management strategy.

Appetite between bond providers varies significantly, so your surety broker must be able to leverage the different appetites in respect of pricing, capacity, and bond wordings to secure the most competitive terms.

Furthermore, UK A-rated security is often a strict precondition of contract – especially on government bids, funded projects, and social housing developments. Without it, you risk being shut out of tenders or suffering reputational damage if contract negotiations fail due to bond provision.

It is also why working with a specialist surety broker is preferable to working with a generalist insurance broker. The latter typically only has access to one or two markets, limited product expertise, and weak working relationships with the bond underwriters, by virtue of specialising in alternative product lines.

Phillips Schroeder Surety work exclusively with the UK A-rated markets only.

How would you manage my facility?

With no physical product to sell, quality and speed of service are the main standards by which a surety broker is judged, so it is only right to question how they intend to manage your facility.  Disorganised bond management can cost time, money, and be stressful if not managed effectively.

Your surety broker should at the very least:

• Manage Capacity: monitor utilisation so bond limits never constrain your ability to bid.
• Conduct Regular Reviews: review capacity and pricing upon filing of quarterly management accounts and / or annual accounts to optimise facility terms.
• Review Wordings Pre-Contract: address contentious obligations early so you do not sign up to a bond the market will not support.

Our business model is built on these vitally important functions.  We build your own tailored bond dashboard to track your bond pipeline and leverage our expansive database of accepted wordings to empower your contract negotiations.

Who will be my dedicated account manager?

An effective bond strategy is built on a relationship of trust and reliability.  Being treated as an “account” or passed around team members actively undermines that relationship.

Tenders and contracts move fast.  You need a direct line to a dedicated account manager who understands and knows your business and bond requirements.  Lack of accountability from your surety broker as to who manages the relationship makes bond management unnecessarily stressful, slow, and leads to adverse business outcomes.

How quickly can you turn around an urgent bond when a deadline is tight?

No honest surety broker can promise instant turnarounds, as brokers are ultimately reliant on underwriter sign-off.

However, an expert surety broker makes the placement process seamless by:

• Structuring robust market submissions that pre-empt underwriter queries.
• Aligning your request directly with specific underwriting criteria.
• Swiftly handling subjectivities, administrative details, and payment.

A surety broker’s ability to execute this quickly relies entirely on their deep product expertise and the strength of their relationship with the bond underwriters.

How much do you charge for your services?

This question is the ultimate litmus test for surety broker transparency.  Your surety broker should openly disclose their commission and whether they levy ongoing management and / or administrative fees.

We disclose all commission earned on your own tailored bond dashboard.  We do not charge ongoing management nor administration fees.  We believe hidden fees disadvantage contractors when tendering and eat directly into the margin you’ve worked hard to build.

How PS Surety Can Help You

PS Surety is a client-centric, FCA-regulated surety bond brokerage.  Having bonded over £10bn in contracts, we guarantee our clients:

• Full UK A-rated Market Access: the best possible terms available from the UK A-rated market.
• Full Transparency: your own tailored bond dashboard tracking capacity, pricing, and commission with no hidden fees.
• Dedicated Support: same-day communication from a dedicated account manager for queries, quotes, and wording reviews.

Ultimately, as a service provider, your surety broker should be adding value proactively and at every given opportunity.  If your surety broker merely shuffles papers, then we would appreciate the opportunity to make an introduction and show you how things can be different.

Please call us on 08000 141 949 or via email at bonds@pssurety.co.uk.

Or please reach out to a member of the team directly:

About PS Surety – Meet The Team