Surety Bonds: Personal and Commercial

We work with leading surety bond companies to help you find the personal or commercial bond that fits your needs.

Talk to a commercial specialist at the USAA Insurance Agency.

Call 800-292-8135

For TTY devices, dial 711

What’s a surety bond?

A surety bond is a legal business contract that can help you guarantee you’ll complete the project or other obligation your clients hired you for. If you own a business and need to be bonded, you have to buy a surety bond.

Why you might need one

You could need it for obligations such as construction projects, professional licensing, permits, notarization and probate. Bond requirements vary by state.

How a surety bond works

A person or company you plan to do work for may require you to have a bond. When you buy a surety bond, you become the "principal" of the contract.

If you break the contract, the person or company who asked for the bond can file a claim to recover any financial losses from the surety company that sold it.

The surety company can then try to get the money back from you, the principal.

Common surety bonds

There are several types of personal and business surety bonds we can help with.

Commercial bonds help protect public interests by making sure businesses comply with regulations.
Contract bonds can help protect the contract owner financially if the terms of the contract aren’t met.
Court bonds can help make sure plaintiffs or defendants receive payments for damages and get their court fees paid.
Fidelity bonds help protect employee retirement funds as well as business owners from any harmful behavior by employees.
Fiduciary bonds help protect the money and property of minors, the deceased or anyone who can’t manage their assets alone if the responsible party doesn’t take care of it.

Commercial bonds

Title Bonds

You may need a title bond to register a vehicle if the original title is lost, stolen or damaged. This also applies to anyone who buys a car and discovers the title is missing or wrong.

License Bonds

Also known as permit bonds, national, state or local governments may require license bonds for businesses to perform work in the areas they oversee. Typically, the bond guarantees building code compliance.

Public Official Bonds

These bonds help guarantee that notaries, tax collectors, sheriffs and other public servants will faithfully perform all official duties.

Contract bonds

Bid bonds help ensure contractors enter project bids in good faith. If contracts are awarded, performance and payment bonds are also required.
Performance bonds help guarantee contractors will perform all tasks associated with the bond’s terms.
Payment bonds help guarantee contractors will pay for labor and materials.
Maintenance bonds help cover losses due to faulty design, workmanship or materials.

Court bonds

Defendant Bonds

If a judge denies an appeal, defendant bonds help guarantee that the defendant will pay the original judgment in full. They’re also known as appeal or supersedeas bonds.

Plaintiff Bonds

If a court rules in favor of a defendant, plaintiff bonds help guarantee the defendant will receive payment for damages. These bonds are also known as attachment or replevin bonds.

Cost Bonds

You’ll need cost bonds to guarantee that you’ll pay any court costs associated with a lawsuit.

Fidelity bonds

You’ll need Employee Retirement Income Security Act Pension Bonds for benefit, pension and retirement plan trustees. The bonds must cover up to 10% of the plan’s assets. They help protect employees from trustee wrongdoing.
Business bonds help protect a business owner’s clients if their employees commit theft or fraud while on the job.
Employee dishonesty bonds help guarantee bonded employees will handle their employers' money and property in good faith.

Fiduciary bonds

Probate Bonds

These help guarantee the individual handling a deceased person's assets faithfully performs their duties.

Guardianship Bonds

These help guarantee appointed guardians care for and manage all assets belonging to minors, elderly or disabled individuals.

Administrator and Personal Representative Bonds

These are required to help protect the disposition of a deceased person's estate if they didn't leave a will.

Executor Bonds

These are similar to administrator bonds, but the estate handling is subject to the terms of the will.

Conservator Bonds

These help guarantee conservators will be responsible for the finances of minors or others who aren't capable of managing them.

Why get a bond through the USAA Insurance Agency?

The USAA Insurance Agency is here to help you find a bond to fit your needs. Our long-standing alliances with other insurance providers allow us to make sure you get a great mix of pricing and quality customer service.

Also, when you buy a bond through the USAA Insurance Agency, you help us support the military community through charitable contributions and special events.

Surety bonds FAQ

Be sure you have the details for who or what entity is requesting the bond, along with the amount you'll need to buy. If you have any professional licenses, you'll also want to have them handy.

Your bond application won't necessarily be denied if you have bad credit. But some companies can choose not to sell you the bond if they think you
might be a financial risk.

If you're approved, you may also end up paying more if you have a low credit score.

While business bonds help protect against your employees stealing from your clients, employee dishonesty bonds help protect against employees stealing from your business.

They usually cover everything from fraud and embezzlement to check forgery and stolen money or merchandise.

In a covered claim, you should recover the amount of money or value of any property the employee stole, up to the bond's limit and requirements.

Business and employee dishonesty bonds aren't required by law, but it may be a good idea to get them.

A bonded title proves you own a vehicle. You can use it in place of a standard title to register your car, sell it or buy insurance for it.

You might need one if your original title is lost or stolen or you buy a car and receive the incorrect title or no title at all.

The title is bonded to help protect you and anyone who may have previously owned the car. Someone could file a claim saying they’re the actual owner of the car, and you shouldn’t have received the bonded title.

If that person has a valid claim, the surety company will determine a fair amount to pay them. Then you would have to reimburse the surety company.

Let surety bonds help seal your business deals.