What should you consider if you choose to entrust an insurer with your sureties and guarantees?

For surety bonds and guarantees you need a partner who exudes confidence, not just with regard to your company but also when dealing with your customers and other parties involved. Expertise and know-how are crucial ingredients for such a relationship based on trust. You are also looking for a partner who can support you in all your projects, regardless of size or international dimension.

1.         The insurer’s experience

A surety or guarantee issued by an experienced insurer with an established name inspires confidence. It is also important to find an insurer with an extensive team of commercial and administrative staff who can offer customer-oriented service.

2.         Financial rating

In order to assess the financial strength of your insurer, your trading partners may sometimes require insight into the minimum ratings that guarantee providers must meet. Independent rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s evaluate the creditworthiness of financial institutions and insurers. The higher this rating, the more reliable you are for your trading partner.

3.         Capacity

Larger projects with serious financial implications require sureties or guarantees for substantial amounts. In concrete terms, this means that you must be able to rely on an insurer that has sufficient financial capacity.

4.         International network

If you are active internationally, you must be able to count on an insurer with a global network. In such a case, international branches and/or partners are an absolute must. This allows you to issue sureties and guarantees quickly and at little additional cost in the language and according to the practices of your beneficiary’s country.

5.         Simplified administration

A user-friendly online application allowing you to view all your outstanding guarantees, monitor your remaining capacity and receivables, and so on. This will gradually become the minimum standard. Such a tool gives you the possibility to monitor all your sureties and guarantees efficiently and in real time.