“We’ve targeted tight turnaround times from submission to approval using Old Republic Surety’s (ORS) FastBond process — the faster, the better,” says Todd Taylor, CPCU, AFSB.

As an ORS Bond Manager, Taylor has seen the favorable impact of FastBond, which has been available for more than 10 years. “We’ve managed to simplify the bonding process for agents by offering limits up to $1 million based on credit only,” he says. “And because there’s no need for additional financial information and no CPA required, that saves tremendous time and hassle. Within the Fast Bond program, Old Republic Surety will consider non-residential completion bonds up to $250,000 in bond penalty on credit-based underwriting. Higher limits can be considered with additional underwriting information.”

What if a client does require more? Taylor explains that they can still use FastBond to secure up to $2 million single or aggregate by adding current corporation and personal financial statements to their application — still no CPA involvement necessary.

Taylor notes a recent uptick in FastBond activity as well. “We have a history of writing accounts using common sense underwriting, and Old Republic Surety is proud of our partnership with agents who write accounts that may be smaller or simply have few or very infrequent bond needs. These are the kinds of accounts that are a real plus for so many agents. Although they may not qualify for our contract side, they represent a real mainstay of the construction industry.”