The Ultimate Surety Bond Guide

North Carolina’s Online Resource for Surety Bonds

If you’re looking for information about North Carolina surety bonds or simply looking to get a quote for surety bonds in North Carolina, you’ve come to the right place.

What are Surety Bonds?

NC Surety Bonds are contracts guaranteeing that specific obligations will be fulfilled. That obligation may involve meeting certain contractual commitments, paying a debt or performing certain duties. A North Carolina Surety Bond has three (3) parties:

Principal – The party who has initially agreed to fulfill the obligation which is the subject of the bond (also known as the Obligor).
Obligee – The person or organization protected by the bond.
Guarantor or Surety – The Insurance company issuing the bond.

Under the terms of a North Carolina Surety Bond, one party (Guarantor or Surety) becomes answerable to a third party (Obligee) for the acts or non-performance of a second party (Principal).

Common Bond Types

Bid Bonds: Bond which guarantees that the successful bidder on a contract will enter into the contract and furnish the required payment and performance bonds.
Payment Bonds: Bond which guarantees payment from the contractor of money to persons who furnish labor, materials, equipment, and/or supplies for use in the performance of the contract.
Performance Bonds: Bond which guarantees that the contractor will perform the contract in accordance with its terms.
NC Auto Dealer Bonds: This is a requirement for any person or business who wished to establish and operate an Auto Dealership.
Permit Bonds: These are bonds often required in the construction industry to open building permits.
Employee Dishonesty Bonds: These bonds are meant to protect you (the business owner) from dishonest acts of your employees (such as theft).

ERISA Bonds

WHY DO I NEED AN ERISA BOND?

The 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted by Congress to regulate employee benefit plans. This Act mandated that every fiduciary responsible for managing a benefit plan, and/or every individual who handles the assets of such a plan, be covered by a fidelity bond to help protect the plan’s assets from fraudulent activity.

WHAT SIZE BOND DO I NEED?

Generally speaking (please check with your attorney for exact requirements), the face amount of the bond must not be less than 10% of the funds handled, but not less than $1,000 nor more than $500,000.

Equipment – Excavators, Fork Lifts, Tractors, Excavators, etc.
Tools – Tools are generally “small” items that employees use to perform their jobs for the business. While most tools have individual values, if you compile the values for all the tools your business has, the amount could be very high.