Surety Bond Professionals

Performance and Payment Bonds for Contractors

After winning a construction bid, securing a performance and payment bond (P&P bond) is the guarantee your firm needs to sign the contract and mobilize your crew. Both public and private contracts often require contractors to have P&P bonds.

Backed by 75 years of experience, Surety Bond Professionals builds bonding frameworks that support your long-term success. Our family-owned bond-only agency connects you with over 40 surety markets to help you secure the operational capacity you need at rates that keep you competitive.

 

Things to Know About Performance and Payment Bonds

While often issued together as a single package, performance and payment bonds serve two distinct protective functions for the project owner. Understanding both bonds helps you submit a stronger surety application.

Both of these bond types work in tandem to mitigate risk on construction projects:

  • Performance bond: This guarantees that you — the contractor (the principal) — will complete the project in accordance with the contract’s terms, quality standards, and timelines. If you default, the surety steps in to ensure completion, protecting the project owner from financial loss.
  • Payment bond: This guarantees that you will pay all subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers associated with the project. The bond protects the project owner by preventing mechanics' liens and legal claims against the property.

Project owners typically mandate P&P bonds based on the total contract value:

  • Public sector: The federal Miller Act strictly mandates P&P bonds for all federally funded projects exceeding $100,000. States also have "Little Miller Acts" that require bonds for state-level and municipal public works.
  • Private sector: Private commercial developers increasingly require P&P bonds to mitigate risk on large-scale projects. This ensures project continuity even if the original contractor faces financial difficulties.

Unlike insurance policies with fixed premiums, the contract's size determines P&P bond costs on a sliding scale. Typically, premiums range from 0.5% to 3% of the total contract value. Underwriters also calculate your premium rate based on:

  • Financial strength: We review your financial statements, including your work-in-progress (WIP) schedule and balance sheet.
  • Company experience: We check your track record of completing projects of a similar size and scope to verify your firm's operational capacity.
  • Credit history: We analyze personal and business credit scores to determine reliability and stability.
 

How to Apply for a P&P Bond

A thorough review of your company’s character, capacity, and capital determines if your firm qualifies for a performance and payment bond. Prepare the following documents to expedite approval:

  • Contract details: The official award letter and a copy of the contract.
  • Bid breakdown: A detailed estimate showing your profit margins and cost allocations.
  • Financials: Current business and personal financial statements.
  • Status reports: A current work-in-progress (WIP) schedule to show your remaining capacity.

Our dedicated surety agents guide you through the application process, highlighting your strengths to underwriters for the best possible terms.

A performance bond is a surety bond that is issued by a bonding company or bank to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor. It protects the owner in case the contractor fails to complete the contractual obligations. If the obligations are not met, the surety company will step in and pay the claim. Afterwards, the surety company will seek reimbursement from the contractor.

These bonds are used to safeguard the owner, contractor and the people associated with the project (i.e. the public). The government or corporate entities often require these bonds for any task where taxpayers’ investments need to be protected. In government projects, one submits an application for such projects as bridges and roads. More frequently, we are seeing private owners requiring performance and payment bonds as well. This protects the private owner from a contractor who may not be able to properly complete the work and also protects the owner from double payment (i.e. having to potentially pay subcontractors twice, due to a GC defaulting and not paying their subs).

Payment bonds are a guarantee that the contractor will pay all laborers, material suppliers, and contractors per contractual obligations.
P&P Bonds can have any face value, but they are usually issued in an amount covering 50 to 100% of the value of the construction contract, with 100% performance and payment bonds being the most frequent. If you need a performance and payment bond, the premium can range from around 0.5% of the contract value on the low end to 3% on the higher end. Larger contractors will typically have a competitive sliding scale rating structure. However, the cost can vary widely from company-to-company, depending on the financial capacity, company history and credit, among other items.
Surety bonds should not be confused with an insurance policy. What makes them different is that in an insurance policy, the insurer has to defend the insured as well as cover them. More importantly, they are not able to get repaid from the insured for the amount of any loss or any costs associated with the claim. In comparison, a claim on a bond ensures that the surety company evaluates the case of the claim and the contractor to make sure that there is a valid claim and, more importantly, the surety will ask the contractor to reimburse it for any claim damages and lawsuit fees, should the surety need to payout on the contractor's behalf.
Before approving a P&P Bond, the surety company ensures that they check the applicant’s character, history of contract performances, necessary equipment, financial strength, history of paying subcontractors and suppliers on time, bank relationships and an established line of credit. These are all factors that go into the underwriting process and affect the single/aggregate program considerations.

Wide market access: We have access to dozens of surety markets, allowing us to locate the best terms and rating structure for your specific construction bond needs.

Market expertise: A specialized surety agent understands the nuances of the market and knows which surety companies are best for different types of construction bonds, whether they are standard or hard-to-place. SBP has broad experience with construction bonds and has ample resources for contractors during bid process.

Guidance through underwriting: An experienced construction surety bond agent will help you prepare your application and financial documents to present your business in the most favorable way to underwriters.

Efficient process: Partnering with us streamlines the approval and bond issuance process. SBP saves you from clunky, cumbersome and time-consuming bond providers. Whether you are bidding on a $500 million project, or looking for a small bid that may only require a soft credit pull for prequalification, SBP makes the process efficient and fast for all clients.

Speed of Issuance - If you need to submit your bid quickly, you’ll be happy to know that SBP is known for fast turnaround. SBP offers a simple application process through our website. Licensed in all 50 states and customized surety programs available for all clientele. Fast track programs available for construction bonds under certain thresholds.

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Why Partner With Surety Bond Professionals?

Surety Bond Professionals offers a wide range of construction bonds to help businesses grow and build lasting relationships. Our bond-only agency has served more than 10,000 satisfied clients and written over $10 billion in contract value. Contractors nationwide choose us for:

  • Seamless transition: We streamline the move from your initial construction bid bond to the P&P bond, eliminating redundant paperwork and preventing delays.
  • Capacity optimization: We structure your bonding program strategically, ensuring a single large project does not cap your ability to bid on future work.
  • Rate advocacy: We negotiate your position on the sliding scale to minimize premiums for your contract size.
 

Get Your Complimentary P&P Bond Consultation

Apply for a competitive bonding program with performance and payment bonds with Surety Bond Professionals. Contact us today for your complimentary bond consultation. Whether you need a construction performance bond, payment bond, or a customized surety program, our team of expert growth partners is ready to build the right bonding solution for your contracts.