The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has reported a significant achievement for its Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Program, marking its most successful year in 25 years during fiscal year 2024. Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman announced the milestone, highlighting the program's role in supporting small businesses across the nation.
"Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA’s capital programs have been transformed to reach new highs as we continue to deliver historic levels of support for small businesses – including those benefiting from new contracts and supply chain expansion under the President’s Investing in America Agenda," said SBA Administrator Guzman. "In alignment with these reforms and performance, our Surety Bond Guarantee Program had its strongest year in a quarter century — a testament to this Administration’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurial opportunity across America."
Jermaine Perry, director of SBA’s Office of Surety Guarantees (OSG), emphasized the importance of partnerships in achieving this success. "The past fiscal year marks an exceptional milestone, as the Surety Bond Guarantee program enjoyed its best-performing year in 25 years for guaranteeing bid and final bonds," he stated. "This historic progress wouldn’t have been possible without the unwavering dedication of our surety partners and agencies."
The SBG Program collaborates with surety companies and agents to provide bond guarantees for small businesses on various projects. These partnerships are crucial as they offer education on bonding processes and connect business owners with essential resources like construction attorneys and CPAs.
In fiscal year 2024, the SBA guaranteed over $9.2 billion in contract value through bid and final bonds. More than 2,000 small businesses benefited from these guarantees, supporting over 46,000 jobs.
The top-performing surety company partners for FY 2024 include American Contractors Indemnity Company (California), U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (California), Merchants Bonding Company (Iowa), Great Midwest Insurance Company (Texas), The Gray Casualty & Surety Company (Louisiana), The Ohio Casualty Insurance Company (Pennsylvania), Markel Insurance Company (Texas), The Gray Insurance Company (Louisiana), Travelers Casualty & Surety Company (Connecticut), and Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (Washington).
Leading bonding agencies were CCI Surety, Inc. (Minnesota), Preferred Bonding & Insurance Services (California), Nielson, Hoover and Company (Florida), KOG International, Inc. (Pennsylvania), The Fedeli Group (Ohio), Capstone Risk Management Insurance (Nevada), The Bond Exchange, Inc. (North Carolina), Valley Surety Insurance Agency (California), Surety Bond Solutions, LLC (Louisiana), and Brunswick Companies (Ohio).
For more information about SBA's surety program or inquiries can be directed to OSG Director Jermaine Perry at jermaine.perry@sba.gov or by calling (202) 401-8275.