How BOSS Bonds Can Be Your Backend Surety Office
Many insurance agents aspire to be a one-stop shop for their clients. However, offering surety bonds without in-house expertise can be time-consuming, complicated, and overwhelming. Clint Paskewitz, Commercial Risk Director at Associated Insurance Services in Boise, encountered this exact challenge when his agency began expanding its contractor support services.
While Associated Insurance specialized in supporting contractors with insurance, risk management, and compliance needs, it didn’t have a dedicated bonding department. As a result, it lacked the internal surety expertise needed to confidently handle every bond request.
Through a backend surety partnership with BOSS Bonds, Clint and his team can now meet virtually any contractor surety need that comes their way. Read on to learn how BOSS Bonds transformed this missing piece into a competitive advantage and how we can do the same for your agency.
Surety Bonding: A Common Gap in Agencies’ Business Models
Clint and his team built the Associated Insurance agency around supporting contractors. From risk management and compliance to insurance placement, they guided their clients through every stage. However, one critical piece was missing.
“At the time, we didn’t have a surety division, and that’s a big problem when you’re dealing with contractors,” Clint explained. “When surety questions came up, we were kind of floundering…. We were scrambling trying to figure out what bond form to use, which carrier to go to, etc.”
That uncertainty created a larger issue, which many agents can relate to. “There was no bonding situation that came up where I felt confident looking a client in the eye and saying, ‘We can take care of you,’” Clint admitted.
Read More: Common Mistakes P&C Agents Make with Surety Bonds & How to Avoid Them
The Value of Offering Surety Bonds as an Insurance Agent
While Associated Insurance was succeeding on several fronts, its surety gap was a significant problem. After all, surety bonds are a critical requirement for contractors. Agents who can’t confidently meet their surety needs are more likely to:
- Lose opportunities to competitors
- Undermine their reputation as a full-service advisor
- Strain their client relationships
Just take it from Rick Bredow, Head of Commercial Surety and Business Development at BOSS Bonds: “Commercial insurance agents want to be a one-stop shop for their clients. If they can’t handle surety, those clients may go somewhere else—and stay there.”
Associated Insurance Needed a Better Bonding Solution
Clint knew his agency needed a way to support clients without building an entire surety department from scratch. After testing several bonding platforms that felt clunky and inefficient, he eventually discovered BOSS Bonds.
“When we saw the BOSS Bonds platform, it was immediately clear it was light years ahead of what we had been using,” Clint said.
But the real difference went beyond technology—what ultimately set BOSS Bonds apart was the experienced surety team standing behind the platform.
How Associated Insurance Scaled Faster with a Backend Surety Office
“Clint needed a back-end surety bond department, and that’s really where BOSS Bonds comes in,” Rick explained. Rather than expecting agents to become surety experts, BOSS Bonds acts as an extension of the team and does all of the heavy lifting on their behalf.
“We handle the work in the background while the agency gets the credit and looks like the expert to their client,” Rick explained. With this partnership model, agencies get to:
- Offer surety without increasing their internal overhead
- Maintain control of their client relationships
- Deliver faster, more reliable bonding solutions
- Say “yes” to contractor requests with confidence
Read More: 6 Types of Bonds Your Contractor Client Might Encounter
3 Benefits of a Backend Surety Office
Here are three powerful benefits that a backend surety office can bring to your agency, as demonstrated through Clint’s experience with BOSS Bonds.
#1 Speed
“In today’s bond market, speed is everything,” said Clint. BOSS Bonds enabled Associated Insurance to achieve in minutes what used to take hours or days.
“We had an out-of-state HVAC contractor who needed a license bond that same day,” Clint recalled. “We sent them a link, and they were able to quote, bind, and issue the bond in less than an hour.”
#2 Hands-On Support
Surety is a specialized field, with thousands of bond forms and varying requirements across jurisdictions. That’s where having an expert behind the scenes can make all the difference.
Clint credits BOSS Bonds’ support as a major reason behind the partnership’s success. “With other platforms, it’s hard to get someone on the phone when you need help,” he said.
“Surety is a relationship business,” Rick added. “When Clint calls, we answer, and we figure out exactly what his client needs.”
#3 Confidence
With the right support system in place, Associated Insurance transformed its approach to surety. What was once a point of hesitation became one of the agency’s core strengths.
“With BOSS Bonds’ team, I now have the confidence to fulfill any surety bond need that clients bring our way,” Clint said. In turn, his agency no longer turns away business or second-guesses bonding requests.
The end result? Retaining more clients in-house.
Read More: How BOSS Bonds Can Improve Your Bottom Line
BOSS Bonds: A Smarter Way to Scale Your Agency
As Clint’s story displays, surety doesn’t have to be a barrier to insurance agents’ growth. With the right partner, it can quickly become a competitive advantage.
If your agency is ready to reap the benefits of a backend surety office, BOSS Bonds can provide the innovative technology and expert support you need to deliver fast, reliable bonding solutions. Whether you need contract surety support or want to learn how to offer surety bonds as an agent, our team has you covered.
Ready to become a one-stop shop for your clients? Partner with BOSS Bonds today!
