A performance bond, also known as a contract bond, is a

surety bond In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

issued by an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

company or a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor. The term is also used to denote a collateral deposit of good faith money, intended to secure a

futures contract In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

, commonly known as

margin Margin may refer to: Physical or graphical edges *Margin (typography), the white space that surrounds the content of a page *Continental margin, the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust *Leaf ...

History

Performance bonds have been around since 2,750 BC. The Romans developed laws of surety around 150 AD, the principles of which still exist.

Overview

A job requiring a payment and performance bond will usually require a bid bond, to bid the job. When the job is awarded to the winning bid, a payment and performance bond will then be required as a security to the job completion. For example, a contractor may cause a performance bond to be issued in favour of a client for whom the contractor is constructing a building. If the contractor fails to construct the building according to the specifications laid out by the

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

(most often due to the

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

of the contractor), the client is guaranteed compensation for any monetary loss up to the amount of the performance bond. Performance bonds are commonly used in the construction and development of real property, where an owner or investor may require the developer to assure that contractors or project managers procure such bonds in order to guarantee that the value of the work will not be lost in the case of an unfortunate event (such as insolvency of the contractor). In other instances, a performance bond may be requested to be issued in other large contracts besides civil construction projects. Another example of this use is in commodity contracts where the seller is asked to provide a Bond to reassure the buyer that if the commodity being sold is not in fact delivered (for whatever reason) the buyer will at least receive compensation for his lost costs. Performance bonds are generally issued as part of a 'Performance and Payment Bond', where a payment bond guarantees that the contractor will pay the labour and material costs they are obliged to.

Performance bond cost

Surety bond companies calculate the premium they charge for surety bonds based on three primary criteria: bond type, bond amount, and the applicant's risk. Once the bond type, amount, and applicant risk are adequately assessed, a surety bond underwriter is able to assign an appropriate surety bond price.

Bond type

Surety bond companies have actuarial information on the lifetime claims history for each bond type. Over time, surety bond underwriters are able to determine that some surety bonds are more risky than others. For example, a California Motor Vehicle Dealer bond has significantly more claims than a straightforward notary bond. If a given surety bond type has paid out a high percentage of claims, then the premium amount paid by applicants will be higher.

Applicant's history/risk

Surety bond companies attempt to predict the risk that an applicant represents. Those who are perceived to be a higher risk will pay a higher surety bond premium. Since surety bond companies are providing a financial guarantee on the future work performance of those who are bonded, they must have a clear picture of the individual's history.

In the United States

In the United States, under the

Miller Act The Miller Act (ch. 642, Sec. 1-3, 49 stat. 793,794, codified as amended in Title 40 of the United States Code) requires prime contractors on some government construction contracts to post bonds guaranteeing both the performance of their contrac ...

of 1932, all Construction Contracts issued by the Federal Government must be backed by performance and payment bonds. States have enacted what is referred to as "

Little Miller Act A "Little Miller Act" is a U.S. state statute, based upon the federal Miller Act, that requires prime contractors on state construction projects to post bonds guaranteeing the performance of their contractual duties and/or the payment of their sub ...

" statutes requiring performance and payment bonds on State Funded projects as well. There are over 25,000 types of Surety Bonds in the United States. Each bond has a designated bond amount. Surety bond companies will determine the bond rate based on risk and then charge a surety bond premium in the range 1-15% of the bond amount.

References

{{Authority control Bonds (finance) Performance bonds