SBA Surety Bond Program discussed at teleconference.(Headline: NACM and SBA)(Small Business Administration)

Recently, the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce held a teleconference on the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Surety Bond Program, which helps new and emerging contractors get surety bonding. Tesha Williams, an SBA Underwriting Policy Analyst, was the featured speaker.

Williams said the Surety Bond Program was created in 1971 to assist small emerging contractors and small disadvantaged contractors in obtaining bonding, which is often required in order to bid on many construction projects. She said the SBA guarantees a portion of the losses in projects that have been bonded by surety companies that are on an approved list. "We just guarantee a percentage in the event of a default." She noted that federal and most state government projects larger than $100,000 require contractors to be bonded.

For a company to be eligible for the Surety Bond Program, it must have average annual receipts for the past five years of no more than $6.5 million and the contract must require a bond and the project cannot be over $2 million. Manufacturing firms, which are also eligible for the program, must not have more than 500-1000 employees.

Applicant businesses must choose their own surety because the SBA can't recommend one, Willams said. "I always tell people to pick your agent according to what's convenient to you." She said most surety companies would require ...