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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apr 11, 2019–The XBRL US Surety Working Group, today announced the publication of a draft release of the Contractor Financials Taxonomy, which contains data standards to capture income statement and balance sheet information about contractors. The taxonomy was created by starting with an initial set of data standards contributed by Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm. The Surety Working Group, which is comprised of surety carriers, bond agents, and software companies, then further refined the data fields and definitions, and expanded on the initial set of standards. “We see a lot of variation in the financials prepared by contractors,” noted Kristen Sharpe, CPA, Credit Solutions Senior Product Manager at Crowe LLP, “XBRL standards for contractor financial statements will improve the consistency of data reported, and will also allow sureties, and bond agents to automate data collection and analysis.” Financial statement information must be collected and analyzed by bond agents and sureties during the surety underwriting process. The data is typically provided in PDF or spreadsheet format, which forces data users to manually rekey information into their financial systems before analysis can begin. The Contractor Financials Taxonomy contains approximately 420 concepts, many of which were drawn from the US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy which is used today by over 6,000 public companies reporting financial statement data to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Contractor Financials Taxonomy is designed to be used in conjunction with the Work in Process (WIP) Taxonomy to help contractors provide machine-readable data to carriers. The WIP Taxonomy was also developed by the Surety Working Group. During the 60-day public exposure period, contractors, sureties, bond agents, software providers and other stakeholders are encouraged to review the data standards in the taxonomy and provide input on definitions and on elements that should be added. The public review includes a Taxonomy Guide on how to work with the taxonomy, along with sample XBRL-formatted financial documents prepared using the taxonomy. To access the public review, go to: https://xbrl.us/xbrl-taxonomy/2019-contractor/ Sponsoring organizations in the Working Group include AIG, Crowe LLP, The Hartford, Liberty Mutual Surety, Marcum LLP, the NASBP (National Association of Surety Bond Producers), Travelers, and Zurich Insurance. Participating organizations, serving as observers and advisors, include SFAA (The Surety & Fidelity Association of America) and the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board). https://www.apnews.com/Business%20Wire/59f372ad997f4309a5d879027b9601aa

A continuing bond, also called continuous bond, is a financial guarantee or a suretyship that renews automatically until it is canceled. Continuing bonds do not expire as long as the client makes the required payment for each renewal. In other words, it has an indefinite term. A continuing bond does not expire, but is canceled by the obligee by formal notice of cancellation. In the absence of such formal notice of cancellation, the surety bond is deemed canceled if the Principal is able to satisfactorily show that the undertaking of the surety bond has been fully performed by it and the same is acknowledged in writing by the obligee. In Reparations Commission v. Universal Deep-Sea Fishing Corp., a continuing bond is one whose period of insurance is indefinite or with no fixed expiration date. The bond shall be in force unless canceled by the obligee, or by the Insurance Commissioner, or by a court of competent jurisdiction, as the case may be. As a consequence, the premium for furnishing the bond and the obligation to pay the same subsists for as long as the liability of the surety exists. In Country Bankers Insurance Corp. v. Lagman, the Warehouse Bond was deemed a continuing bond and remains in force until canceled by the Administrator of the National Food Authority (obligee) and cannot be unilaterally canceled by the general agent who obligated himself in the Indemnity Agreement. With respect to the premiums due, they are collected upon the issuance of the renewal certificates annually. However, the principal is still liable for the unpaid premiums notwithstanding the nonissuance of the renewal certificates. The obligation of the principal shall cease only when the obligee consents to it. The obligation to pay the premium subsists for as long as the liability of the surety exists. The principal is obliged to pay the annual premiums as it falls due until the contract of suretyship is canceled by the obligee or by the Commissioner or by a court of competent jurisdiction, as the case may be. Under Section 179 of the Amended Insurance Code: “In the case of a continuing bond, the obligor shall pay the subsequent annual premium as it falls due until the contract of suretyship is cancelled by the oblige or by the Commissioner or by a court of competent jurisdiction, as the case may be.” Two examples of continuing bonds would be (a) bonds required by courts in criminal and civil actions or special proceedings, also known as judicial bonds; and (b) bonds required by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in labor cases. For bonds in criminal and civil actions or special proceedings, Supreme Court A.M. 04-7-02 (Guidelines on Corporate Surety Bonds) provides that: “Unless and until the Supreme Court directs otherwise, the lifetime or duration of the effectivity of any bond issued in criminal and civil actions/special proceedings, or in any proceeding or incident therein shall be from its approval by the court, until the action or proceeding is finally decided, resolved or terminated.” Examples of judicial bonds are the injunction bond, attachment bond, replevin bond, and appeal bond. For judicial bonds, the court may order the cancellation of the bond. In case the court does not include in its order or judgment the cancellation of the surety bond filed, but nonetheless terminates with finality the case, the bond may be considered as already canceled. However, it is better to file a motion with the court for the cancellation thereof. In addition, per Supreme Court Resolution under Administrative Matter 03-03-19-SC, “the lifetime or duration of the effectivity of any bond issued in civil actions or proceedings or in any accident therein shall be from its approval by the court until the action or proceedings is finally decided, resolved, or terminated.” Under Section 179 of the Amended Insurance Code, the Insurance Commissioner is authorized to cancel a contract of suretyship. Moreover, both Supreme Court and NLRC guidelines provide that “Nonrenewal or cancellation of the Certificate of Authority by the Insurance Commissioner” shall be a ground for the cancellation of the Certificate of Accreditation and Authority of surety companies. In January 2019, following the order to liquidate Far Eastern Surety & Insurance Co., the Insurance Commission ordered the cancellation of all continuing bonds issued by the said company and directed the liquidator to notify the respective courts, obligees, and advise the obligors to secure replacement bonds. For bonds required by the NLRC, the NLRC in its En Banc Resolution 03-2013 (Guidelines for the Accreditation of Surety Companies) provided: “In accordance with Section 6, Rule VI of the 2011 NLRC Rules of Procedure, as amended, the surety bond shall be valid and effective from the date of deposit or posting, until the case is finally decided, resolved or terminated, or the award satisfied.” https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/04/03/continuing-bonds/

Surety Market to 2027 – Global Analysis and Forecast by Bond Type. In terms of revenue, the global Surety market accounted for US$ 15.33 Billion in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period 2019–2027, to account for US$ 28.77 Billion in 2027. Pune, India — (SBWIRE) — 03/06/2019 — The report highlights the trends prevalent in the global surety market and the factors driving the market along with those that act as deterrents to its growth. Currently, the surety market penetration rates in the North America region is higher than any other markets across the globe. This is attributed to most of U.S. State governments’ laws that mandate surety bonds. Both the U.S. and Canada Surety markets are majorly ruled by insurers, while banks also play a significant role. However, SAM and APAC region is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR. The global surety market by geography is segmented into five regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America. Market is currently dominated by North America followed by Europe however, the market in South America is growing at a highest CAGR. Some of the major companies operating in the market include AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.; Crum & Forster; CNA Financial Corporation; American Financial Group, Inc.; The Travelers Indemnity Company; Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.; HCC Insurance Holdings; IFIC Surety Group; and Chubb Limited among others. Merger and acquisition is expected to be the key growth strategy to be adopted by players for next two-three years. However, this strategy could impact competition, it is also expected to generate new market as well as product opportunities as recently combined companies will thrive to maintain position and profitability. The major companies operating in the market include AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.; Crum & Forster; CNA Financial Corporation; American Financial Group, Inc.; The Travelers Indemnity Company; Liberty Mutual Insurance Company; Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.; HCC Insurance Holdings; IFIC Surety Group; and Chubb Limited among others. The report focuses on an in-depth segmentation of the Surety market based on bond type. The geographic segmentation of the report covers five major regions including; North Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SA). The regional market has been further bifurcated by respective countries. By bond type, contract surety bond accounted for the largest share of the surety market in 2018. Read more… http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4194681