What is ? is a Web-based software application that was designed by insurance professionals for the application, underwriting, issuance, and servicing of all forms of surety products. is designed so that members of the bond department have control over every aspect of what is created and displayed on the Web. This gives the bond department the ability to function independently -- without having to wait in line for service from their IT department.

How does work? There are five main components of the system: System and Bond Administration -- the administrator (usually a lead underwriter) controls who has access to the system both internally and externally, and they control exactly which components each user may access within the system. The administrator is also in charge of setting up new bonds to be used by the system. With ’s clear and logical browser-based administration screens, virtually any computer-literate person can be trained within a matter of days to be an administrator. Bond Application -- Using any computer with a Web browser and Internet/LAN access to the system, agents or internal service personnel simply enter the information on ’s easy-to-follow application screens. When they are finished, they simply submit the application to the system for review. Underwriting --  features a Decision Engine™ that automatically analyzes submitted applications according to a set of decision rules established by the administrator at the time the bond was initially set up. The submitted application is either AUTO ACCEPTED, AUTO REJECTED or REFERRED based upon these rules. REFERRED bonds trigger an email to be sent to the underwriter designated by the administrator. The underwriter, via their browser, can review all of the submitted information, make appropriate diary entries, and then APPROVE or REJECT the bond. Issuance -- Once approved, the system allows the issuing agent to print out the bond documentation. Each bond is printed not only with your company's specific bond number, but is associated with a unique transaction number, ensuring that the bond can only be used for the specific purpose for which it was issued Riders, Renewals, Cancellations, and Reinstatements -- Once approved, the underwriting department members are the only individuals authorized to make changes to the bond records for riders, renewals, cancellations, and reinstatements. All changes to bonds are logged by the system. At any time authorized users can review a particular bond's entire history.

When you say the system handles surety bond application, underwriting, issuance, and service, exactly what do you mean by this? We want to emphasize the point that is a full-featured, stand-alone browser-based application that can handle the entire process required to process and service bonds. is the only system on the market designed so that bond department personnel can set up bond applications with specific pricing rules, underwriting rules, and payment methods. We are totally dedicated to the surety industry, and our years of experience combined with invaluable input and suggestions from our surety customers is reflected in our final product. As a result, offers the ability to apply surcharges where appropriate, gather statistics used for SAA reporting, and many, many other important details.

What are some of the benefits of the system? Dramatically reduce the cost of issuing and servicing all bonds with particularly dramatic savings realized from high volume/low premium bonds. Significantly reduce workload for underwriters by eliminating incomplete application information. utilizes a comprehensive system of error checking to ensure that required fields are filled in and common items (i.e. phone numbers, etc.) are complete and formatted correctly. Significantly reduce your operating overhead. Many sureties are still issuing and manually managing individual Powers-of-Attorney. With , every POA is uniquely identified with a particular transaction. Many sureties and their agents are manually storing, maintaining, and filling out bond forms. With , this cost is eliminated. Many sureties are still manually processing renewals of large volume bonds. handles this automatically. Many sureties are manually sending out renewal reports to agents. automatically puts manual renewal bond notices in each agent's queue. Plus much, much, more! Increase your speed to market with new bond products. Opportunities for new bond products are occurring more and more frequently. As soon as you know what you want to offer for sale, you can have a new bond up on the system in under one hour (in most cases). What a competitive advantage!

Our IT department is very busy and they don’t have much time to help us -- won’t this system be just another burden on them? is designed so that computer-literate members of the bond department can control every aspect of what is created and displayed on the Web without relying on your IT department. The IT department can now spend time on the areas they are most interested in -- infrastructure, hardware, and security.

How does your system handle changes to bonds once the bond has been created? has an easy-to-use underwriting screen where authorized personnel can perform all standard bond functions such as CANCELLATIONS, REINSTATEMENTS, RENEWALS, PREMIUM BEARING RIDERS, and NON-PREMIUM BEARING RIDERS. The system can also be integrated with any of your mainframe support systems such as Accounting or Claims so that information from and your support system can easily be exchanged.

Can you use credit cards to pay for bonds? Yes. has an option for credit card integration. The system can be configured so that bonds which have been AUTO-ACCEPTED will process credit card information automatically. Of course, you need to have an account with a credit card provider.

Can you use credit scoring in your analysis? Yes. has an option for credit scoring. Your company would need an account with our provider. However, since every company has different requirements and service agreements with multiple credit score providers, this feature will be customized for your company's particular requirements for an additional fee.

What equipment or other software do I need to use this system? Company personnel and agents need a computer with access to an internal LAN or the Internet, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher, and Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher. Bond administrators need to have installed on their computer Adobe Acrobat Professional 5.0. A flatbed scanner (large enough for legal size) is also recommended. Web Server(s): Windows 2003 Server running IIS and .NET Framework, ActivePDF Toolkit Professional. SQL Server(s): Windows 2003 Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2003, plus any software necessary to facilitate communication between a customer's existing mainframe systems and .

What equipment do my agents or field personnel need to use this system? A computer with access to the Internet and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.

What type of computer skills do you need to maintain and operate this system? Basic computer literacy is required. Personnel familiar with the features of Microsoft Office will be as comfortable with the easy-to-use functions of .

Since you are sending application information over the Internet, how do you secure this information? The connection is established using the industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. We can also accommodate higher levels of security should your organization require it. Please contact us with your specific question.

What equipment do our agents or field personnel need to print the bonds? Simply use the local printer connected to the computer you are using! Other than a self-loading Active X control that is installed the very first time a computer prints a bond, no special software is required.

We have a specialized bond numbering scheme -- how does your system accommodate this? is architected so that accommodating special requirements is very cost-effective. We are able to accommodate a variety of schemes with minimal effort. Call us with your needs, and we will provide direct answers to your specific questions.

What benefits would implementing this system have for my agencies? Agencies can view all of the bonds they have issued. The information can be sorted by bond number, issuance date, obligee name, or a variety of other fields. In this manner, agents can rapidly search for specific information about a particular bond. Agency personnel would enjoy all the easy-to-use features of without having to purchase and install any specialized software. They can use any computer with a Web browser and a connection to the Internet. Easy for them to use; easy for you to deploy and support.

What happens if an agent tries to change information on a bond that has already been issued? Once a bond has been issued, agents CANNOT change any information on the bond. While they can view application information at any time, agents will need to work directly with your underwriting department to modify any submitted information.

How does your system calculate premiums? AUTO-ACCEPTED BONDS and REFERRED BONDS display a screen showing the total premium due for the bond. These premiums are calculated from rate tables that the bond administrator creates and maintains.

What is so special about ? utilizes a unique methodology we call ScreenFlow™. In every other Web-based system, costly IT personnel write the Web pages, create the databases to store the data, write the queries for the AUTO-ACCEPT and AUTO-REJECT rules, and prepare the printed output. has been designed so that an average computer-literate person can perform all these functions. The name we assign this individual is the bond administrator. ’s ScreenFlow™ is a process of permitting the bond administrator to simply type in the questions they want asked, arrange them in the order to be asked, set the values for the AUTO-ACCEPT and AUTO-REJECT rules, scan any forms to be completed and highlight the areas where information from the database is to be placed. Finally, the Administrator presses a submit button. then proceeds to create the database entries, design the Web page, and format the bond output. Fast, easy, and simple!

What are the steps to set up a completely new bond in ? To add a new bond, the bond department simply follows the easy steps below: Identify bond type Select state bond will be issued in Set penalty amount Select risk type (which sets premium to be charged) Set the application questions to be asked Set the auto-approve criteria Set the auto-reject criteria Select the documents required to issue the bond

Do you need to buy a forms library for use with ? No. Every company already has all the forms they use, typically in MS Word or in a PDF file. Using your existing forms, simply overlay the unique field names in the proper locations on the form using Adobe Acrobat Professional. You then save this form to our library to use at any time with any bond.

What optional features are available with ? Security - Single Server Login Capability using LDAP Description of option: If your company utilizes Microsoft Active Directory, Netscape Directory Server, Novell Directory Service or any LDAP Version 2 or 3 compliant database to authenticate your users, can integrate with those existing servers to control user login so that a single server login capability can be achieved throughout your organization for all internal or external users. Source Code Licensing Option Description of option: If your organization wishes to integrate completely within your current applications, we offer the option of purchasing the source code for the product to be used solely within your organization. The source code fee is solely for the source code; all other server licensing and transaction fees apply. If you purchase the source code, you do not need to pay for the maintenance fee. Source Code Escrowing Option Description of option: Escrowing of source code is an important component in sound IT infrastructure management. In this option, source code is escrowed with our preferred third party agent, DSI Technologies. DSI Technologies is the premier provider of these services in the world. As a service to our customers, we offer to escrow the source code and any publicly released updates with DSI at their Level A service level. Import Existing Bond Database Converter License Description of option: An additional module for importing existing bond data into Credit Card Processing Module License Description of Option: An additional customer specific module, this module provides the ability to process credit card transactions. The customization fee for this module does NOT include any fees for the set-up, use, or maintenance of the actual credit card processing account with Credit Card International. This fee is only for the license to utilize the e-SURETY module for the connectivity and processing of the credit cards through your designated provider. Credit Score Reporting Module License Description of Option: An additional customer specific module that provides the ability to send applicant information to your preferred credit reporting agency to obtain credit score information. The fee for this module does NOT include any fees for the set-up, use, or maintenance of the customer's account with any credit reporting service. This fee is only for the creation of a customer specific module to utilize within the application for the connectivity, capture, and use of the credit score within . Previous Page