Surety bonds and guarantees
Guaranteeing your commitments with trusted and tailored surety support.
Surety bonds provide a flexible, cost‑effective alternative to bank guarantees and are widely used across industries to meet contractual, regulatory and financial obligations.
Our specialists help businesses secure the right surety solution to support growth, improve liquidity and strengthen financial resilience.
What are Surety bonds?
A surety bond is a financial instrument issued by an insurance company in the form of a ‘Guarantee’ that certifies the successful performance of one party to another under a contract. The bond provides monetary compensation in the event that specified obligations are not performed.
What is the difference between surety bonds and traditional insurance?
Though issued by an insurance company, a surety bond does not operate as a risk transfer mechanism like traditional forms of insurance. Issued on recourse terms, it is considered a line of credit; or in accounting terms, a ‘contingent liability’ off balance sheet. Given the financial nature of bond facilities, a pre-requisite is the entry into a Deed of Counter Indemnity in favour of the surety. This is a legal agreement that affirms the surety’s common law position to seek a recovery from the bonded Principal should there be a claim.
Who uses surety bonds?
Surety bonds are utilised across a number of sectors in support of various contractual, regulatory and licensing requirements.
Industries we support include, but are not limited to the following:
- Aerospace
- Automotive
- Construction
- Engineering
- Food & drink
- Importers / exporters
- Infrastructure / transport
- Manufacturing
- Oil & gas
- Pharmaceuticals
- Real estate and property owners
- Renewable energy & environmental technology
- Retail
- Shipbuilders
- Shipping
- Support services
- Transportation
- Waste management
What are the benefits of surety bonds?
- Works alongside existing bank facilities
- No collateral needed, freeing up assets
- Can replace Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees
- Improves financial flexibility by freeing bank credit lines
- Backed by highly rated surety providers (S&P A–AA)
- Transparent and competitively priced
Why choose Miller for your Surety bond solutions?
We provide specialist surety bond solutions for businesses that need reliable, flexible alternatives to bank guarantees. We arrange contract bonds, commercial bonds, and bespoke surety facilities, giving you access to leading UK and international surety markets.
Our team works closely with key stakeholders to understand your business, assess your bond requirements and design a strategy that delivers the most effective and cost‑efficient surety structure. With deep market knowledge and strong insurer relationships, we help clients secure the capacity, terms and support they need to operate with confidence.
Our experienced team of surety specialists provide you with:
- Capacity management and syndication of capacity for large complex transactions
- Competitive pricing
- Expert knowledge on bond wordings and counter indemnities
- Facility management
- International capabilities
- Optimum terms and conditions
We combine technical expertise with market reach to deliver surety solutions that strengthen liquidity, support growth and reduce reliance on traditional banking facilities.
Get In Touch
Ben Gibbons
Executive Director - Global Head of Credit, Surety & Political Risks +44 (0) 20 7031 2788 [email protected] Read more
Hannah Sewell-Moore
Associate Director - Credit, Surety & Political Risk +44 (0) 20 4614 0061 [email protected] Read more
Teresa Beana
Associate Director - Credit, Surety & Political Risk +44 (0) 20 4614 0046 [email protected] Read more
Edward Cheak
Head of Credit, Surety & Political Risks, Asia +65 6512 5170 [email protected] Read moreSubmit an enquiry
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Contract bonds
Contract bonds are typically required under the terms of a contract and guarantee a variety of obligations, from construction contracts to service and delivery contracts. Examples of contract bonds include:
- Advanced payment bond
- Bid bond
- Developers & infrastructure bonds (section agreements)
- Local Government Pension Scheme bonds
- Offsite materials bonds
- Performance bond
- Retention bond
- Ship building bonds
- Warranty & maintenance bonds
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Commercial bonds
Commercial bonds are used in support of regulatory and licensing requirements and other commercial undertakings. Examples of commercial bonds include:
- Admiralty bonds
- Captive retention bonds
- Court bonds
- Decommissioning bonds
- Deferred consideration / payment bonds
- Duty deferment / customs guarantees
- Environmental bonds
- Insurance deductible guarantees
- Letter of credit replacements
- Pension deficit
- Restoration bonds
- Travel bonds
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