Benefits

NASBP is the Association solely dedicated to the needs of surety bond producers, their interests, and their businesses. Membership in NASBP delivers measurable returns on your investment, providing opportunities, resources, connections, and tools you simply won’t find anywhere else.

As a member, an affiliate, an associate, or an retired surety professional of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, you and your staff are part of a community of thousands who help promote professionalism and expertise in surety bonding and strengthen the surety industry. Membership helps your business prosper and also provides your business the tools to prosper the businesses of your clients.

NETWORK

The surety bond business is a relationship business. To stay at the top requires knowing, understanding, and appreciating the viewpoints of producers, local underwriters, the top decision-makers at surety company home offices, as well as that of industry consultants and service providers, such as accountants.

NASBP helps its membership network with the people who impact their businesses and lead their industry, offering unmatched opportunities to contribute to business growth. To begin with, the leading surety companies are active affiliates of NASBP. Agents meet with top executives and local underwriters from surety companies at NASBP’s Annual Meeting and Regional Meetings, a plus when an agent’s client’s bond requires approval from the top. Associates, too, are highly visible with this surety community at these premier industry networking events.

NASBP also makes it easy for the membership to connect with others across the country. NASBP recently delivered its revamped website, with a powerful networking capability, called SuretyConnect! SuretyConnect enables the NASBP membership to expand their referral network, to engage in an interactive exchange of information and feedback with NASBP colleagues, and to more easily access and to post industry-specific resources. NASBP wants you and your business to have the most innovative and smart resources to continue your success!

Need to discuss a construction-oriented business challenge with someone outside your market? Find professional peers in the online membership directory, work with them on NASBP committees, and coordinate with them on grassroots efforts in your area. Click here for the NASBP membership directory that includes Members, affiliates, and associates throughout the U.S, Puerto Rico, Guam, and a number of countries. Need to refer your client to a certified public accounting firm? Click here for a list of NASBP associates.

Engaged individuals working through a dynamic committee structure are central to NASBP’s Member-driven focus. By serving on one or more committees, individuals draw on their experience and skills to shape the association’s objectives, activities, and direction. Committee work also may lead to lasting professional relationships and personal friendships.

NASBP Committees include: Automation and Technology, Commercial Surety, Ethics, Finance, Government Relations, Industry Relations, International, Membership, Nominating, Professional Development and Education, Small and Emerging Business, and 5-15 Leadership.

MEMBERSHIP INCENTIVES

NASBP continually strives to expand its membership in these network opportunities by providing membership incentives such as the following:

NASBP New Bond Producer Member Incentive
NASBP has a program in which new bond producer Members receive a 50% discount on ALL NASBP meetings (excludes Virtual Seminar subscriptions and Surety School registrations). This discount can only be used by a single employee of the bond producer’s firm and for one NASBP meeting. Contact Dasha Harris at 240-200-1282 or dharris@nasbp.org for more information.

ADVOCATE

Federal Advocacy
Essential to NASBP’s government relations initiatives is forging a productive working relationship with government leaders and decision-makers. At the federal level, NASBP is actively involved with educating Members of Congress and their staff about the importance of the surety bond product. One way that is achieved is the NASBP Annual Legislative Fly-in Day. The Legislative Fly-in offers NASBP members, affiliates and associates an excellent opportunity to be proactive in support of the surety industry on Capitol Hill.

NASBP also offers an advocacy program for anyone who plans to visit Washington, D.C. The program, called “Every Day is Advocacy Day,” was created because your passion for advocating for your industry is year round. NASBP staff would be happy to accompany you on Capitol Hill to meet with your Members of Congress to discuss critical issues to the surety industry. For more information regarding NASBP's Federal Government Relations Program, click here.

NASBP staff regularly meets with Congressional members and/or their staff to advocate for the protection of the Federal Miller Act, to create opportunities for small and emerging contractors so they may participate on federal procurement projects, and to seek support for many other initiatives NASBP has identified in the Government Relations Agenda.

State Advocacy
If and when a state legislator proposes a piece of legislation that will affect the integrity of the bond product, NASBP, through its grassroots network of Members, is poised to meet the challenge by taking action to promote and defend suretyship. Click here for information about NASBP's grassroots network.

The NASBP Government Affairs Representatives serve as the local “eyes and ears” in all 50 states, tracking local and state legislative activities. When a threat emerges, NASBP broadcasts information and analysis so that its membership can take appropriate action and can educate legislators, public owners, and procurement officials on the value of the surety product and how it works. Click here for a list of NASBP's top issues.

We appreciate the value of our product, but others may not. A contractor who cannot qualify may want the bond requirement to go away. Others may be persuaded that it is an unnecessary expenditure of public money. 

Advocacy Communication Resources 
When it comes to keeping track of emerging trends and developments that may impact the surety product, the NASBP membership is placed “in the know” through NASBP information and web tools so they can become effective advocates. NASBP provides various communications resources, such as the government e-newsletter, Focal Point and the NASBP Pipeline.

Advocacy Communication & Educational Resources (Info Maps)
When it comes to keeping track of emerging trends and developments that may impact the surety product, the NASBP membership is placed “in the know” through NASBP information and web tools so they may become effective advocates. NASBP provides various communications and educational resources, such as the government e-newsletter, Focal Point, Pipeline and information maps on subjects such as public-private partnerships (P3s), correspondence on behalf of its members relating issues concerning local, state or federal owners and a compilation of state bonding threshold statutes.

Focal Point 
NASBP is ever vigilant on legislative matters. With Focal Point, NASBP's electronic bulletin, you’ll hear about important government relations matters and activities—bulleted summaries of key legislative and regulatory developments, reports on joint efforts of NASBP and members of its industry alliance, and other important initiatives to keep you “in the know.”

Action Alerts
These time-sensitive alerts are a key part of NASBP’s “grassroots” power. They often include a “call to action” that mobilizes the NASBP membership at the local level to fight against specific threats to our industry.

Industry Partners
NASBP and its membership are valuable resources for other industry stakeholders—private owners, contractor and specialty contractor trade associations, legislators, and surety companies. NASBP's involvement with the ConsensusDOCS effort is one example of NASBP's involvement that provides multiple benefits to the membership. Its perspective, strength, and reach make NASBP a high-profile, highly respected organization for those who require, benefit from, or are impacted by surety bonds. 

EDUCATE

NASBP is committed to providing educational programming that meets the needs of its membership and contributes to maintaining a professional and vibrant surety industry. Through classroom programs, webinars, online courses, and specialized workshops, NASBP delivers accessible, industry-specific training and education to meet the needs of surety professionals.

The William J. Angell Surety School
The flagship educational offering of NASBP, this school is the only program of its kind. Three levels provide educational opportunities for those new to the surety industry (Level I School); more seasoned surety professionals (Level II School); and producers and underwriters with more than 5 years of industry experience (Level III School). All three levels are approved to offer CE credits to license holders in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada.

Online Courses
NASBP currently offers four online courses. The first is Commercial Surety Fundamentals, which offers a comprehensive introduction to the topic; the second is Contract Surety Fundamentals, which provides a thorough orientation to the contract surety business. The third is the Ethics for Surety Bond Producers, the only CE-certified online course created by surety bond producers offering relevant ethics examples. The third, and newest offering is Joint Ventures in Construction which introduces surety bond producers and underwriters to the essentials they need to know when bonding a construction joint venture agreement project. All three courses are certified for CE credit in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada.

Virtual Seminars
NASBP Virtual Seminars (this should link to https://learn.nasbp.org/nasbp-virtual-seminars) give your firm and your clients a competitive edge by providing a current perspective on a wide range of timely surety industry topics. Offered approximately twice a month, each webinar is 60 -90 minutes in length and gives participants the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters, who are industry experts.

Workshops
From time-to-time, NASBP offers in-seat workshops designed to give participants in-depth knowledge about specific topics most recently on topics like Commercial Surety, Sales and Leadership.

COMMUNICATE

As a member-driven organization, NASBP works on every front that affects the welfare of its Members, Affiliates, and Associates and provides the resources, publications, and information to empower their growth and success.

NASBP Be Guaranteed To Succeed - Producer Communications Toolkit 2.0
NASBP has created the NASBP Toolkit 2.0 (members must be logged into nasbp.org to access the Toolkit 2.0) to help you communicate about the surety product with stakeholders of construction projects, including public and private project owners,  lenders, architects, and contractors. The Toolkit 2.0 helps you reshape conceptions of surety as a guarantor of personal and professional success by providing materials to ensure consistency in your messaging with an elevator speech about surety bonding. Toolkit 2.0 materials, such as talking points, videos, and social media text and supporting graphic images, are customized for these specific stakeholder audiences. The Toolkit 2.0 resource chart offers numerous articles and documents, the links to which you can share with clients and stakeholders at any time. View these free resources under "Resources" at the Be Guaranteed To Succeed microsite. You will also find that the Toolkit 2.0 provides instructions assisting you and your staff with guidance in posting to the various social media channels.

The Tookit 2.0 is one component of a multi-tiered public relations campaign, titled the NASBP Be Guaranteed To Succeed Campaign. NASBP members are key to the success of the campaign.

NASBP Blogs
NASBP Blogs, authored by the surety, construction, and insurance industries’ experts, offer readers a quick and concise way to get caught up on what is going on in the world of surety. The topics are perfect to share and discuss with clients to keep the “door” open for on-going communication and engagement. Blogs also offer focused insight on topics most have never thought hard about, but probably should have. Check out the NASBP Blogs and learn something new!

Surety Bond Quarterly
Surety Bond Quarterly, the Association's quarterly, professional magazine, offers in-depth articles and insights  for surety professionals as well as others who need to stay up-to-date on the industry’s latest news and developments. The complimentary magazine is distributed to the NASBP membership as well as public and private project owners, contractors, subcontractors, contracting officers, public officials, lenders, and design professionals, and others who are affected by developments in the surety industry. Surety Bond Quarterly is published in the spring, summer, fall, and winter. Surety Bond Quarterly is available in high-gloss print as well as digitally in mobile-friendly and page view formats. Sign-up to receive the FREE Surety Bond Quarterly.

NASBP SmartBrief
NASBP SmartBrief, NASBP’s FREE, e-newsletter, conveniently brings the news that matters to surety professionals, project owners, public officials, subcontractors, contracting officers and others every week. By featuring snapshots of articles from leading construction and insurance industry resources, NASBP SmartBrief helps many stay informed on news, people, markets, and policies impacting the surety product and the surety industry. NASBP SmartBrief is FREE, but recipients must sign up to receive it. They can unsubscribe at any time. NASBP encourages all colleagues and associates who work with NASBP Members, Affiliates, and Associates to sign-up to benefit from this targeted news for the surety professional. Be sure to sign-up for NASBP SmartBrief to save time and keep informed.

Pipeline
The NASBP e-newsletter, Pipeline, is an electronic newsletter that informs members, affiliates, and associates of current surety and construction industry issues that affect their businesses and that announces the Association’s policies, initiatives, and meetings. Pipeline is distributed every other month. Pipeline delivers news about the Association’s efforts and program offerings for advocacy, education, and networking. Each issue features editorials contributed by the NASBP President, the NASBP CEO, and the NASBP General Counsel. Additional articles in the newsletter address guidance on current surety and construction industry issues that can affect your business, such as current legal developments and trends in project delivery, finance, accounting, risk management, employment, contract documents, automation and technology, and the U.S. Treasury List, as well as, what NASBP Members, Affiliates, and Associates are doing on behalf of the Association with regard to federal and state legislation and regulations, education, and meetings.

NASBP Annual Highlights—Year-in-Review 
Focusing on government and industry relations, professional development programs, technology initiatives, and Member resources, NASBP Highlights--Year-In-Review, printed and digital, reports on the efforts and accomplishments of NASBP volunteers and staff at the end of the year. This publication keeps you informed on the returns on your investment in membership.

The NASBP Career Center
Your firm depends on attracting first-rate talent with a minimum expenditure of time and resources. The NASBP Career Center allows Members, Affiliates, and Associates (and nonmembers, for an additional fee) to reach qualified candidates including producers, brokers, account execs, underwriters, claims analysts, marketing and sales representatives, and certified public accountants, and more, ensuring you can locate talent for your continued success. Simply access the center as an employer. Of course, the NASBP Career Center also enables anyone who is searching or applying for a job (job seeker) to post his or her resume and supporting materials for free to the NASBP Career Center. Employers and job seeker must first register before gaining access to the Career Center. Registration is free.

NASBP Surety Pro Locator
As a benefit of NASBP membership all NASBP surety bond producers and NASBP CPA associates receive a Basic Listing in the NASBP Surety Pro Locator. The NASBP Locator is the premier directory of only NASBP surety bond professionals who provide contract and commercial bonds throughout the U.S. Puerto Rico, Guam, and several countries. The NASBP Surety Pro Locator's ease of use and free, searchable directory enables prospective clients to quickly find your uniquely qualified firm. NASBP bond producers and CPA firms can choose to purchase, on an annual basis, an upgrade to Premier Listings, which offers additional features, including the ability to insert a full-color company logo; active website and social media links; a company description; and Google search optimization. Premier listings will rotate positions each time the webpage is refreshed.    

The Value of NASBP Membership 
Contact Dasha Harris at dharris@nasbp.org for more information about the rewards of joining and referring a firm to join NASBP.

TECHNOLOGY

The Producer’s Tool Kit
The Producer's Tool Kit provides more than 12 forms your producers and agency need to expedite obtaining client information. Use these electronic, standardized templates—contractor questionnaires, bid bond request forms, performance and payment bond request forms, personal financial statements—to make productivity gains.

Technology Articles
NASBP has produced a number of information technology-related articles that have been published in the Pipeline e-newsletter. These articles cover a number of issues that affect the surety industry and business world. Topics include e-mail encryption, password management, and more.

INVEST

You invest in your business when you become an NASBP Member.

The NASBP membership defines the organization’s goals, influence its direction, and shape its initiatives. Those who take advantage of all that NASBP offers have tremendous opportunities to share their expertise, voice their opinions, and contribute positively to the success of their business, the profession, and the industry as a whole. Click here to access the NASBP Membership Information Request Form. For information on how to join NASBP, click here