News Release

For Immediate Release 
Contact: 
Rob Duke, SAA 
202-778-3630; rduke@surety.org
Susan DeCourcey, NASBP 
202-686-3700; sdecourcey@nasbp.org

STANDARD BOND FORM NUMBER INDEX NOW ONLINE


JANUARY 16, 2003, WASHINGTON, DC – The Standard Bond Form Number Index (BNI), developed by The Surety Association of America (SAA), is now accessible at www.surety.org. The Joint Automation Committee of SAA and the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) encourages surety professionals to use the BNI to facilitate the electronic reporting of surety bonds.

BNI is designed for use by surety companies, surety bond producers, and other interested parties to provide easy access to standard bond forms for identification purposes and to determine the appropriate bond form numbers.

BNI is a service developed by SAA to improve the quality and efficiency of electronic data interchange. When a bond producer executes a surety bond on behalf of a surety, he or she must report that execution to the surety. The surety industry began working with The Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) in 1996 to develop surety data standards. Those standards were rolled out in 1997, followed by an implementation guide for the transmission of electronic execution reports. Identification of the bond form is a key data element in this report, so a common bond form numbering system was necessary to make industry-wide identification possible.

To search for a specific bond form, go to SAA’s Web site, www.surety.org, and click on “Standard Bond Form Number Index.” Enter information on the bond form needed, such as bond type, title, state, description, obligee, or latest revision date. Not all data fields must be completed, but additional information about the bond will narrow the search. All relevant bonds will be displayed on a results screen. Another click will bring up sample bond forms. BNI is not intended to be a source of bond forms to submit to obligees. It is simply a source of standard bond form identification numbers for electronic execution reporting. The initial forms library was donated by SAFECO, and additional forms are being added.

BNI can be used in conjunction with:

BNI can also be used as a reference tool to review terms and conditions of bond forms.

SAA and NASBP worked closely with The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to promote the use of electronic methodologies, which offer unprecedented opportunities to reduce processing costs and increase efficiency for contractors, subcontractors, owners, design professionals, surety companies, and surety bond producers. 

For more information on the benefits of electronic bonding, go to www.nasbp.org/www.surety.org/automation/index.html or contact Rob Duke, SAA, 202-778-3630 or Susan DeCourcey, NASBP, 202-686-3700.

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The Surety Association of America (SAA) is a trade association of over 600 companies that collectively underwrite the majority of surety and fidelity bonds in the United States. SAA is licensed as a rating or advisory organization and has been designated by state insurance departments as a statistical agent for the reporting of fidelity and surety experience. For information, go to www.surety.org.

The National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) is an organization of over 500 independent insurance agencies and brokerage firms that specialize in providing surety bonding and insurance programs to construction contractors. Most NASBP member firms also offer expertise in commercial and miscellaneous surety bonding as well. For information, go to www.nasbp.org.