Best Surety Bond Companies in 2026: the buyer's shortlist

Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America is first. AM Best's disclosure for NAIC 31194 shows a financial strength rating of A++ (Superior), financial size category XV (greater than or equal to $2 billion), outlook stable, affirmed August 21, 2026, plus a long-term issuer credit rating of aa+ (Superior). An AM Best release the same day names this company for that A++ affirmation.

Circular 570 effective August 1, 2026 sets a per-bond underwriting limitation of $237,089,000. The surety-license line covers all 50 states plus American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The surety page says Travelers has been a leader in surety for more than 100 years. A founding year, a flat premium, a consumer review count, and a principal instant-issue checkout are not published.

The surety menu names bid, performance, and payment bonds, court bonds (judicial, fiduciary, and probate), and license and permit bonds. The commercial page names mortgage lender and mortgage broker bonds, plus auto dealer, contractor license, customs, tax, and warehouse bonds. Court examples include appeal, attachment, injunction, and replevin. A money transmitter bond is not named. The contract page says federal construction projects valued at $150,000 or more require contract surety bonds.

Best suited for: Ask for this company on a contract program or a commercial bond when the obligee wants an A++ rating beside a Circular 570 limit of $237,089,000. Confirm the signer is Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, because other Travelers companies have their own limits.

Source: Travelers surety bonds, commercial surety, contract surety, AM Best disclosure, AM Best August 21, 2026 release, Circular 570.

Western Surety Company, NAIC 13188, is second. AM Best shows A+ (Superior), financial size category XIV ($1.50 billion to less than $2.00 billion), outlook stable, upgraded December 3, 2025. The disclosure calls the group the fourth-largest U.S. surety carrier, writing from very small commercial bonds to large contract bonds, with facilities in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. A founding year is not published on the CNA pages used here. AM Best's initial rating date of June 30, 1922 is a rating-history date, not a founding year.

Circular 570 lists a per-bond limit of $148,124,000 and surety licenses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A 2011 CNA release said about 37,000 independent agencies and named Western Surety as the principal subsidiary. That count is from 2011. A current agency count, a flat premium, and a review count are not published.

CNA's commercial page says it is one of the largest writers of license and permit bonds and that appointed agents can instant-issue many of them on bONdLINE. The same page lists bid, performance, payment, and supply bonds, court bonds, and regulatory and tax bonds, and it supports qualified corporate commercial risks from $1,000,000 to $500,000,000. Form 10 also covers probate and fiduciary bonds. Money transmitter and mortgage bonds are not named. A public checkout is not published.

Best suited for: Use Western Surety paper when an appointed agent needs license and permit bonds, or a contract bond, from an A+ company with a Circular 570 limit of $148,124,000. Plan on bONdLINE or a signed application, not a principal checkout.

Source: CNA Surety commercial bonds, bONdLINE, Form 10, AM Best disclosure, AM Best profile, CNA 2011 release, Circular 570.

Old Republic Surety Company, NAIC 40444, is third. AM Best shows a group financial strength rating of A+ (Superior), size category XV (greater than or equal to $2 billion), outlook stable, affirmed April 29, 2026. The about page also says A+ (Superior). It says the surety name dates to 1986, the parent was incorporated in 1923, and a bullet reads "Writing surety since 1923." It says the company is licensed in all 50 states, works through over 4,000 independent agencies, and has a Treasury listing in excess of $200,000,000.

Circular 570 lists a different limit for this entity: $9,088,000 per bond, with surety licenses in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The missing state codes are in the comparison table, which uses the Circular 570 figures. A flat premium and a review count are not published.

The company page says performance and payment bonds go to $100 million on a single project and $150 million in aggregate, and it lists bid, performance and payment, and maintenance bonds. FastBonds are up to $1.5 million on that page, while a ratings PDF says up to $1 million on credit or up to $2 million with financials. Both caps are published, so both stay. That PDF also names license and permit, probate and court, and federal bonds. BondStar is the agent portal, and the PDF says most bonds are instant issue. Money transmitter and mortgage bonds are not named. A public checkout is not published.

Best suited for: Ask an Old Republic agent for performance and payment bonds when you want the published caps of $100 million single and $150 million aggregate next to an A+ rating. Read the Circular 570 limit of $9,088,000 beside the company's "in excess of $200,000,000" line before you treat either number as single-bond capacity.

Source: Old Republic Surety about, Old Republic company page, ratings PDF, AM Best disclosure, Circular 570.

American Surety Company, NAIC 31380, is fourth. The FAQ says the financial strength rating is A (Excellent), the long-term issuer credit rating is "A" (Excellent), commercial surety is written in all 50 states, and the company has been in business since 1993. AM Best's disclosure shows a group rating of A (Excellent), size category XIII ($1.25 billion to less than $1.50 billion), outlook stable, affirmed October 8, 2026. A bail-side about page says the company has been a division of Core Specialty Insurance Holdings, Inc. since May 31, 2024. This section uses the commercial license, permit, probate, and court pages.

Circular 570 lists a per-bond limit of $49,382,000 and surety licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Bonds are written through independent agents. The portfolio includes license and permit, notary, probate and court, and public official bonds. License examples include auto dealer, contractor license, and collection agency. Probate covers administrators and guardians. Plaintiff court bonds include replevin, attachment, and injunction. Contract performance capacity, money transmitter bonds, mortgage bonds, a principal checkout, a flat premium, and a review count are not published. The FAQ's "150+ years" line is combined team experience, not a second founding date.

Best suited for: Use an appointed American Surety agent for a commercial license, permit, probate, or plaintiff court bond when you want a cited A rating and a Circular 570 limit of $49,382,000. Do not assume a performance and payment program, because that capacity is not published here.

Source: American Surety FAQ, license and permit, probate and court, company about page, AM Best disclosure, Circular 570.

Merchants Bonding Company (Mutual), NAIC 14494, is fifth. AM Best shows A (Excellent), size category IX ($250 million to less than $500 million), outlook positive, affirmed June 4, 2026. The about page says the rating has been A or better since 1958, the company was founded in 1933, it handles business in all 50 states, and it employs more than 230 associates. AM Best says approximately 96% of premium is surety, licenses cover 50 states and the District of Columbia, and distribution is exclusively through independent agents.

Circular 570 lists a per-bond limit of $35,603,000 for the mutual, with licenses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Affiliate Merchants National Bonding, Inc., NAIC 11595, has its own limit of $4,608,000. The table uses the mutual. A flat premium, a review count, and a public checkout are not published.

The about page calls the company a source for commercial and contract surety. A license and permit product list, court and fiduciary names, money transmitter bonds, and mortgage bonds are not published on the pages used here. The e-bid page says qualifying accounts can get instant approval in minutes without financial statements, and that those bonds are accepted on public work because the company is Treasury-listed. A performance or payment dollar cap is not published.

Best suited for: Ask a Merchants agent for a contract account when you want published e-bid approval for qualifying bids, an A rating, and the mutual's Circular 570 limit of $35,603,000. Confirm whether the mutual or affiliate Merchants National Bonding will sign, because the Treasury limits differ.

Source: Merchants about, e-bid instant approval, AM Best disclosure, Circular 570.

Colonial Surety Company, NAIC 10758, is sixth on the rating-then-limit sort and the company that publishes a principal checkout. The about page says it was founded in 1930, that buyers can purchase bonds online, that it is licensed in all U.S. states and territories, and that it is rated "A" Excellent by AM Best and is Treasury listed. The direct book includes license and permit, court and fiduciary, and ERISA fidelity. A later AM Best action date was not opened, so the table uses the company-published A (Excellent). A flat premium and a review count are not published.

Circular 570 lists a per-bond limit of $8,830,000. The license line covers all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The surety page says a buyer can pick a bond and obtain it in minutes, and its title includes contract bonds. A performance or payment cap is not published. The court and fiduciary page offers instant quote, purchase, and e-file, including appeal, estate, guardianship, and injunction bonds. Money transmitter and mortgage bonds are not named.

Best suited for: Use Colonial when you want to buy a license, permit, court, or fiduciary bond online under a company-published A rating and a Circular 570 limit of $8,830,000. Do not treat it as the file for a large performance program, because that capacity figure is not published.

Source: Colonial about, surety bonds, court and fiduciary, Circular 570.