Advantage has relationships with 8 major Bond Companies who write Contractor Bonds for California, which means you'll get the lowest rates plus same-day service.

The One-Stop Bond Shop

Advantage offers every type of commercial bond contractors need to be in business and succeed, including:

License Bond

Bid Bond

Performance Bond

Disciplinary Bond

LLC Bond

BQI Bond

Employee Dishonesty Bond

How Contractor Bonds are Priced

Every Bond Company charges a different price for the exact same bond.

That's why, before you buy, you should always check the rates of several Bond Companies to make sure you're get the cheapest price. That's what we do at Advantage - we shop your bond, so you don't have to.

What you need to know is, unlike other commercial insurance, bonds are not priced on "risk". Bonds are priced entirely on your personal credit.

If one has an excellent credit score, then one will qualify for the lowest rates on the market. But, if one has an average or poor credit score, then Bond Companies will charge that person a higher rate for the same bond.

This is why those "low ball" mailers that sometimes appear in your mailbox, promising unbelievably "low rates" for bonds, are misleading. Because no one can provide you a real bond quote without first knowing your credit score.

If you were to read the fine-print in those mailers, what you'd find out is the price they're promoting is not guaranteed. What those agencies are hoping is you'll overlook the fine-print, hand over your credit card and give them your Social Security number. Then, once they have your money, after you think you've already paid for a bond, they'll check your credit score to find out what your actual rate is, before coming back to you to collect any outstanding balance you "owe", above and beyond what you already paid.

It's a "sales tactic".

So, the moral is:

If they haven't checked your credit score, they aren't providing an honest quote.

In order to get a real (guaranteed) quote, an agent who checks your credit, finds out what rate tier you qualify for, and then shops with many different Bond Companies to find out which one has the lowest rate for your credit standing. That's how you save money on bonds.

The entire process takes 2 - 3 minutes.

And, just in case you were wondering, when an insurance company runs your credit this does not affect your credit score. It's what's known as a "soft pull", which isn't a formal inquiry, so this doesn't show up or count against your credit.