Surety specialist James Tillman explains what underwriters actually look at — and how contractors can present the same financial picture in a way that unlocks dramatically higher bond limits.
James Tillman: When I was underwriting, I'd get maybe 40 submissions a month. I'd spend serious time on maybe 12 of them. The rest got a five-minute look and a standard decline. The difference between the 12 and the 28? It was almost never the financials. It was how the financials were presented...