Surety & Bonding
Carriers and programs providing contract surety bonds for construction projects, commercial surety bonds for licensing and court requirements, and fidelity and crime bonds protecting businesses against employee dishonesty and theft.
Market snapshot
These figures describe Specialty & Surplus Lines Insurance (3.3.7), the segment that Surety & Bonding sits within — not Surety & Bonding on its own.
- Market size
- ~$25B
- Growth
- ~9.7%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
- Companies
- ~600
U.S. Census Bureau 2022 CBP/Economic Census, NAICS 524128 (Other Direct Insurance Carriers); the broader E&S and MGA market is partly captured in brokerage.
Business model & economics
Revenue model
Specialty premiums and MGA underwriting/commission income
Key economics
- Recurring revenue
- Moderate–High
- EBITDA margin
- Strong for MGAs; combined-ratio for carriers
- Capex intensity
- Low
renewing specialty programs
Characteristics
- Fastest-growing insurance segment.
- Emerging risks (cyber) and hardening rates drive growth.
- MGA/MGU delegated-underwriting model expanding rapidly.
Geographic concentration
Surplus-lines and specialty underwriting is strikingly concentrated by employment in Tennessee, with established clusters in Connecticut and Missouri and a smaller Colorado base — a few large carriers drive the pattern.
U.S. Census Bureau — 2022 County Business Patterns (employment by state), NAICS 524128. Concentration shown by location quotient.
M&A deal context
Who’s acquiring
- Specialty carriers & MGAs
- Brokerage & program consolidators
- PE-backed underwriting platforms
What’s driving deals
- Explosive MGA/MGU growth and acquisition.
- Migration of business to E&S markets.
- Emerging-risk (cyber) demand.
Find Surety & Bonding acquisition targets
Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Surety & Bonding (3.3.7.6) and build a targeted deal pipeline.
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