Surety X: Modernizing Bond Workflows

To address inefficiencies in surety bond processing, technology offers a way to streamline workflows for execution and management. Surety X, RiskStream Collaborative’s blockchain-powered platform, modernizes the surety bond process by enabling secure, permissioned data-sharing among stakeholders: principals, brokers, obligees, and sureties. Surety X streamlines the exchange of bonds and documents while fostering trust and transparency. It is a production-ready, decentralized solution that provides real-time visibility into bond status throughout the execution process. Its core value lies in reducing friction; minimizing manual interventions; and establishing a standardized, auditable workflow.

With Surety X, stakeholders can:

• Cut costs by eliminating expenses for paper, printing, postage, and courier services

• Accelerate bond turnaround, reducing cycle times from days to hours

• Enhance visibility with real-time, permissioned access to bond status updates

• Reduce risks through time-stamped digital records and built-in audit trails

By delivering timely, transparent insights and a built-in progress tracker, Surety X promotes efficient, collaborative bond management while preserving existing industry practices. Instead of relying on fragmented email-based communication, Surety X uses a network-based approach to simplify coordination and minimize rework .

Developed in collaboration with sureties representing approximately 68 percent of market share, together with brokers and industry associations, Surety X is designed to modernize the bond process today while laying the foundation for tomorrow’s transformation. This positions Surety X as the critical foundation for the industry’s broader vision of fully digital bonds.

Streamlining Bond-Execution Workflows

Manual workflows are not inherently flawed, but reliance on paper-based workflows often leads to delays, errors, and increased costs. According to Allianz Trade, digitizing bond processes can significantly cut operational costs and improve turnaround times, enabling stakeholders to focus on core project needs.

Surety X streamlines the surety bond execution process by enabling secure, permissioned data-sharing and document exchange among stakeholders, which fosters seamless collaboration, reduces inefficiencies, and enhances trust across the bond workflow. Surety X provides real-time visibility into bond status, supported by its built-in progress tracker and standardized digital workflows. By replacing fragmented communication (such as phone calls, emails, and manual document handling) with secure, auditable access, Surety X minimizes rework and accelerates bond management. Stakeholders benefit from reduced administrative burdens, improved transparency, and efficient coordination throughout the process.

Call to Action

The surety industry has long depended on paper-based workflows and manual follow-ups to track, file, deliver, and confirm bonds, resulting in delays and inefficiencies. As the industry shifts toward digital solutions, Surety X supports stakeholders—principals, brokers, obligees, and sureties—in modernizing the process by digitizing workflows; reducing paperwork; and fostering faster, more transparent bond management. Embracing collaborative digital platforms like Surety X can streamline operations, cut costs, and enhance trust, positioning the industry for a more efficient and scalable future.

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Sources

Modernizing Surety Bonds: From Paper Friction to Digital Workflows

By Sandy Hampel

Director of Products, The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative

For decades, the surety bond industry has relied on paper documents, manual verifications, and fragmented workflows to execute and manage bonds. As the construction, insurance, and financial sectors accelerate their digital transformation, these traditional methods are increasingly outdated, slowing processes, inflating costs, and limiting transparency. Printing, mailing, and manual follow-ups create friction for stakeholders across the ecosystem.

These paper-based inefficiencies burden sureties, brokers, agents, obligees, and contractors with delays and rising administrative costs. Technology offers a path forward through secure, streamlined workflows that replace manual steps with collaborative digital processes.

Surety X, The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative’s blockchain-powered platform, modernizes bond execution and management by enabling secure, permissioned data-sharing and document exchange among stakeholders. This approach fosters faster, more transparent workflows; reduces friction; and lays the foundation for a more efficient, connected digital surety ecosystem.

Inefficiencies Abound in Nondigital Surety Bond Processing

Reliance on paper-based workflows creates significant challenges, with delays and complexities throughout bond execution and management. Industry analyses highlight that the North American surety market remains highly fragmented, with more than 25,000 individual bond forms varying by jurisdiction, leading to inconsistencies and hurdles in standardization. Currently, electronic bonds (e-bonds) hold less than 2 percent of market share in the region, underscoring the slow adoption of digital alternatives despite global trends.

Manual workflows—involving printing, mailing, and follow-ups—slow down bond execution, limiting stakeholders’ ability to collaborate effectively, verify authenticity promptly, and meet project demands. According to industry insights, paper-based workflows increase administrative costs and prolong processing times, hindering operational efficiency.

The Costly Burden of Paper Bonds

Paper-dependent surety workflows create significant administrative hurdles, prolong timelines, and increase expenses. Industry estimates indicate that producing, signing, and delivering an electronic bond costs about one-third of the expense to generate a traditional paper bond. Manual workflows, including printing, mailing, and data entry, drive up administrative costs, with businesses spending thousands annually on bonding-related expenses.

Routine bonds can take 24 to 48 hours or more to execute under manual systems, with data entry for claims processing alone consuming hours. These inefficiencies burden the surety sector—valued at $20.26 billion in 2024 and projected to grow to $31.85 billion by 2031—and underscore the need for agile digital solutions to streamline bond execution and management.