Why Don’t We Have That Kind of Relationship?
Most surety relationships feel transactional. They don’t have to.
If you’ve worked in surety long enough, you’ve felt the difference between a carrier that treats you like a partner and one that treats you like a number.
A partner calls you back. They listen to the story and work to get your client a yes. If it’s a no, they explain it and work to find ways to keep the account moving. They know your name, know your book, and show up the same way every time. They don’t see you as just another submission.
Taylor Wilstead, President of Bonding Solutions, has spent more than two decades building a surety-focused agency. He’s worked with a lot of carriers and describes why he continues to choose to work with Merchants Bonding Company.
It's Family at Merchants.
We feel it’s family at Merchants, and they make us feel a part of that family. We do not feel transactional. It’s a unique relationship that I can confidently say we enjoy with Merchants.
Taylor WilsteadBonding Solutions
Most agents have experienced both kinds of relationships. And once you’ve worked with a true partner, it’s hard to settle for less.
A purely transactional surety relationship limits what an agent can do for their clients, and what they can build for themselves. When your surety doesn’t know you, they can’t advocate for your accounts. When they don’t invest in the relationship, neither side grows. Over time, that gap shows up in the accounts you can’t write, the clients you can’t retain, and the book you never quite build.
Merchants’ underwriters know their agents by name, leadership is genuinely accessible, and our culture is founded on common sense and first-class experiences.
It’s not just about the bond, or the premium. It’s the relationships that matter.
Merchants Bonding values partnerships that deepen with every account. We know your clients almost as well as you do, and we want your book of business to grow because our relationship is strong. We believe when you win, we win.
So why don’t more agents have that kind of partnership? Sometimes it’s simply because they haven’t found the right surety yet.
Merchants will have you at hello.
Independent agents interested in partnering with Merchants can take the first step by submitting an appointment inquiry, and a surety representative will contact you to gather additional information and answer any questions you may have.