New Way of Obtaining Surety Bonds Gains Endorsement Based on Direct Model and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

Foster City, CA—September 23, 2014—Even though Empire Engineering & Construction, Inc. president Clifton Burch had a good relationship with his previous surety bond broker, he switched to Direct Surety in order to work directly with the decision maker.

“Direct Surety offered me a whole new way of obtaining surety bonds,” said Burch. “Instead of my broker acting as a middleman, going back and forth between me and the surety, I was able to work directly with the decision maker. By switching to Direct Surety, we were able to explain our business and track record directly to the underwriter and obtain the credit and guidance we needed to grow our business.”

Empire Engineering & Construction, Inc. is a well-respected, nine-year-old San Francisco firm that has completed more than 150 public and private projects in the Bay Area. Direct Surety is a new type of surety underwriting company in which contractors have direct access to its underwriters to establish bonding limits and pricing.

Another reason Empire Engineering & Construction, Inc. switched to Direct Surety is because of the guidance its underwriters provide to contractors to better manage their construction business, leading to increased profits and reduced risk.

“Our underwriters have the tools and capability to place contractors on an improvement cycle by applying the principles of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) through our proprietary system called DirectServ™,” explained Direct Surety founder and president, David Druml. “We provide DirectServ free of charge to our clients, providing contractors an organized and simplified way to install all the complex critical business practices necessary to run a top-of-the-class construction company,” added Druml.

A former contractor himself, Druml developed DirectServ based on a construction risk analysis system he previously created allowing banks to more clearly understand the business practices of prospective clients prior to lending. In addition to leading Direct Surety, Druml is an author, industry leader and recognized expert in applying the ERM process within the construction industry.

Druml is also a faculty member at UC Berkeley and teaches a 10-week course for contractors on Risk Management through the University of California Berkeley Extension, a course Empire’s Burch took earlier this year.

“I can say without hesitation that Druml’s instruction and Direct Surety’s ERM program has completely changed the way I manage my business,” said Burch. “I know exactly how to calculate and control my risks, whether they are in salaries, inventory, equipment, insurance, taxes or the many other variables that can sink a construction business. With Direct Surety as my partner, I’ve been able to successfully grow my business.”

“We believe there is a significant revolution happening in how contractors obtain surety bonds, and the industry-at-large is just beginning to recognize the change,” said Druml. “This new way of obtaining surety bonds is simple, direct and completely confidential. And since we share risk with the contractor, we want to empower them to improve their operations so we can provide more credit. More credit means bigger jobs and more growth. That is a true partnership in every sense of the word.”

Additional resources:

• To hear what our customers have to say, watch our video testimonials.
• To read our blogs, go here.
• To speak directly to a Direct Surety senior underwriter, call 877.989.9150 or email [email protected].

About Direct Surety

Direct Surety is positioned to be the leading U.S. provider of contract surety bonds enabling contractors to go direct to a surety underwriter rather than through a broker network. Direct Surety believes in empowering contractors to grow and prosper by connecting decision makers, promoting transparency, and offering tools to improve their operations and surety credit limits. The company’s primary focus is providing contract surety bonds directly to contractors, eliminating the need for a middleman and promoting a strong relationship directly with a surety underwriter. Direct Surety is led by an outstanding team comprised of experts from the construction industry, technology space and the surety field.

Media Contact:
Justin Baker, Digital Marketing Manager
Direct Surety
jbaker@directsurety.com
866.243.2663

# # #