The Code of Hammurabi is the oldest surviving record of a contract of suretyship.
This week Agency Checklists takes a look at the size and composition of the Fidelity & Surety marketplace in Massachusetts. As was mentioned in the last update on this line of insurance in 2016, according to Wikipedia, the earliest known record of a contract of suretyship is a Mesopotamian tablet written around 2750 B.C. It is also mentioned in the written legal code of the Code of Hammurabi, which is often cited as the earliest surviving evidence of its existence.
Further archaeological evidence shows the importance of surety bonds throughout the ages. Many civilizations incorporated surety insurance into their laws including, but not limited to, Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Rome, Carthage, as well as the ancient Hebrews. In more modern times, the first corporate surety, the Guarantee Society of London, was created in 1840.
The following is a list of the major insurers that currently dominate this line of insurance here in the Commonwealth. As always, our data here comes courtesy of the Massachusetts Division of Insurance.
There are 173 companies writing this line of insurance in Massachusetts
A total of 173 companies currently writer Fidelity and Surety insurance here in the Commonwealth with Total Direct Written Premium of $173,246,771 dollars. This number includes nine more insurers than when Agency Checklists last took a look at this in 2016 when there was approximately 164 companies writing in Massachusetts.
The largest 20 companies writing fidelity and surety claim a 79.9% share of the direct written premium which totals $138,382,431. The remaining 153 insurers within this line write approximately $34,864,340 in direct written premium representing the remaining 20.1% of writings for this line of business.
A current list of the Top 2o insurers…
Only two of the top 20 insurers hail from Massachusetts, the second largest insurer, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., and the second to last on this list, United Casualty & Surety Insurance Co.
Company Name |
State |
Premium Written in MA |
Market Share in MA |
Travelers Cas & Surety Co Of Amer |
CT |
$26,483,084 |
15.29% |
Liberty Mut Ins Co |
MA |
$24,354,397 |
14.06% |
Western Surety Co |
SD |
$14,647,710 |
8.45% |
Federal Ins Co |
IN |
$13,702,819 |
7.91% |
Fidelity & Deposit Co Of MD |
MD |
$10,742,468 |
6.20% |
North Amer Specialty Ins Co |
NH |
$3,830,866 |
2.21% |
Great Amer Ins Co |
OH |
$3,827,110 |
2.21% |
Hartford Fire In Co |
CT |
$3,720,453 |
2.15% |
Philadelphia Ind Ins Co |
PA |
$3,682,363 |
2.13% |
Berkley Ins Co |
DE |
$3,676,588 |
2.12% |
Westchester Fire Ins Co |
PA |
$3,658,066 |
2.11% |
National Union Fire Ins Co Of Pitts |
PA |
$3,648,927 |
2.11% |
NGM Ins Co |
FL |
$3,445,082 |
1.99% |
Hanover Ins Co |
NH |
$3,422,784 |
1.98% |
Arch Ins Co |
MO |
$3,362,529 |
1.94% |
Ohio Cas Ins Co |
NH |
3,321,882 |
1.92% |
Reliamax Surety Co |
SD |
$2,746,470 |
1.59% |
International Fidelity Ins Co |
NJ |
$2,154,550 |
1.24% |
United Cas & Surety Ins Co |
MA |
$2,128,999 |
1.23% |
Safeco Ins Co Of Amer |
NH |
$1,825,284 |
1.05% |