Dear Jay,
As you know, we have been using Bond-Pro® for two years now. When we first installed the program, we made a decision to jump in with both feet and use Bond-Pro® 100%. That was one of of the best decisions we have ever made. We have seen Bond-Pro® grow from what we considered to be an awesome program to one that keeps improving and is even more awesome with each and every upgrade. Glenn A. Evans & Company is a bond only agency and (especially in this marketplace) we needed to find ways to write more business quicker and at less expense. How can we write more business, yet give all of our accounts the service they all deserve? Well, BondPro® to the rescue.
Let's look at a typical situation. First we receive a bond order from a contractor. The bond order is entered in Bond-Pro® in the underwriting section and a bond order sheet is printed off and faxed to the surety for approval. Once we receive approval, we go back to the order sheet and mark it approved and Bond-Pro® transfers all information to the bid bond or performance bond area where we input the rest of the information and send it to the printer. No inputting information twice. If it is a Cumberland bond, the power is also issued (if only we can convince all of our sureties to allow their powers in Bond-Pro®). The bond has now been issued at a fraction of the time normally used, and we have the ability to keep track of all bond transactions and look up bonds in a matter of seconds. Somewhere down the road, a form of some type is always needed; consent of surety, status inquiry, etc. It is merely a matter of highlighting the specific bond, tagging the necessary form and hitting the 'print forms' button and our forms are printed off automatically. Utilizing the information that was inputted back when the performance bond was issued, we are literally sending a status inquiry out on a bond in seconds. All of this means better service to our contractors. By the way, when the performance bond was printed, so was the appropriate invoice. And with that invoice being printed, all of the ways to keep track of and follow up on that invoice started working. The ability to generate statements, aging of receivables, keep track of payables to the companies etc., allow us to have a better handle on the business of providing bonds for our clients.
We now move to the underwriting section where we input financial statements and generate our analysis of the financial statement. This also holds true for the work on hand reports. We have the ability to run reports to see whose financial statements we need to secure. We keep track of low bids and bid results and contract awards. We can keep track of approvals and declinations. Again, things we need to do to run an efficient organization and service our clients better. The best recommendation on Bond-Pro® actually would come from those using Bond-Pro® on a daily basis. I can assure you that my support staff would be absolutely lost without it. There is no way they could be as productive as they are without this program. Basically, they are doing so much more in so much less time. Finally, the cooperation we have found with your technical support people when we do run into problems or when we suggest changes has been fantastic. Yes, there are times when we all get a little frustrated trying to work out a problem or make the program just a little better, but we always do get a solution. And, Bond-Pro® keeps getting better and better. I can only wonder what it will be capable of doing next year. It is obvious Bond-Pro® was developed with the agent in mind. Amazing, who would have thought that a surety would develop a program from the agent's perspective. We are obviously very pleased with Bond-Pro® and would recommend it to anyone who asks. And again, should anyone like to talk to us directly or even see Bond-Pro® in action, they can certainly contact me.
Sincerely,
Glenn A. Evans
Dear Jay,
I just wanted to write you this letter letting you know how pleased we are with the Bond-Pro® system. We have been using Bond-Pro® for about a year and a half. Bond-Pro®, from an agency/underwriter standpoint, is our greatest tool. It allows us to effectively manage the enormous amount of information necessary to keep on top of our book of business. We are saving valuable time allowing us to be able to cut our labor costs by more than a third. Best of all, we can provide our customers with the quality service that they deserve. Bond-Pro® is a very well organized program, and still remains "user friendly." In today's marketplace, an agent underwriter cannot survive without this type of automation. We feel that Bond-Pro® is the technology to embrace in the future of the surety bond business. Good work!
Sincerely,
Kimberly L. Babb
Dear Kim,
I wanted to write to you and tell you how thrilled I am about the Bond-Pro® software and how I cannot wait to have it set up in my new office. You promised us that the program would enable us to be more productive and it certainly has done exactly that. It is wonderful not to have to re-enter the principal, surety and obligee information over and over - but to just pull it up from Bond-Pro® because it is already in the program. I have only begun to realize the full potential of this program and I have to say the prospect of all it can do is truly exciting. I find the program to be the most comprehensive bond issuance software that I have ever dealt with. Additionally, every time you upgrade the software - it is just that much more user friendly and easy to learn. Many of the features can be figured out just by fooling around with it and it has enabled me to update all of my bond renewals very easily as well as in the issuance of new bonds. At this point in my work in the surety industry - I would be at a loss without this program. The more I use it - the more proficient I become, and the more proficient I become . . . the more my workload is reduced. I would recommend this software highly to any bonding professional for both the bond processor as well as the producers who are looking for quick access to information to stay in relationship with their clients. Keep up all of your wonderful work and I look forward to all the advances that you will be making with the program in the future.
Warm regards,
Fran Beadles
Dear Jay,
You have done it again! Bonds Southeast, Inc. recently upgraded to the latest version of Bond-Pro®. All I can say is "Thank you"! Bond-Pro® has become the nucleus of our entire operation allowing us to continue to improve our efficiency and effectiveness in the surety marketplace.
Recently, late one afternoon we received a phone call from one of our largest contractors stating he was in dire need of an out-of state permit bond. He stated that the bond was needed the next day but he did not have a copy of the bond form required by the obligee. After checking Bond-Pro® and finding the exact bond form in the forms library, our office was able to issue, record and invoice this bond in a matter of minutes!
Bond-Pro® has enabled us to underwrite and issue bonds faster and more efficiently while at the same time producing the most professional looking bonds in the industry. While other surety companies are still touting their latest "Forms-on-Disk", you have developed a tool that actually saves time and money. Bond-Pro® is by far the most comprehensive and user-friendly surety software I have ever seen.
You have a great team there in Tampa! We enjoy working with everyone at Cumberland Casualty & Surety. The underwriters, software support and other support staff are all very knowledgeable and friendly people. The service is very prompt and responsive. It makes our job much more enjoyable and rewarding to do business with people like you. If you have prospective agents that are contemplating utilizing Bond-Pro® and working with Cumberland, I urge you to give them my phone number to call me. (That is anyone except my competitors!)
Thanks again for all you do! We look forward to continuing and growing our relationship with you and Cumberland Casualty & Surety Company. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please give me a call.
Sincerely,
Gregory E. Nash
Dear Chuck,
I appreciate everyone's assistance in getting the forms entered on the Bond Pro Program. The convenience of having them available to us is so helpful. We are finding the program is saving us a lot of time because it's easy and quite user-friendly........
Sincerely,
Diane (DJ) McLaughlin