We are excited to be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the NASBP’s podcast, “Let’s Get Surety: Let Me Hear Your Bonding Talk.” Launched in early March 2020, the NASBP Podcast features episodes with industry leaders and experts opening up and sharing an insider perspective about the surety industry. NASBP’s Podcast Host, Kat Shamapande, and Co-host, NASBP CEO Mark McCallum, have fun and engaging guests bond over bonding and discuss the world of surety and how it affects and improves our everyday lives!

The NASBP Podcast’s first year has been outstanding!! In its first year “Let’s Get Surety” has released 36 episodes with regular bi-monthly episodes on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, as well as a few additional episodes on pressing industry issues. These episodes have covered a range of topics from social media marketing and bond producer sales techniques, to force majeure clauses, PPP Loan updates, e-signature and e-bonding, and the commercial surety market, to name a few; and the response has been amazing with a total of 7,732 episode downloads the first year and a growing audience averaging close to 1,000 downloads a month at the start of 2021. Listeners have been tuning in from around the world; NASBP Podcast episodes have been downloaded in 37 countries.

If you haven’t had a chance, check it out. Catch up on the past episodes anywhere that you like to listen to podcasts or visit the “Let’s Get Surety” website and subscribe. This resource is free and easy to access, which makes sharing pertinent episodes with colleagues or clients simple–even on social media!

Below are links to the top five most downloaded episodes of “Let’s Get Surety” in our first year!

#30 E-Signature in Surety – On this episode we are joined by Michael Pitre of Gray Surety to discuss electronic signature. We talk through e-signature options, the best practices, and what makes this a safe and reliable option. Pitre also shares the reasons his surety company embraced this innovation as well as other innovations that might be on the horizon.

#17 A Closer Look At Commercial Surety Account Bankruptcy – The economy has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic and headlines on bankruptcies have become more and more common. On this episode Chad Schexnayder, a partner with the law firm of Jennings, Haug & Cunningham, LLP,  who regularly represents surety clients in bankruptcy cases throughout the United States, joins us to take a look at commercial surety account bankruptcy. Schexnayder walks through the commercial surety account sectors that are being hit hardest by bankruptcy. We also discuss red flags before a company files for bankruptcy; how sureties can work to avoid “claw back;” the importance of documentation; and communication between the surety, bond producer, and commercial surety client to control risk!

#18 Advising Construction Clients: A Conversation With A Surety Bond Producer And A CPA – On this episode NASBP Past President Bob Shaw (pictured right) of Skillings Shaw & Associates, Inc. and David Jean (pictured far right), who serves on the NASBP CPA Advisory Council and is with the CPA firm of Albin, Randall & Bennett, joins us to take a look at how they are leading their contractor clients through these turbulent times. We discuss how COVID-19 is affecting their construction clients on both public and private projects with delays, backlogs, staffing issues, overhead, contract reviews, re-examination of cost to complete, and work-on-hand schedules. We also talk about educating clients about the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). For more information on COVID-19’s impacts on the surety industry, visit NASBP’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources and Information page.

#29 Discussing the AFSB Designation – On this episode Jason Terrell of The Institutes, NASBP Past President Larry McMahon of Alliant Insurance Services, and Ralph Pulver of Travelers join us to share some background and insights on The Institutes AFSB designation and to discuss the value it has had on their careers. Check out the links for more information on The Institutes, the AFSB designation, the CPCU designation, and NASBP’s William J. Angell Surety Schools–all of which are mentioned in this episode. Pictured left to right: Ralph Pulver, Jason Terrell, and Larry McMahon.

#1 A Look at NASBP’s Be Guaranteed to Succeed Campaign and Surety Stories – NASBP staff Mark McCallum and Kathy Hoffman join us to share information and updates on the NASBP Be Guaranteed to Succeed Campaign, which is designed to help begin a new conversation about surety. They also describe the engaging array of NASBP Surety Story Videos and how to find a NASBP bond producer. For more information on the Be Guaranteed to Succeed Campaign, visit www.nasbp.org/guaranteed or go directly to the growing library of Surety Story Videos, www.nasbp.org/guaranteed/surety-stories.