A surety bond company (also called a surety, surety company or bonding company) is the party of the surety bond that takes on the risk and is responsible for paying the surety bond obligee in the case of a default by the surety bond principal.
Most surety companies work through licensed surety bond brokers or dealers instead of with the principal directly. There can be some differences between surety bond companies. Be sure to always check their surety bond company rating before obtaining a new bond.
Alpha Surety represents numerous different surety bond companies and only works with those rated A- or better by A.M. Best (www.ambest.com), an independent third-party evaluator of insurance and surety companies.