Construction guarantees
Every guarantee we arrange comes out of a : an approved limit set up once, in your company’s name. So the only question that matters right now is whether you have one with us yet. Pick your lane and you will land on the right form, with what it asks for listed before you start.
How it works
A facility is an approved limit set up in your company’s name. It is the part with the paperwork, and you only do it once. Setup typically runs 10 to 14 working days, longer if the attaches conditions, so start at tender stage, not after award.
Once the facility is approved, guarantees on every project are drawn against it, up to your limit and within the guarantee types the guarantor approved on your facility. Performance, , advance payment: each one is a short, per-project application, not a fresh round of company documents. At renewal the guarantor generally asks for updated annual financial statements and reviews the facility, so the limit can be adjusted or withdrawn.
Not sure whether your company already has a facility with us? Ask. It takes one call to check.
Pick your lane
You need a facility before you can take out a guarantee. If your company does not have one with us yet, start on the left. If the facility is already in place, skip straight to the right. Each card lists what the form will ask for, so you can gather it before you sit down. Both applications are subject to underwriting and to the guarantor’s approval.
One thing before either form. Tell us about cash-flow pressure or unusual project risk up front. Undisclosed risk is a common reason applications are declined. If you declare it early, we can present it properly to the guarantor, though disclosure does not guarantee approval.
Tender closing first? A states that the facility or cover your tender asks for is being arranged. Depending on what the tender requires it is issued by CivilSure as your broker, or by the guarantor, and we confirm which when we come back to you. It is not a guarantee and not confirmation of cover, and acceptance is the employer's decision.
After you apply
No black box. This is what happens to each form after you send it.
The checklist above, through the facility form.
Financials, track record and current commitments. This is usually the longest part, around 10 to 14 working days.
your limit is set in your company’s name, with the terms confirmed in writing.
on the short per-project form, subject to the types and limit approved on your facility.
and the exact wording the employer requires, through the guarantee form.
for agreement before anything is issued. This is why early beats fast.
to the employer against your facility.
and it frees up again as guarantees are released.
Out of the same facility
A facility can carry all of these, subject to the guarantee types and limit approved on yours. Whichever the contract asks for, it is the same short per-project application.
Quick answers
The ones contractors ask us most often before they pick a form.
Because a guarantee is a promise made on your company’s behalf, and the guarantor wants to assess your company once, properly, before making it. The facility is that assessment turned into an approved limit. After that, each guarantee is drawn against the limit instead of starting the whole exercise again.
No, and the difference matters. An insurance policy pays you for your own loss. A guarantee is security given to the employer: if it is called, the guarantor pays the employer and you repay the guarantor under your indemnity. It is not cover for your own losses and it does not reduce your liability under the contract. Contractors use guarantees because the contract requires security, and getting the wording right before anything is issued is the part worth spending time on.
Setup typically runs 10 to 14 working days once the documents are in, and longer if the guarantor attaches conditions, which is why we say start at tender stage, not after award. If the tender closes before the facility can be set up, ask us about a Letter of Intent. Where the guarantor is prepared to issue one, it is often accepted as tender-stage proof while the real guarantee is arranged.
No. That is the point of the facility. Per project you send the contract data, the employer’s wording and proof of related cover. The company documents are done. At renewal the guarantor generally asks for updated annual financial statements and reviews the facility, so the limit can be adjusted or withdrawn.
There is a minimum premium, plus admin or re-issue fees and statutory levies. Some facilities also ask for . Where collateral is held, it is refundable once your obligations under the facility are discharged and any amounts owing to the guarantor have been settled. If a guarantee is called, those funds may be applied to the guarantor’s loss. We set out the costs in writing before anything is bound.
Non-disclosure is a common one. Cash-flow pressure or unusual project risk that surfaces during assessment reads very differently from the same thing declared up front. Telling us first lets us present it properly to the guarantor, though it does not guarantee approval.
It is normal. Send us the exact wording the employer requires with the application, and early. The wording is put to the employer for agreement before anything is issued, because whether a demand is valid later depends on the wording of the guarantee actually issued.
Yes. We set out the security, the cost and the wording each option involves against what your contract requires, so you can weigh them against what the employer will accept and what your balance sheet can carry. Where you want a recommendation, we give it as advice, after a proper needs analysis and in writing.
A guarantee is not an insurance policy, and this page is a plain language summary, not the facility agreement. All applications are subject to underwriting and to the guarantor’s approval, and guarantees are issued by the guarantor, an insurer, not by CivilSure. Terms and issuing criteria apply. Speak to us before you rely on any of it for a specific tender or contract.
Send us the contract or tell us where the tender is at. We will tell you whether your company already holds a facility, which form you need and what it will ask for. No obligation either way.
