We are proud to present the latest and updated version of the PASA Surety Glossary: this is the outcome of a joint effort – over a long time span – of the Training, Legal and Surety Committees.

The Glossary is conceived by the business community for the business community, markedly sureties, contractors, brokers, intermediaries, beneficiaries and reinsurers. The aim is providing generally accepted and widely applicable definitions of the key surety concepts, with a focus on contract bonds.

Considerable work and energies have been devoted to this project since 1978, when the first version was released (38 definitions in four languages). At a later stage, following a thorough job by our lawyers and re/insurance underwriters, the count rose to 160 definitions, encompassing plenty of concepts shared with other non-life lines of business. Over the years 2015-2017, a further review has taken place: the wish, across PASA Committees and Members, to focus solely on surety and to come up with a brief global guide, has led to this Glossary of Surety Terms.

We wish to convey our gratitude to all the specialized professionals of our Association who worked on the definitions and we take the opportunity to point out that the Glossary is dynamic: we remain open to consider a wider industry-specific terminology, together with more languages.

The Glossary is bilingual and provides (a) definitions, (b) synonyms, (c) links to defined terms. It will be all accessible with a click via links. Enjoy the reading, we hope it will be useful!

Marco Schiattone

President of the Surety Committee (2014-2018)