AIA Surety

What AIA Surety does

AIA Surety (DBA of AIA Holdings, Inc., a California corporation) is a privately held national managing general agency that underwrites and services three lines of surety bonds — commercial bonds (license and permit bonds), contract bonds (performance and payment bonds for construction), and bail bonds (financial guarantees to courts for defendant appearance) — on behalf of two carrier partners, Allegheny Casualty Company and International Fidelity Insurance Company. The firm was formed in 2003 as an alliance of three of the nation's oldest surety organizations (the third founding entity, Associated Bond, is not represented as a carrier today). AIA positions itself as the largest underwriter of surety bail in the United States and one of the fastest-growing MGAs in the sector, distributing its products exclusively through a nationwide network of independent surety and bail agents rather than through direct-to-consumer channels.

The company operates a suite of six proprietary, in-house-developed software products that form the operational backbone of both its internal underwriting and agent services: Accolade (commercial-surety agency management including bond inventory, production, and accounts receivable), AIMS / Agency Insurance Management System (internal surety workflow, document management, agent/bond management, finance, legal), BailVision (bail-specific defendant and bond management, offered free to AIA agents and used to manage more than one million defendants cumulatively), Certificate Exchange (patented web service for delivering certificates of insurance), ePowers (electronic transmission of bail bond documents and powers of attorney to participating jails, used to post hundreds of thousands of bonds), and ExpertBail (a branded consumer-marketing and agent-referral platform). Agents are supported with 24/7/365 service, and the firm uses industry conference presence and thought-leadership content (including a public blog on bail reform and an active Twitter account @BailInsights) as part of its agent recruitment and policy engagement strategy.

AIA's revenue model is the standard managing general agency model: it earns commissions and fees on surety bonds underwritten through its agent network, with the proprietary software functioning as both a service differentiator and an agent-retention mechanism rather than as a separately monetized SaaS product line. Its customer base is structurally bifurcated: (i) end customers transacting commercial, contract, or bail bonds through agents, and (ii) the agents themselves, who are effectively AIA's direct customers in the channel relationship. The firm is privately held by the founding alliance entities and their successors; no venture, private equity, or public-market funding rounds are disclosed, and detailed financials are not publicly available. Leadership includes Robert Kersnick as President and CEO, Mark Francis as CFO, James Portman as SVP and General Counsel, Eric Granof as VP of Corporate Communications, Michael Whalen as VP, and Krissy Rogers as Director of Agent Services — a team notable for long tenure, with average employee tenure reportedly exceeding fifteen years.

Name

AIA Surety

Legal name

AIA Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://aiasurety.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AIA Surety is a national managing general agency underwriting commercial, contract, and bail surety bonds on behalf of Allegheny Casualty and International Fidelity Insurance through a nationwide network of independent agents, supported by a proprietary software suite built in-house.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Surety Bond Underwriting and Managing General Agency Services

NAICS

Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210)

SIC

Surety Insurance (6351), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Surety & Bond Brokerage (FSAEADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Commercial Surety Bonds (FSAJAIAB), Contract Surety Bonds (FSAJAIAA), Notary / Bail / Miscellaneous Consumer Bonds (FSAJAIAK)

Keywords

• Surety bond underwriting
• Managing general agency
• Bail bond services
• Commercial bond products
• Contract surety bonds

Headquarters

HQ city

Calabasas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Surety Bond Underwriting and Management: AIA Surety operates as a managing general agency for Allegheny Casualty Company and International Fidelity Insurance Company, managing the underwriting and servicing of surety bonds including commercial bonds (license and permit bonds), contract bonds (performance and payment bonds), and bail bonds. The company earns revenue through premiums collected on bonds issued through its network of agents.
2. Insurance Software Solutions: AIA provides proprietary software solutions including Accolade, AIMS, BailVision, Certificate Exchange, ePowers, and ExpertBail to surety and bail agents. Some software is provided free to AIA agents (BailVision), while others appear to be part of the service offering. Revenue is generated as part of the overall agency management relationship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AIA Surety is a national managing general agency that underwrites and services surety bonds for Allegheny Casualty Company and International Fidelity Insurance Company, distributing three core products—commercial bonds (license and permit), contract bonds (performance and payment), and bail bonds—through a nationwide network of independent surety and bail agents. The company complements its bond underwriting with a proprietary in-house software suite (Accolade, AIMS, BailVision, Certificate Exchange, ePowers, ExpertBail) that equips agents with bond management, document transmission, and consumer-marketing tools.

Product overview

AIA Surety is a national managing general agency offering a portfolio of surety bond products (commercial bonds, contract bonds, and bail bonds) along with a suite of proprietary software tools designed for the surety and bail industries. The product portfolio consists of core surety bond products supported by six software modules: Accolade (commercial surety agent management), AIMS (internal surety management system), BailVision (bail bond management, offered free to AIA agents), Certificate Exchange (certificates of insurance delivery), ePowers (bail bond document transmission), and ExpertBail (branded marketing platform). The software suite operates as integrated modules that serve both internal operations and the network of surety/bail agents across the country.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Accolade: Proprietary software created to assist commercial surety agents efficiently manage everything from bond inventories and production to accounts receivable.
• AIMS
• BailVision
• Certificate Exchange
• ePowers
• ExpertBail

Products and services

• Commercial Bonds License and permit surety bonds required by state or local laws for various professions and industries, guaranteeing that a person or business operates within applicable state laws and professional requirements. Sold through AIA's independent agent network to businesses and professionals needing to lawfully conduct operations.
• Contract Bonds Performance and payment bonds used to guarantee the terms of a contract between construction parties, protecting project owners and subcontractors from contractor failure to perform under construction contracts. Distributed through AIA's independent agent network.
• Bail Bonds Surety products serving as financial guarantees to courts that defendants released pretrial will appear for all required court dates. Distributed through AIA's nationwide network of independent bail agents, with consumer-facing support via the ExpertBail branded platform.
• Accolade Proprietary software created to assist commercial surety agents efficiently manage everything from bond inventories and production to accounts receivable.
• AIMS (Agency Insurance Management System) Internal surety management system designed to simplify and organize all aspects of the surety business, including administrative tasks like scanning and document management, agent and bond management functions, and finance and legal capabilities.
• BailVision Advanced, user-friendly bond management system for the bail industry with functions including managing powers, automated notifications, and defendant tracking. Offered free to all AIA Surety Agents and has helped agents manage over 1 million defendants.
• Certificate Exchange State-of-the-art web-service utilizing a patented process for the seamless and secure transmission of certificates of insurance, allowing clients flexibility to deliver certificates to customers in the most appropriate manner.
• ePowers (Electronic Powers) Software service that allows for the safe and secure transmission of bail bond related documents, including powers of attorney/bail bonds and other bail bond data, to participating jails across the country. Hundreds of thousands of bonds have been posted through the ePower system.
• ExpertBail Branded marketing platform for AIA Surety bail agents that signals trust, experience, and leadership. Supported by a consumer-facing website where individuals can learn about bail and locate qualified, trusted agents.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million defendants managed through BailVision system
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Allegheny Casualty CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003AIA Surety is a national managing general agency for Allegheny Casualty Company. Allegheny Casualty is one of the founding organizations of the AIA alliance (formed in 2003) and one of the nation's oldest and most respected sureties. AIA develops, services, and maintains surety assets for this partner.
• International Fidelity Insurance CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003AIA Surety is a national managing general agency for International Fidelity Insurance Company. IFIC is one of the founding organizations of the AIA alliance and one of the nation's oldest and most respected sureties, bringing over 150 years of combined experience to the partnership.
• Associated BondcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Associated Bond is one of the three founding organizations that formed AIA Surety in 2003, representing one of the nation's oldest and most respected surety agencies. The alliance leveraged the knowledge and experience of these three organizations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Travelers Surety: Travelers is a top U.S. surety underwriter for contract and commercial bonds, comparable to AIA's commercial and contract surety offerings. It serves similar construction and licensed-professional customers via independent agents, though it does not focus on the bail niche.
• Liberty Mutual Surety: Liberty Mutual operates one of the largest U.S. surety operations through its surety division, writing commercial and contract surety bonds. It overlaps with AIA's commercial and contract bond business but at far greater scale and as part of a broader P&C portfolio.
• CNA Surety: CNA Surety (a CNA Financial business) is a major U.S. surety underwriter of contract and commercial bonds distributed through independent agents. It competes directly with AIA's commercial and contract bond products but does not target the bail market.
• Hartford Financial Products (Surety): The Hartford's surety group writes commercial and contract surety through independent agents, overlapping AIA's commercial and contract bond lines. It is a broad incumbent with much larger scale and a more diversified insurance portfolio.

Direct peers

• Allegheny Casualty Company: Allegheny Casualty is both AIA's carrier partner and a historical surety/bail writer in its own right. It is directly comparable as a surety and bail bond underwriter and a co-competitor in the same product categories AIA distributes.
• Lexon Insurance Company: Lexon is a specialty surety and bail bond underwriter that issues commercial and bail bonds through a similar agent-distributed model. It is one of the closest direct competitors to AIA in the surety bail niche.
• International Fidelity Insurance Company: IFIC is AIA's other founding carrier partner and a long-standing surety/bail underwriter. It shares AIA's product focus on commercial, contract, and bail bonds and is one of the closest comparables in the surety bail market.
• Bankers Insurance Company: Bankers Insurance runs a sizable bail and surety operation (formerly led by AIA's Director of Agent Services). It is a direct competitor in surety bail and adjacent surety lines, distributing through a similar independent agent network.
• SureTec Financial Services: SureTec Financial is a surety-focused MGA/underwriter providing contract and commercial surety products through independent agents. It mirrors AIA's MGA distribution model and product set in commercial and contract surety.

Emerging players

• RLI Corp: RLI is a specialty insurer with a surety segment focused on smaller commercial and contract bonds distributed through agents. It is comparable to AIA's commercial surety book, though RLI underwrites directly rather than operating as a bail-focused MGA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bailinsights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AIA Surety