Gallagher vs Marsh Surety Bonds

Gallagher’s commercial surety page excludes contract surety from that list; MMA places contract, commercial and international surety with published practice-scale statistics.

What Is Gallagher?

Gallagher is a business-insurance broker and risk-management consultancy. Its technology practice serves startups through global enterprises, alongside a separate small-business offering for IT professionals and an executive-risk practice covering D&O and transaction-related coverages. Woodruff Sawyer is now part of Gallagher. ^1,^2,^3,^4,⁵

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What Is Marsh?

Marsh is a global insurance broker and risk advisor. In the United States it places coverage through core Marsh teams and through Marsh McLennan Agency for many middle-market buyers, including technology, cyber, property, casualty and benefits programs. ^7,^8,^9,¹⁰

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What Are Surety Bonds?

A surety bond is a three-party agreement: a surety guarantees an obligation your business (the principal) owes to a customer or other party (the obligee) if your business defaults. It isn't insurance that pays your business for its own losses. ^12,¹³

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Key Differences in Surety Bonds

Commercial-Only Page Versus Three MMA Lines

Gallagher and MMA both broker surety. Gallagher’s commercial surety list is license and permit, court, public official and customs, with contract surety called out as a separate product. ⁶ ¹¹

Practice Statistics Versus Industry Roster

MMA reports 150-plus surety professionals in 50 states, $353 million premium, nearly 10,000 clients, and markets it says write 95% of U.S. contract bonds. Gallagher names client sectors (healthcare, financial services, utilities, public/private companies, small IT) without those volume statistics. ⁶ ² ¹¹

What to Confirm in Surety Bonds Quotes

If you need contract surety, MMA lists it on this practice; ask which Gallagher team writes it. ¹¹ ⁶
If you need court, public official or customs bonds, Gallagher lists them; confirm MMA commercial surety includes those headings. ⁶ ¹¹
Compare LOC-replacement and indemnity-negotiation scopes. ⁶ ¹¹
Get surety names and whether international placement is required. ⁶ ¹¹

Offering Details

Gallagher vs Marsh Surety Bonds: documented features by provider

Criteria	Gallagher Commercial Surety Bonds	Marsh McLennan Agency Surety Bonds
Role in This Line	Gallagher places commercial surety bonds as a three-party arrangement between the client (principal), the party requiring the bond (obligee) and a surety company; Gallagher brokers the bond rather than acting as the surety itself. ⁶Company-reported. Group-level commercial surety practice page.	Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA), Marsh's middle-market subsidiary, arranges surety bonds through a dedicated surety practice rather than underwriting them itself. ¹¹Company-reported. MMA surety insurance page.
Issuing Insurer	The commercial surety page describes relationships with "leadership at all major surety companies" but does not name the specific surety that would issue a given client's bond. ⁶Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level commercial surety practice page.	The reviewed page does not name a specific surety insurer for a standard bond; MMA says it offers national market representation, implying the issuing surety varies by placement. ¹¹Not publicly disclosed. MMA surety insurance page as read on 2026-09-23.
Who It’s For	Gallagher says it serves commercial surety clients across healthcare, financial services, public utilities, and private and public companies, for both domestic and international projects, and separately lists surety bond programs as a recommended coverage for small IT and technology businesses. ^6,²Company-reported. Group-level commercial surety practice page and the small-business technology-services page.	Not described in the reviewed sources.
Coverage Features	Gallagher says it places license and permit bonds, court bonds, public official bonds and customs bonds under its commercial surety practice, distinct from contract (construction) surety bonds, which it treats as a separate related product. ⁶Company-reported. Group-level commercial surety practice page; a service-menu description, not a specific bond's terms.	MMA offers Contract Surety for construction and similar projects, Commercial Surety issuing license and permit bonds nationwide (in lieu of or alongside letters of credit and other banking obligations), and International Surety for global operations facing varied regulatory requirements. ¹¹Company-reported. MMA surety insurance page, Surety Coverage section.
Limits and Retentions	The commercial surety page does not publish standard bond amounts, premium rates or collateral requirements; these vary by bond type and client. ⁶Not publicly disclosed. Checked the group-level commercial surety practice page.	MMA says it has more than 150 surety professionals across all 50 states, placed $353 million in surety premium for nearly 10,000 clients, and that its markets write 95% of all contract bonds in the U.S., according to the company. ¹¹Company-reported. MMA surety insurance page; company-reported statistics, not independently verified, and do not indicate bond size or capacity for an individual client.
Risk Services	Gallagher says its surety team can help replace letters of credit with bonds, work with a client's existing surety program, and facilitate collateral release, citing a case where it placed commercial surety bonds in place of letters of credit to support $60 million in power-purchase obligations for an energy-company client. ⁶Company-reported. Group-level commercial surety practice page case study; a single company-reported example, not independently verified.	MMA lists competitive indemnity package negotiation, industry benchmarking, joint-venture and teaming-agreement prequalification support, continuity and ownership-transfer consulting, and competitive program design review as services tied to its surety practice. ¹¹Company-reported. MMA surety insurance page, Benefits of Surety and Surety Coverage sections.
How to Apply	Not described in the reviewed sources.	You work with an MMA surety specialist directly; the page names a Surety Department Supervisor and describes advisor-led placement rather than an online bond application. ¹¹Company-reported. MMA surety insurance page.

Sources

Gallagher

Technology Insurance. Gallagher; Introduction; Solutions and coverages for the technology industry: Technology errors and omissions including cyber, Intellectual property insurance, Product liability, Employee benefits; Data-driven insights; global network. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Insurance for Technology & IT Businesses. Gallagher Small Business; Protection for IT Professionals & Their Technology-Based Businesses; recommended coverage menu, including Surety Bond Programs; Connect With An Advisor. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Executive and Financial Risk Insurance. Gallagher; Opening (insurance broking and placement); three key services; Directors and Officers; IPO and direct listings; Employment Practices; Fiduciary; Employee Dishonesty (Crime) and Fidelity Bond; Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion; M&A Transactional Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Legal Information. Gallagher Small Business; Producer identification immediately above Quick Links. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Woodruff Sawyer Is Now Gallagher. Gallagher; Opening; Executive and Financial Risk consulting; Continued access to client portals; contact form. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Surety. Gallagher; Surety relationships that convert to future growth; Understanding commercial surety vs. contract surety bonds; Providing assurance that keeps business moving (License and permit bonds, Court bonds, Public official bonds, Customs bonds); The Gallagher Difference case study; Commercial Surety and Bonds Summary. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Marsh

Marsh | Leader in risk, strategy, people, and investments. Marsh; Hero and capability tiles; FAQ: What does Marsh do?; industries served; Is Marsh the same as Marsh McLennan? January 2026 brand change. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Compensation guide for US clients. Marsh; US broking segments; broker role; retail commissions, client fees, wholesale, insurer consulting, contingent and supplemental commissions; Marsh LLC and Marsh USA LLC; page 3: broker role and Marsh & McLennan Agency segment; page 7: copyright © 2024 Marsh LLC. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA). Marsh; Middle-market US organizations; wholly-owned subsidiary; business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement, private client. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Technology | Insurance Broking & Risk Management. Marsh; Opening Technology Practice description; practice links including data center insurance, fintech and Stratus; Talk to us. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Surety Bonds to Mitigate Company Risk. Marsh McLennan Agency; Opening positioning and stats (150+ surety professionals across all 50 states; $353 million in surety premium for nearly 10,000 clients; 95% of all contract bonds in the U.S. written in our markets); Surety Coverage: Contract Surety, Commercial Surety, Joint ventures and teaming agreements, International Surety; Benefits of Surety. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Surety Bonds Guide

Glossary of Insurance Terms. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Surety Bond; Fidelity. Accessed 2026-09-16.
Surety bonds. U.S. Small Business Administration; Opening guarantee of work completion; Contract or commercial bonds; Bid, Payment, Performance, Ancillary; Eligibility > credit, capacity, and character. Accessed 2026-09-16.