Global Surety Market Reaches $19.6 Billion in 2024 | Solidum Global

14 May 2024

A Market on the Move

The global surety bond market expanded to an estimated $19.6 billion in 2024, marking year-on-year growth of 6.8% and continuing a trend that has seen the sector strengthen consistently since 2021. The figures, drawn from market analysis published mid-2024, reflect a combination of factors that are reshaping how construction contracts are secured across the world.

For international contractors and project owners, the headline number matters less than what sits behind it. Rising demand, new market entrants, and a growing shift away from bank guarantees toward surety-based solutions are changing the landscape in ways that create both opportunity and complexity.

What Is Driving the Growth

Three forces are doing most of the work. First, infrastructure investment — governments in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa are committing record sums to roads, ports, energy, and urban development, all of which generate demand for performance bonds and contractual guarantees at the project level.

Second, elevated interest rates. When bank lending becomes expensive, the economics of surety bonds improve. A surety bond does not consume credit lines the way a bank guarantee does, making it more attractive to contractors managing multiple projects in parallel. WTW's Spring 2024 market update noted explicitly that sustained higher interest rates are making surety more economically attractive internationally, particularly in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Third, digitalisation. An estimated 73% of surety companies surveyed in 2024 were planning investment in digital and analytical platforms, and 68% of bond clients expressed a preference for receiving bonds digitally. The administrative friction that has historically slowed the surety process is reducing.

Implications for Emerging Market Contractors

The growth story is not uniform. North America remains the largest single surety market. But the most significant trend for internationally active contractors is the growing appetite for surety solutions in markets where bank guarantees have traditionally dominated — and where bank credit lines are increasingly constrained.

For contractors operating across Sub-Saharan Africa, the GCC, Southeast Asia, or Latin America, this shift creates a practical question: how do you obtain a surety bond in a market where your existing banking relationships do not reach, and where the local surety infrastructure may still be developing?

That is precisely the gap that specialist facilitation exists to fill. At Solidum Global, we work with a network of local and international partners to source contractual guarantee solutions for projects in markets where traditional routes are unavailable or impractical.

Looking Ahead

The global surety market is forecast to reach $27 billion by 2030, with emerging markets accounting for a growing share of that expansion. For contractors, developers, and project owners engaged in international construction, understanding how surety fits into your contract structure — and where to source it — is becoming a more pressing question.

If you have a bond or guarantee requirement for an international project, submit an enquiry and our team will assess whether our partner network is able to assist.

Reference: WTW Insurance Marketplace Realities — Spring 2024 Surety Update: wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2024/05/insurance-marketplace-realities-2024-spring-update-surety

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