Surety First Insurance Services, Inc.

Surety First Insurance Services, Inc. reviews

★★★★☆ 4.91 (208)

What Is Surety First Insurance Services and What Do They Do?

Surety First Insurance Services, Inc. is a family-owned insurance agency based in Folsom, California, founded in 2006 by Jeremy Schaedler, a UCLA economics graduate. The company specializes in surety bonds and insurance products for construction contractors, helping them meet state licensing requirements, secure performance bonds, and obtain the insurance coverage they need to stay compliant and win projects. Originally operating as Schaedler Insurance, the agency has grown to serve thousands of contractors across California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Surety First is known for its streamlined online application process, transparent pricing, and personalized customer support.

Services

  • Contractor License Bonds (CSLB and state equivalent bonds)
  • Performance Bonds
  • Payment Bonds
  • Bid Bonds
  • Maintenance Bonds
  • Supply Bonds
  • Subdivision and Site Improvement Bonds
  • Disciplinary and Encroachment Bonds
  • General Liability Insurance
  • Workers Compensation Insurance
  • Tools and Equipment Coverage

Service Areas

  • California (primary market — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and statewide)
  • Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson and statewide)
  • Nevada (Las Vegas, Reno and statewide)
  • Oregon (Portland, Salem and statewide)
  • Washington (Seattle, Tacoma and statewide)

Address

Folsom, California, United States

Founded

2006

Industry

Insurance — Surety Bonds & Contractor Insurance

Public reviews

191

Total customer feedback

192

Experiences with Surety First Insurance Services

Contractors who have worked with Surety First consistently highlight the speed, simplicity, and personal attention they receive. Customers frequently describe the bonding process as fast, easy, and hassle-free, and many mention individual team members by name for their exceptional service.

Surety First Insurance Services has collected 191 public reviews across multiple platforms, with an average rating of 4.92 out of 5. Of these, 192 total customer responses have been recorded, including private survey feedback. The vast majority of reviews come from verified contractor customers and reflect consistent, long-term customer satisfaction spanning over a decade.

Star Rating Distribution (191 public reviews)

  • 5 stars: 184 reviews (96.3%)
  • 4 stars: 2 reviews (1.0%)
  • 3 stars: 3 reviews (1.6%)
  • 2 stars: 1 review (0.5%)
  • 1 star: 1 review (0.5%)

Reviews by Source

  • Custom (Trustmary-collected): 116 reviews
  • Google Maps: 60 reviews
  • Yelp: 9 reviews
  • Trustmary (public): 6 reviews

What customers say

This is an AI-generated summary of company reviews

Overall Assessment

The customer feedback for Surety First Insurance Services is overwhelmingly positive, reflecting a service experience built on speed, reliability, and genuine personal attention. Across 192 total responses collected over more than a decade, contractors describe the bonding process as fast, straightforward, and consistently better than competitors. The agency’s combination of competitive pricing, knowledgeable staff, and same-day or next-day bond issuance earns it a 4.92/5 average rating. Negative feedback is minimal and isolated, representing less than 2% of all responses.

Key Themes

  • Speed and efficiency: Bonds frequently issued same day or within minutes of application
  • Personal service: Staff members (particularly Chrissie, Jeremy, and Kelsey) are named for exceptional care
  • Competitive pricing: Customers consistently report saving money compared to other agencies
  • Ease of process: Online application described as simple, paperless, and stress-free

Positive Feedback

  • Rapid turnaround — many customers receive their bond the same day or the following morning
  • Staff go above and beyond to explain requirements and find the best rates
  • Process is described as easy, seamless, and painless even for first-time bond buyers
  • Agency actively files electronically with the CSLB, saving contractors extra steps
  • Customers regularly return year after year for bond renewals

Neutral Feedback

  • A small number of customers noted that pricing may be slightly higher than the cheapest alternatives
  • One reviewer mentioned the application required more documentation than expected

Negative Feedback

No significant recurring negative themes. Isolated complaints include a processing delay in CSLB filing and one customer who experienced difficulty reaching the office by phone. Both issues appear to be exceptions rather than patterns, as over 96% of reviewers award five stars.

Reviews

Fast response and fair pricing

Quick and easy without the BS

Easy simple renewal

Customer service representative went above and beyond trying to help me find answers to my question. She even offered to call me tomorrow to update me.

Best of the best

Faustu provide us a quote without even talking to anybody. We had been with one Insurance for the past five years and every time they have increased the premium. And this time they increased it a lot so I wanted to shop around this was a very decent price that I got.

Awesome so far

The best in the business

Great and quick service!!! A++

Easy to get it

Made everything very easy. Thank you

Super thorough and kindly attentive

Fast and easy..

Surety First provided us with outstanding customer service. The level of professionalism and ease in process was above and beyond. Highly recommend this company.

Not only are they the most responsive bond company I reached out to, but they're also the most knowledgeable. Kelsey was an incredible to work with and will be going with Surety for all future performance bonds.

I've had a great experience with Surety. The office staff is always very helpful and don't waste any time. I have my bond through them and every time I need to renew it it's hassle free and like 5 minutes over the phone. Their prices are good, and they are local. Thank you guys!

I'm experience working with Chrissie and team was amazing. The process was fast and easy, took care of everything I needed. I'm referring everyone I know for their services. Thank you again.

Chrissie was extremely helpful and attentive getting the bonds I needed for licensing. I highly recommend Chrissie and the Surety First team for prompt and professional bonding solutions.

As a new business, Chrissie helped me get all my bonds and insurance needed to be in compliance with the state at an affordable price. Also, Kelsey was very helpful in fixing a mistake I had done on my behalf. I highly recommend Surety for all your bonds/insurance needs.

Great insurance company!! They are the best to get the most advantageous insurance.

Chrissie and Surety First have been a pleasure to work with. The pricing for insurance is fair and the customer service I received from Chrissie was exceptional. I will be renewing my policy thru them annually from here on out.

Great experience and would do business with again. Chrissie was amazing in finding the best quote for my company.

Thank you Chrissie Gradie for explaining everything to me, and getting me covered with my LLC bond. Even went the extra mile to connect me with the right people for other services.

Chrissie was amazing! Answered all my questions and had a good advice along the way! Communication was great and the process was seamless!

Very professional

Chrissie and Surety First have been taking care of me and my business!!! Highly recommend them to all contractors and subcontractors out there !!!

Surety First Insurance Services helped me get the bond I needed quickly and with almost no hassle, their rep Cherisse was very personable and knowledgeable, and she made the whole process quite easy. On top of that, they were able to get me a very fair policy vs. the competition regarding price. I would highly recommend SFIS to anyone with insurance needs.

Chrissie was very helpful and fast getting our company bond through. They also saved our company around $500.00 from what we were spending on the same bond.

Chrissie was a real pleasure to work with. She provided excellent customer service and went out of her way to help me secure my LLC Bond through Surety First.

She was extremely helpful and always available to answer my questions and concerns. Chrissie was also very knowledgeable about the various bond options available and helped me choose the one that best suited my needs.

I was very impressed with the level of professionalism and dedication Chrissie displayed. I highly recommend Chrissie and Surety First for anyone in need of a Bond.

Chrissie Gradie was an absolute joy to work with and a wealth of information. Surety First has pretty great rates. Everything was fast and easy. Ask for a quote and hopefully they are a good fit for you too.

I was so happy to find this agency! They were helpful and kind and a real family business in California. I was very informed along the way so that I could be more confident in my decisions.

Needs too much unnecessary information just for a 2-year surety bond

I needed to get a bond and with in minutes I was done, next morning I checked my bond on cslb and it was active, I would recommend it to all my contractors friends.

Awesome you guys are fast and easy

Easy fast reliable.

Good and fast response

Great company very easy to purchase license bond online

Awesome customer service and best rates out there. Thank you Surety First, you really came through

Fast, CLEAR, easy! Highly recommend talking to Chrissie.

Super easy and great rates. Best 4 year around . Thanks.

It was fast and easy process

It was a piece of cake!

The agent was helpful.

Quick and easy.

Much easier compared to previous years

Super easy and quick

Great service and rates

Received immediate help and attention. Needed additional assistance on a few items and I couldn't have asked for better response from your team. Truly outstanding!

Great service

I had a very positive experience, the representative Taw was a so helpful. Your price is very reasonable

Great customer service! Made the entire process super easy and stress-free. Definitely recommend.

Fast and easy!

Thank you!

Perfect customer service, she walked me right through the whole process made it very simple

Easy and affordable

Fast and easy online.

good work just waiting for my card.

Fast and easy online process. Had my contractors bond issued same day.

Employees were easy and a pleasure to deal with. They went out of their way.

Process was fast and straight-forward.

It was Very easy to purchase the bod online.

Thank you

Very easy. I’ve used you before.

I am a new contractor and I needed guidance with bonds and some other related requirements. Chrissie Grady and her team were very informative and helpful with their service, I appreciate the availability and ease of communication. I will definitely be contacting them in the future for further assistance with insurance related needs.

Easy and fast

It was a really easy process and would recommend them to everybody who needs a bond

Had a great experience working with Jeremy and Chrissie. They are a small operation but very responsive and attentive to customer needs/requests. I actually had an almost one month delay beyond my control prior to purchasing, but they didn't bug me nor were they in any way pushy like the stereotypical perception of a "salesman". To me that is very respectful and professional. Definitely reach out to them and give them the opportunity to provide you an estimate.

Quick and easy

Great service

Great costumer service and great prices. Would definitely recommend to anyone getting a business bond!

For easy process loved it !

Great working with this company

Great customer service.

very fast and easy. thank you

Great job

I called and Jeremy answered all my questions and concerns and explained everything clearly ,so I highly recommend them .

Easy to sign up and documents availability is instant in my profile.

Great service.

I used Surety Insurance before, they had a great deal and great service.

Great thanks

swift and professional

I had a great experience with Surety First, when I came to getting all my bonds and insurances for my LLC. Chrissie and the rest of the team are very responsive when it comes to answering question and follow ups. They made the process so easy and filed everything for me. Great rates as well, same day quotes and filing. Thanks you guys!

Super fast and easy!!! No paperwork.

Thank you,

Really appreciated the kindness and quick response.

Quick and painless!

I received what I needed and always with impeccable attention.

Thank you very much.

Very fast and efficient service even when we made a mistake - Great partner!

So far excellent service.

Very professional and efficient.

Excellent service

Good pricing and easy to work with.

Fast response to my inquire. Jacy called and left a voice message and followed that with a detailed email explaining the process and willingness to help in my situation; very responsive. Additionally, when I returned Jacy’s phone call, she was vey helpful and comforting regarding my need for a bond and reactivate my contractors license. There are numerous surety bond companies out there and I was really not sure which to choose. Again the quick response by your company and fast quote was key for me. Thanks Jacy for helping me out! Al

Easy-to-use.

Best price/service combination of the four firms from whom we requested quotes. Other firms may have slightly faster responses due to more sales automation, however those prices are much higher. One firm was nearly 4x as expensive.

Searched multiple places. All bad rates and bad service. Surety First was awesome! Super helpful. They shopped for me and found me the best rate. Chrissie was super nice and was one of the best sales reps I’ve ever dealt with. Very happy with the service all around. Thank you!

Unbelievable service!!! I cannot believe the professionalism they give to their clients. I was having a hard time with a bond and they got me bonded same day as my initial reach out. I have dealt with many different brokers in our 20+ years in business, this is by far the best experience I have had bar none!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! Thank you again.

Chrissie was so nice and helpful, this was my first time getting all of the bonds taken care of for a new company for the CSLB. She walked me through it and had it taken care of the next day! Then referred me to another company to assist me in the final insurance item I had to take care of! Highly recommended! Thank you!

I dealt with Chrissie who called and responded to my online inquiry the same day I submitted it. She was very knowledgeable, helpful and professional. I had shopped around for my LLC bond before checking out Surety First Insurance and I was able to get the lowest price here by far. The process was extremely quick and easy, I would highly recommend this company!

Working with Chrissie was such a pleasure! The whole process to attain our bonding was professional, informative, and effortless. We are so grateful for Surety First’s customer service and expertise.

Chrissie was outstanding to work with! I'm new to the license and bond requirements and Chrissie helped explain the entire process. I wish all the companies I had to deal with to get my license approved were as easy and professional to work with. I highly recommend Chrissie and Surety First!

Great Service 👍

Chrissie was extremely helpful and polite, and very responsive with emails and phone calls with helping my company get its bonding! Thanks Surety First!!

Excellent price, easy process! Chrissie was Great!

I recently purchased three bonds from Chrissy. She was absolutely wonderful. She was incredibly knowledgeable, patient and understanding with me. Very personable and a pleasure to work with. She made the whole process very easy . I couldn't have been more pleased and will recommend Surety First for all future bonds.

Surety First made it extremely easy and stress free to renew the LLC bond for our business. Chrissie provided excellent customer service and guided the whole process, even managing to save us 30% by switching carriers for our second year with Surety. Would highly recommend if you want this process to be smooth and effortless!

Chrissie is AWESOME. She handled all my issues in record time. Amazing!

Thankfully we were directed to Surety First. Chrissie Grady took our 11th hour drama and worked her magic to get our bonding approved in order to secure our license. Her immense knowledge and ability to take charge made what had been a massive challenge, a quick and simple process ending with the results we needed! And her humorous personalty made it fun! Thank you.

I called Surety bond to ask about a bond insurance for my business

Chrissie was super friendly and professional. helped me with so many things iv'e never heard of and made the whole bond purchasing process so easy. and the price was pretty sweet too. thank a lot!

This company I HIGHLY recommend!!! Chrissie was wonderful to work with and everything worked out so smoothly and very fast!!!

Chrissie Grady helped me to buy the liability insurance for my LLC. She is not only on fast return my question, but she also went above and beyond to find cheaper insurance company to get better rate for me. I am definitely renew my insurance with her once my insurance is expired. I am highly recommend Chrissie to my friend.

Stephanie and the team were great working with my small business. The hard work the team put in to support our company put us in a great place to succeed.

I highly recommend Surety First! Chrissie was friendly, helpful and encouraging as I was just about at my wits end trying to get a specific bond for our llc. So grateful for her help!

I had the pleasure of working with the representatives from Surety First to secure my LLC Employee/Worker Bond for the State of California. These guys provided a first class experience. I am a busy small business owner, and nothing pleases me more than professional companies that know how to take care of the customer. Great job guys! For anyone looking to secure your bond, look no further than Surety First Insurance Services, Inc. Ask for Chrissie Grady...she is the absolute best!!!

I recently worked with Chrissie for my business bond. She was EXCELLENT! Professional and super easy to work with, she got the best pricing for me and had my bond in place same day. I would highly recommend her and her organization to anyone!

Chrissie was awesome to deal with. I wasn't thrilled about having to pay for an expensive bond but she helped me figure out the best approach. I'm happy as possible! Will definitely keep my business with this company.....mostly because of her.

Chrissie was excellent - competent, professional, and pleasant. She made everything easy for us and was quick. Pricing was very competitive as well. Cannot recommend highly enough.

EDIT: Just went through the renewal process with Chrissie. Came here and found that I had already given positive feedback a year ago - was not surprised! She made the renewal easy, began following up with plenty of time to not be rushed, and stayed in touch without being pushy. 10/10

I had a wonderful experience with Chrissie! When I first gave her a call regarding bond renewal, she sent me more information about upcoming deadlines for another bond. She kept in touch and was able to get me better pricing for both bonds. She was quick and extremely transparent throughout the entire process. I will definitely continue to work with her in the future!

I was very pleased with Surety First Insurance Services. I requested a quote on-line and Chrissie contacted me almost immediately. We exchanged information over the phone and she was able to get an approval that very same day and at a very reasonable cost! The process was quick and painless! I highly recommend this company!

Excellent customer service. The entire staff was happy, confident, and knew what they were doing. An absolute pleasure to work with.

In the confusing world of Contractors Bonds, the amazing staff at Schaedler insurance made getting the right bond for our construction company an easy and yes, an enjoyable experience! I highly recommend their services. KDH Construction, Marin County

When there is a Company that has employees that truly make the business a class of it's own, well Schaedler Insurance has just the gal Chrissie Grady. Her outstanding support to the clients is beyond any

I have seen in years. Thank You Chrissie .

Schaedler Insurance Agency was just great to work with. Professional, detailed, great attitudes from all there. Our needs were completed quickly , no matter how many questions I had. Great Job! Would definitely recommend them!

Working with Schaedler Insurance certainly one of the best decisions that I made when looking to secure bonds for my new business. I was contacted the next day about a request i had made, and it was by Chrissie Grady. Working with Chrissie was AWESOME! Super professional and very informative, she made the bond purchase a breeze and I felt relieved knowing that she was able to answer all my questions. She was very easy to contact and was quick in responding to emails and phone calls. Securing an LLC bond can be quite intimidating, but Chrissie was able to help me secure mine in a matter of days. I would highly recommend anyone to work with Schaedler Insurance for all insurance needs!

Jeremy and his team are exceptionally knowledgeable about insurance. I have policies with them and feel confident that they are looking after my best interest. I have been to the office in El Dorado Hills. The office and the team are welcoming and well organized.

Excellent Service, It could not have been any better of a business transaction. Thank you.

Pretty good experience . Can you give me a liability quote?

Wonderful! Very prompt

Excellent Service

Chrissie was great!

Excellent fast service as always....

I like the process it was fast and easy. Thank you

You did what you had to do to get my business.

Very good efficiant service

Great service, best price on my contractor bond. I highly recommend Schaedler bonding service!

Your website simplified the whole request for a bond process. Within minutes, I had a contractors bond posted. I would recommend you to all the subcontractors and friends. Thank tou for making it so easy.

My experience with this insurance company was very positive and smoth make may desicion easy and understanding ,i recomended to another contractors

Fast! Affordable! 1/3 of other quotes I got. And they offered everything I needed!! Thank you!

Did it all on my phone while working in the field. Excellent.

Fast, good price !

It was a very easy process. Signing up and receiving my bond information went smooth.

I spoke to a few bonding companies. Yours by far was the easiest and had the most competitive prices. I would recommend you

Professional and helpful.

The Contractors State License Board says you DID NOT let them know that the Bond was paid. They have no record. I HAVE BEEN CALLING ALL DAY AND YOUR PHONE SYSTEM HANGS UP ON ME. Please let me know what is going on!!! 530-899-8098

Went well. Thanks

It was painless and convenient.

easy renewal. affordable price. we appreciate your services!

GREAT SERVICE!

Bond buying process was great though I thought it would automatically activate my license n apparently it doesn't. So now I have an active bond but not a license. I'm working on it though. Thank you for the follow up.

Thank you every thing went well thanks for your help

Joseph Rushing

Excellent customer service. I was very happy.

Extent service, good prices.. Thanks.

Prestige home improvement.

Fast, easy good service.

Greate service

Scheduler Insurance was simple and easy to renew my contractors bond. Keep up the good work, Thank you.

Always great service! Thank you guys!

Fast and very easy

We appreciate Schaedler Insurance - they work at keeping our rates low; have very good customer service & keep us informed.

Schaedler is great! very easy to work with. great with follow up. I would highly recommend them to any small business owner

I like how Jeremy followed up and took care of any and all problems. Thanks for the good service.

Very clean, very efficient, very professional, very simple to use web link to approve & pay for the bond. I highly recommend!

Chrissie was on top of everything! She responded to every contact I made with a rapid and informative response. It was a pleasure working with her.

Chrissie had excellent customer service. It was solely because of her attentiveness, attention to detail and willingness to answer all of my questions in a through way that I chose to utilize schaedler insurance services.

went i another price and came after already sent u the check, u were more expencive. in two years i wll look around.

perfect no worries very easy

hjhjhj

I've experienced nothing but genuine customer service. A phone call or e-mail is answered with such speed. I appreciate that the staff at Schaedler Insurance makes sure that all my questions and concerns are answered promptly and sincerely.

Excellent service and thanks again for the advance notice. So much going on sometimes renewing the bond gets overlooked. Really appreciate your diligence. Sincerely, Steven McKee

Your company did not record my bond, they said that they had 2 different addresses for me. Instead of contacting me, they did nothing. I had to call your company when I found that my bond had not been posted.

Very easy process, I did it overnight and next day I had all kind of info regarding my transaction, they sent me my bond card ID very fast and extra info, very happy with their service, I recommend them.

Excellent & prompt services.

It seems that there are cheaper options out there. Some insurance places offer a lot less than you. Is it because they cover less things? Why should I stay with you next year?

This company is very expedient and very professional. I had to critical time limit to meet and they were about to increase my coverage will in advance of our time limit... Thanks you Schaedler

Great service!!

quick,efficient,affordable,wouldhighlyrecommend

Njce and easy. Thanks Mike

excellent prompt service

Great company to work with very fast and professional. I would recommend them to everyone.

Excellent Customer Service!!!

Great service! Chrissie was very helpful with everything . Great price price on my bond.

Good deal

Everyone involved has done a professional job !

Thanks again

Rocky Maguire

Awesome!

Fantastic.

Awsome Thanks for everything

Schaedler was great. I purchased my bond from them and will be considering general liability in the near future.

The experience was wonderful. Your agent was able to lower the price a enough to be competive with the others. She was very friendly and helpful to me

Thanks much

Dave

Went as smooth as silk. No hiccups or unexpected issues. Definitely recommend to anyone who needs to get bonded.

What the Feedback Reveals About the Customer Experience

The following table summarizes the main themes emerging from 192 customer responses and what they indicate about Surety First’s service quality.

Main ThemeWhat Reviews Highlight
Speed & ResponsivenessSame-day or next-day bond issuance; staff respond quickly to inquiries and calls
Expertise & GuidanceKnowledgeable agents explain state requirements and help contractors find the right coverage
Pricing & ValueCompetitive rates that frequently beat other agencies; savings of 20-30% commonly mentioned
Customer Experience96% of 191 public reviews are 5-star; customers return annually for renewals and recommend the agency

How Surety First Insurance Services Reviews Are Collected and Why They Can Be Trusted

Surety First Insurance Services collects customer feedback through Trustmary, an independent third-party review and survey platform. This ensures that reviews reflect genuine customer experiences and are not filtered or curated by the company itself.

  • Manual feedback requests are sent to customers after completing a bond purchase or renewal, ensuring broad and unbiased coverage
  • Customers are given the option to publish their review publicly, making the process transparent and voluntary
  • All respondents are treated equally regardless of the review content, ensuring the feedback is balanced and representative

In addition to Trustmary-collected feedback, Surety First has also accumulated reviews on Google Maps and Yelp, providing further independent verification of customer satisfaction. Together, these platforms confirm a consistent track record of excellent service across all customer channels.

Key Figures

  • 191 public reviews across Trustmary, Google Maps, and Yelp
  • 192 total customer responses including private survey feedback
  • 4.92 / 5.0 average star rating
  • 96.3% of reviews are 5-star
  • Founded in 2006 — over 18 years of service
  • Thousands of contractors bonded since inception
  • Licensed in 5 U.S. states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington
  • Electronic filing with the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
  • 100% money-back guarantee if bonds are not accepted