Please join the CFMA of MA for an interactive discussion with four surety industry leaders. The panel will provide a surety market update, discuss current industry trends and challenges, key financial and operational analysis to evaluate credit risk, and the role of CFM’s to elevate surety partnerships.  

Learning Objectives:

• Surety industry’s performance through the pandemic, current results, and outlook  
• Industry trends and underwriting considerations
• Key challenges construction clients are facing and how their surety partners are supporting
• Financial metrics most important to surety underwriters

Jim Briggs is a Senior Regional Vice President at Zurich Surety, leading the Northeast Team which spans throughout the New England states, as well as Albany, NY through Buffalo. Jim has over 16 years of construction surety experience working with companies of all sizes and types. Having begun his career in Connecticut with Travelers in 2005, Jim has worked throughout the Northeast in varied positions with Zurich Surety over the past 12 years.

Jim received his Bachelor of Science degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004.

Laura Leigh Statue is the Vice President, Northeast Regional Branch Manager, Contract Surety at Chubb Surety. Laura Leigh began her career in the Chubb Surety Home Office in 2009 where she had underwriting responsibility for Chubb’s Construction Group business across a number of regional branches. Laura Leigh accepted a position in Chubb’s Northeast Surety branch in 2013 handling both the Construction Group and National E&C business. She was promoted to the Northeast regional manager in 2015 with oversight of Chubb’s contract surety business across a seven state territory. Managing the surety relationship for clients with a broad range of business segments and revenue levels. In October 2020, Laura Leigh expanded her regional role to include oversight of Chubb’s New York contract surety portfolio and underwriting team. She is a member of the Women in Surety Association and enjoys participating in mentoring programs. Laura Leigh lives in Basking Ridge, NJ. She is an avid runner and loves spending time with her two young daughters.

Daniel Peck is the Regional Bond Manager for The Hartford in New England. He and his team are responsible for overseeing and expanding the surety operation in the territory. Prior to joining The Hartford in 2018, Dan spent 10 years with another major national insurance company. Dan is a graduate of Bryant University with a BSBA in Finance. He resides in Plainville, MA with his two boys and enjoys golfing and coaching youth sports.

Bill Maher is the Regional Bond Manager for Liberty Mutual Surety handling the New England States focused on contract surety. Bill started his surety career as a home office underwriter for Continental Insurance in Farmington, CT, after working in commercial banking for two years after college. Bill transferred from CT to the Boston area in the early nineties and became the Bond Manager for The Hartford Insurance Group. In 2001, Bill moved over to Liberty Mutual and became the lead manager in 2012.

Bill has broad prospective on the construction market as he is involved with the surety underwriting for smaller regional contractors to large national and international contractors. Bill served as the President of the Surety Association of MA in 1999-2000 and was board member in subsequent years. Bill has a B.S. in Finance from Syracuse University.