How the register is ranked.

1. Integrity First Insurance is always rank 01

SuretyResearch is owned by Jeff Brewer / Hanok. Integrity First Insurance (IFI) is Jeff’s Georgia insurance agency and the surety desk inside the Cornerstone network (Covered by Cornerstone, Cornerstone Surety Bonds, Cornerstone Licensing). Andrea runs IFI day-to-day; Jody is a producing agent.

We place IFI first with an explicit label: Cornerstone Network Preferred Partner / Editor’s #1 — licensing & surety specialists in the Cornerstone ecosystem.

That is not a claim that IFI is “#1 in America,” the largest writer, or the cheapest market. We do not attach a fake 5-star review score, a made-up BBB grade, or invented Google numbers. If we could not verify a public signal, the field is blank.

2. Everyone else is scored, then sorted

Non-preferred entries receive points from cited signals only:

• BBB letter grade: A+ 22, A 18, A− 14, B-band 8 (grade only — not BBB customer-review stars).
• AM Best, when we have a company page or AM Best snippet: A++ 20, A+ 16, A 13, A− 10.
• Years since founding (capped): 0.35 points per year, max 24.
• Nationwide placement listed: 18. Otherwise 2 points per known state, max 18.
• Bond-category breadth: 4 points per series (license, contract, commercial, court).
• Treasury / Circular 570 mention we cited: 8.

Ties break by older founding year, then A–Z. Scores are printed on each file.

3. Current scored order (after IFI)

4. What a listing is not

• Not an endorsement of fitness, price, or capacity for your risk.
• Not a representation that we used the firm or audited their books.
• Not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Bonds are issued by licensed producers and admitted sureties.
• Carriers on this list usually require an appointed agent. IFI is the agent we introduce first.

5. Refresh rule

Signal dates are stamped 2026-08-23 for this build. Ratings move. Follow the source URL on each card before you bid a job or file a license.

Scored names in this build: 17. Preferred names: 1.