Surety capacity was increasing heading into 2012, says Marsh Inc., the big brokerage, with new sureties entering the market and changed underwriting techniques.

Driven by new and expanded surety underwriting firms, new underwriting approaches and increased limits from existing sureties, the trend could mean that obtaining surety bonds actually becomes easier this year, ENR.com reported.

While most forecasts about surety in 2012 focused on increasing contractor defaults pasting higher losses on sureties, the surety underwriters remain solidly profitable, say underwriters and brokers.