Does buying a trades business transfer its bonding and insurance history to me?

Bonding and insurance are generally tied to the specific legal entity (and often the specific individuals) that hold them, not to the trades business as a going concern, so a buyer shouldn't assume they inherit favourable bonding capacity or a clean insurance claims record just by buying the business. In a share sale, the existing corporation's bonding relationships and insurance policies can, in principle, continue in place, since the corporate entity itself hasn't changed, but bonding companies and insurers typically reserve the right to reassess terms when there's a change in ownership or key personnel, and often do.

In an asset sale, the buyer generally needs to establish its own bonding capacity and insurance coverage from scratch, since it's a new or separate entity taking on the work. A strong claims history built up by the seller doesn't automatically transfer as a credential the buyer can rely on with sureties or insurers; the buyer's own track record, financial strength, and key personnel are usually what gets underwritten.

Confirming with the business's surety and insurers, early in the deal, whether and how existing arrangements will be affected by the change in ownership avoids an unpleasant surprise around bonding capacity right when the business needs it for a project bid.