I am starting a new water and fire restoration company and would like to know why potential customers are looking for a bond as well as insurance. Does anyone have experience with this?

They want to be assured you are trustworthy in their homes

If you are the only "employee" and you are also the "owner" of the company, any bond you purchase will not cover you individually for dishonest acts that cause your customers a loss... it would be contrary to public law and the reason is that you would be rewarded for a dishonest act by having the insurance company pay. You can purchase several differnet kinds of bonds as I mentioned in an earlier pvt message to you.

As to the insurance, things happen, occur that you don't expect and they are too numerous to mention here but simply put "liabilily iinsurance pays for occurrences for which you could be held legally liable. And for that reason, businesses as well as individuals have an everyday need for liablity insurance. Your customers want you to have it when you deal with them.