The thing is, I see ads where people claim they're bonded. A locksmith
comes to mind. Is that a person bond that's somehow different from
insurance?


There is a difference between a bond and insurance.

Definition 1
A bond issued by an entity on behalf of a second party, guaranteeing that
the second party will fulfill an obligation or series of obligations to a
third party. In the event that the obligations are not met, the third party
will recover its losses via the bond.

Insurance:
A promise of compensation for specific potential future losses in exchange
for a periodic payment. Insurance is designed to protect the financial
well-being of an individual, company or other entity in the case of
unexpected loss. Some forms of insurance are required by law, while others
are optional. Agreeing to the terms of an insurance policy creates a
contract between the insured and the insurer. In exchange for payments from
the insured (called premiums), the insurer agrees to pay the policy holder a
sum of money upon the occurrence of a specific event. In most cases, the
policy holder pays part of the loss (called the deductible), and the insurer
pays the rest. Examples include car insurance, health insurance, disability
insurance, life insurance, and business insurance.
This content can be found on the following page:

http://www.investorwords.com/2510/insurance.html

Put simply, a bond is in case you don't finish a job. Insurance is if you
damage something, or one of the parties suffers a loss while doing the job.

From there, it gets complicated with surety bonds, performance bonds, bid
bonds, etc. Then you have liability insurance, workman's insurance, etc.

It has been my experience that MOST people who actually are bonded and
insured will be able to provide them in a timely manner. In the state where
I was a steel erection contractor, ONLY a letter from the workman's
compensation insurance company mailed directly to the company/builder/owner
was deemed legal. Copies of certificates were illegal. I was never asked
to provide proof of a bond, although I had them. Once a company received
the letter by mail, they were held harmless from a third party workman's
suit against them.

On some jobs, there was a requirement that you included a bond with the bid
for the amount of work, and a performance bond for the amount of work
stating the timeline.

In many states, laws about advertising "licensed and insured" are toothless
and worthless. Usually it is another contractor who drops a dime on
someone. Then, in Nevada, they made it a felony to even verbally OFFER to
do work for a fixed fee other than an hourly rate. It varies from there,
and whether people observe the law or the agency enforces it varies greatly,
also. Usually tho, this occurs when someone's ox gets gored, and they lose
a job to an unlicensed contractor.

Unless you are working on a government job, and that would require ten more
paragraphs to give the basics.

HTH

Steve