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📝 '''Hold-harmless agreement''' is a contractual provision — also known as an indemnity clause — in which one party agrees to assume [[Definition:Liability | liability]] for certain [[Definition:Loss | losses]] or [[Definition:Claims | claims]], thereby relieving the other party of responsibility. In the insurance industry, hold-harmless clauses appear throughout the chain of commercial relationships: in contracts between insureds and their vendors, between [[Definition:Insurance carrier | carriers]] and [[Definition:Managing general agent (MGA) | MGAs]], between [[Definition:Insurance broker | brokers]] and their clients, and in the underlying business contracts that generate the insurable exposures carriers are asked to cover.

⚙️ These agreements generally take one of three forms — broad, intermediate, or limited — depending on the scope of liability being transferred. A broad-form hold-harmless clause shifts liability to the indemnifying party even for losses caused by the other party's own [[Definition:Negligence | negligence]], while a limited form only covers losses arising from the indemnitor's own acts. [[Definition:Underwriting | Underwriters]] pay close attention to hold-harmless provisions when evaluating [[Definition:General liability insurance | general liability]], [[Definition:Professional liability insurance | professional liability]], and [[Definition:Construction insurance | construction]] risks because these clauses can dramatically alter which party — and which party's insurer — ultimately bears the financial burden of a loss. A contractor that signs a broad-form hold-harmless clause in favor of a property owner, for instance, may be assuming exposures that its [[Definition:Commercial general liability (CGL) | CGL policy]] was not priced to absorb, potentially triggering coverage disputes. Enforceability varies by jurisdiction: several U.S. states have anti-indemnity statutes that void broad-form clauses in construction contracts, and courts across the UK and other common-law jurisdictions scrutinize such provisions under reasonableness tests.

💡 For [[Definition:Risk management | risk managers]] and insurance professionals alike, understanding hold-harmless agreements is essential because they sit at the intersection of contract risk and insurance coverage. A poorly negotiated indemnity clause can create a gap between what a party has contractually assumed and what its [[Definition:Insurance policy | insurance policy]] actually covers — a scenario known as an unfunded retained liability. [[Definition:Insurance broker | Brokers]] advising commercial clients should review hold-harmless language in key contracts and align it with the client's insurance programme, ensuring that [[Definition:Additional insured | additional insured]] endorsements, [[Definition:Contractual liability coverage | contractual liability]] provisions, and policy limits are adequate to support the obligations undertaken. In reinsurance and delegated authority contexts, hold-harmless clauses also appear in [[Definition:Binding authority agreement | binding authority agreements]] and [[Definition:Treaty reinsurance | treaty]] wordings, allocating responsibility for errors, [[Definition:Regulatory compliance | regulatory]] breaches, or unauthorized acts between the parties.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Indemnity]]
* [[Definition:Contractual liability coverage]]
* [[Definition:Additional insured]]
* [[Definition:General liability insurance]]
* [[Definition:Risk transfer]]
* [[Definition:Waiver of subrogation]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Hold-harmless agreement - Revision history

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