Three forms, three very different seasons
| Form | You are responsible for | Should you sign it? |
|---|---|---|
| Limited | Your own negligence only | Yes — this is the fair version |
| Intermediate | Your negligence and shared fault | Usually, with contractual liability coverage in place |
| Broad form | All claims including the owner's sole negligence | Negotiate. Often uninsurable, and void by statute in several states |
Broad-form language asks you to pay for a fall caused by the owner's failed lighting, their poor drainage, or a design that pools water where it refreezes. You had no control over any of it, and your policy may not respond to a liability you assumed purely by contract.
Anti-indemnity statutes
Many states limit how far a property owner can push liability onto a contractor, and a number of them address snow and ice services specifically. The protection varies enormously by state, and it does not remove the need to read the clause — it only means the worst clauses may be unenforceable after you have already paid lawyers to argue about it.
Do not rely on a statute to save a bad clause
Unenforceable is not the same as harmless. You still get sued, still fund a defence, and still spend a season arguing. Negotiating the sentence in October is far cheaper than litigating it in March.
What to send back
- Change broad-form wording to 'to the extent caused by the negligence of the Contractor'
- Cap the indemnity at your available insurance limits
- Carve out the owner's sole negligence explicitly
- Make the obligation mutual where the owner controls lighting, drainage and site design
- Tie your duty to the defined trigger depth and service window, not to 'safe conditions at all times'
That last one matters more than it looks. A contract that obliges you to keep a surface safe at all times is a promise no contractor can keep in a freeze-thaw cycle, and it is read against you every time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contractual liability coverage in a standard general liability policy covers liability you assume under an 'insured contract', which typically includes limited and intermediate indemnity. Broad-form indemnity frequently falls outside that definition, which is exactly why it deserves a redline rather than a signature.
