Construction Broad-Form Indemnity & GC Negligence Defense Playbook
General Contractor subcontracts routinely include "Broad-Form" or "Intermediate-Form" indemnification clauses requiring the Subcontractor to defend and indemnify the GC and Owner for ANY injury or property damage on the jobsite "caused in whole or in part" by the Subcontractor—meaning if the GC’s own superintendent leaves an unguarded floor opening (90% GC fault) and your worker trips (10% fault), you and your CGL insurance policy pay 100% of the GC’s legal defense and multi-million-dollar judgment.
Electrical Subcontractor Hit With $340,000 Settlement & Insurance Surcharge After GC’s Unsecured Scaffolding Collapsed
An electrical subcontractor signed an intermediate-form indemnity clause covering any claim "arising out of Subcontractor’s presence on the Project." When an electrician was injured by scaffolding erected improperly by the GC, the GC tendered its entire legal defense to the subcontractor—triggering a $340,000 payout and spiking the subcontractor’s Experience Modification Rate (EMR) above 1.25 (disqualifying them from public bids).
RedlineCore™ replaces broad/intermediate-form indemnity with strict Comparative Fault language aligned with state Construction Anti-Indemnity Acts (TX Ins. Code Ch. 151, CA Civ. Code § 2782, NY GOL § 5-322.1, FL Stat. § 725.06).
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“Subcontractor’s defense and indemnification obligations under this Agreement shall apply solely to the proportionate extent that a claim, bodily injury, or property damage is proximately caused by the negligent acts, omissions, or willful misconduct of Subcontractor or its sub-tier subcontractors ("Comparative Fault Indemnity"). In no event shall Subcontractor be obligated to defend or indemnify
What to Say to the Insurance Carrier / Third-Party Reviewer
"Under state Construction Anti-Indemnity statutes and our commercial general liability (CGL) carrier underwriting rules, we cannot insure or indemnify the General Contractor for the GC’s own percentage of negligence. We have modified Section [X] to standard comparative/proportionate fault indemnity."
Why they drafted it this way: GCs want to push 100% of jobsite premises liability onto trade subcontractors’ commercial general liability (CGL) policies so the GC’s own loss runs and insurance premiums stay untouched.
Mandatory Audit Checklist Points
- Restrict indemnification strictly to "the proportionate extent caused by the negligent acts or omissions of Subcontractor" (Comparative Fault)
- Explicitly exclude any obligation to defend or indemnify the GC or Owner for their own active, sole, or concurrent negligence
- Tie Additional Insured (CG 20 10 / CG 20 37) coverage strictly to ongoing/completed operations proximately caused by Subcontractor’s fault
- Cap property/economic indemnity (outside insured bodily injury) at available CGL insurance proceeds
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Additional Insured endorsement need to match the narrowed Indemnity clause?
If you narrow the Indemnity paragraph to proportionate fault, but leave a blanket requirement to provide an unmodified broad-form Additional Insured endorsement, the GC’s lawyer will simply bypass the indemnity clause and tender their negligence claim directly to your CGL insurance policy as an Additional Insured!
How do I redline Construction Broad-Form Indemnity & Anti-Indemnity Statute Clause traps in my Water Mitigation & Flood anonymously without creating an account?
Upload your Water Mitigation & Flood PDF or Word (.docx) draft to ClaimXray.com to run the "Construction Broad-Form Indemnity & GC Negligence Defense Playbook" defense cartridge 100% anonymously—with zero account registration, zero email login, and stateless in-memory processing. RedlineCore™ 4.0 flags Construction Broad-Form Indemnity & Anti-Indemnity Statute Clause exposure (typically $150,000 – $1,000,000+ in Uninsured Jobsite Injury & GC Negligence Liability; documented unredlined loss: $340,000 in defense costs, deductible payout & 3-year EMR insurance spike), checks for cross-section overrides, and exports a ready-to-send Microsoft Word (.docx) Track-Changes file.
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