What is a hold harmless agreement?
In a hold harmless agreement, one party (the indemnitor) promises to reimburse, and in some cases defend, the other party (the indemnitee) against claims or suits brought against the indemnitee by a third party. The purpose of the hold harmless is to transfer the risk of financial loss from one party (the indemnitee) to another party (the indemnitor).
A hold harmless is an agreement between two parties that obligates one party to protect another against certain risks of legal liability. In a typical hold harmless agreement, one party agrees to pay and defend claims brought against the other party as a result of the first party’s activities. Usually a landlord will include hold harmless language in a lease to protect him or her from being sued as a result of an event occurring on his or her property. So, before signing a lease containing a hold harmless agreement, always ask yourself whether you are in a position to prevent or control losses covered under the agreement. Leases of this type also usually require you to name the landlord as an additional insured. Funders, such as governmental agencies may also require a hold harmless agreement so that they will not be held responsible simply because they fund an event or a program. On the other side of the issue are the agreements you should require from vendors and subcontractors that
