Download free, fully‑editable Hold‑Harmless Agreement templates in Microsoft Word. Includes general indemnity, contractor, event, rental, online‑service and more—plus a step‑by‑step guide. You can explore all of our Agreement Templates to find one suitable for your requirements.
In every such situation, where one party requests the other to take the risk—be it a contractor on a construction site, a public event organizer, a landlord allowing a tenant to use the common area, or an online platform providing a service—the best way to protect oneself is by formalizing the agreement in writing. A Hold-Harmless Agreement (sometimes known as an Indemnity Agreement) specifically outlines the liabilities the indemnitor is consenting to cover, the extent of the indemnity, possible restrictions on the damage amount, and the procedure for informing the indemnified party about a claim.
What Is a Hold‑Harmless Agreement?
A Hold-Harmless Agreement is an enforceable legal contract signed by two parties, where the first party designated as the indemnitor promises to cover the losses, claims, damages, or liabilities of the second party—the indemnitee—that may occur as a consequence of a particular activity or relationship. Usually, the principal wording specifies the parties, outlines the activity that poses the risk, and the extent of the indemnity (usually including “from all claims, demands, causes of action, losses, and expenses”), sets any financial limits or requirements for insurance, and lays down the rules for notifying a claim and for the indemnitor to take over the defense.
An agreement can also include a clause that prohibits the indemnitee from suing the indemnitor for issues that are subject to indemnity, and a provision that specifies which state’s laws will govern that settles disputes between the parties concerning the application of the statutes. In a single document the parties have not only set out a clear and precise way for sharing risks but also made a legal and practical foundation for claiming expenses in case a covered incident happens.
Download Free Hold Harmless Agreements
Here are previews and download links for these free Hold Harmless Agreement Templates in MS Word format.
Please click the download button for this Hold Harmless Agreement Template 01 below,
Key components typically included in a Hold Harmless Agreement are:
Parties Involved: The identification of the indemnitor (being agreed to hold harmless) and the indemnitee (being protected) will happen by providing their names, and other details via email.
Purpose of Agreement: Indemnitee is being held harmless for a clearly described activity, event, or transaction. That may consist of specific circumstances and context.
Scope of Indemnity: Consider in regard to what claims, damages, or wasted monies are taken into account for the purposes of indemnification. These may take the form of injuries to persons, destruction of estate, money lost, and attorney fees.
Duration of Agreement: This is the length of time in which the guarantee is valid, varying in instances from an event date to a given moment, or beyond that.
Responsibilities and Obligations: The indemnitor may be required to carry insurance, avoid recklessly causing accidents, or inform the indemnitee immediately when they know that a claim has been made.
Exclusions and Limitations: There are exceptions to the indemnification provision in the agreement such as intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or types of claims not covered in the agreement.
Legal Representation and Defense: On the legal claim event, the indemnitor’s duty expects the defense of the indemnitee and should also cover all costs and fees for defense purposes.
Governing Law: The area within which the legal agreement will be governed and interpreted.
Signatures: Both parties’ signatures shall be on the dotted line, which is a way of showing their concordance with the terms of this document.
Popular Types of Hold‑Harmless Agreements
When deciding which agreement to use, it is best to first analyze the relationship that brings about the risk and subsequently choose the template that reflects that situation.
General Hold‑Harmless Agreement
The General Hold-Harmless Agreement is the most flexible document. It has a wide-ranging indemnity clause that covers all claims arising from the activity described regardless of the type of loss. Due to its wide scope, it is ideal for one-off transactions where the parties prefer a straightforward, catch-all protection.
Contractor Indemnity Agreement
The Contractor Indemnity Agreement is designed specifically for a situation where an independent contractor will be offering his/her services on a third party’s property. A condition is included that the contractor must have general-liability insurance with at least the minimum amount of coverage specified and it is required the contractor include the hiring party as an additional insured under that policy. A “pay‑as‑you‑go” clause is also included in the agreement, which enables the hiring party to reclaim any unpaid invoices from the contractor’s security deposit in the event that a claim arises prior to payment being made.
Event Organizer Hold‑Harmless Form
The Event Organizer Hold-Harmless Form is meant for public events gathering, festivals, charitable activities, trade shows, and such. It designates the organizer as the indemnitor and the venue or sponsor as the indemnitee, and then enumerates the usual event-related risks, such as injury to persons, damage to property, liquor-license violations, malpractice of vendors, and infringement of intellectual property rights. Besides, this template provides a stipulation that the organizer must obtain a certificate of insurance with the venue named as the additional insured, as well as a requirement that the organizer must inform the venue of any incident within a reasonable time.
Landlord / Tenant Common‑Area Indemnity
The Landlord / Tenant Common‑Area Indemnity is used in apartment complexes, condominiums or office buildings where the landlord wants to shift liability for injuries that occur in shared spaces to the tenant using those spaces. It specifies the common areas covered, requires the tenant to maintain liability insurance that names the landlord as an additional insured, and sets a monetary cap equal to the tenant’s security deposit plus any unpaid rent.
Online‑Service Hold‑Harmless Agreement
The Online-Service Hold-Harmless Agreement is appropriate for various types of digital services like software platforms, marketplace websites, cloud-storage providers, or any service that allows content to be generated by users. The user must protect the provider from any lawsuit involving a third party that originates from the user’s activities such as posts, listings, uploaded files or violations of the terms of service. Moreover, the agreement has a data-breach notification clause that the user is obliged to follow if the provider requests his/her cooperation in the event of a security incident. This is coupled with a limitation-of-liability section which sets a maximum liability for the provider equal to the total amount of fees that the user has actually paid during the twelve months prior to the claim.
Volunteer‑Work Indemnity Form
The Volunteer‑Work Indemnity Form is suitable for non‑profit organizations that need the assistance of volunteers for such activities as events, community clean-ups, and outreach programs. It explicitly states that the volunteer takes on all risks of sustaining an injury, that the organization will not be responsible for any medical costs, and that the volunteer will not sue the organization for any claims made by third parties as a result of the volunteer’s conduct.
Equipment‑Rental Hold‑Harmless Agreement
An Equipment Rental Hold Harmless Agreement is advantageous when a company rents out heavy machines, professional audio and video equipment, or special tools. It stipulates that the lessee must acquire insurance that also includes the rented item, cover any losses or damages, and protect the owner from claims by third parties that arise due to the lessee’s misuse.
Photo‑Shoot Location Release / Hold‑Harmless
Photographers, film crews, or advertising agencies who require the right to use private property for a shoot may use the Photo‑Shoot Location Release / Hold‑Harmless. The property owner has to agree to hold the production company harmless in case of any injury to a crew member, damage to the property, or claims from third parties who may be disturbed by the shooting.
Medical‑Device Testing Indemnity
The Medical Device Testing Indemnity is perfect for research laboratories or producers who permit third parties to test medical devices. This agreement makes it mandatory for the tester to have professional-liability insurance, to cover the manufacturer in case of any negative events, and to inform about any occurrences within a specified time limit.
Child‑Care Provider Hold‑Harmless Form
The Child-Care Provider Hold-Harmless Form is a document that parents use whenever they get a babysitter or a home-day-care provider. It contains a provision whereby the caregiver takes all risks for injuries to the kids while in their custody, that the caregiver will have the proper liability insurance and that the caregiver will exonerate the parents from any claims arising out of the caregiver’s fault.
Real‑Estate Transaction Indemnity
The Real‑Estate Transaction Indemnity is made for those, buyers, sellers or agents, who want to safeguard themselves from the claims of title-defect, which are likely to arise after the close of the sale. It usually limits the liability of the indemnitor to the purchase price, puts the burden of defending any claim brought by the other party on the indemnitor, and has a notice-of-claim provision that has to be activated within a certain time frame after the defect is found.
Marketing‑Campaign Indemnity
The Marketing-Campaign Indemnity is a great support for the agencies engaged in running advertisements for clients. It has a condition that the client really has to reimburse the agency for any claims from third parties due to use of the client’s approved creative assets and that the claims are pertaining to the trademark rights violation, false advertisements or data privacy laws being breached.
Co‑Working‑Space Indemnity
The Co-Working-Space Indemnity is a suitable agreement for providers of shared-office spaces. It compels every member to cover the operator with respect to any injuries to visitors, destruction of property, or intellectual property disputes that arise due to the member’s business activities. Additionally, it obliges the member to hold a minimum general liability insurance policy in place.
Manufacturing‑Process Hold‑Harmless
The Manufacturing-Process Hold-Harmless is a tool that is implemented in situations where a subcontractor carries out a specialized process on the production line of a manufacturer. In such a scenario, the subcontractor is liable to indemnify the manufacturer regarding any claims related to defective products, violations of environmental standards, or injuries that take place in the workplace and are attributable to the subcontractor’s process. In addition, the subcontractor may have to supply a performance bond as further assurance.
By selecting the template that mirrors the context of your risk exposure—or by merging clauses from several of the above documents—you can create a Hold‑Harmless Agreement that precisely allocates liability, complies with state statutes, respects any insurance requirements, and gives both parties a clear, enforceable path forward should a claim ever materialize.
