b'Insurance NotesBidder BewareUgly indemnification agreements and insurance specificationsI n 2021, it appears tenderstively expensive risks, or you may be disqualified.have started being releasedThis article focuses on one example of a recent indem-withoutthesignificantnification and insurance agreement from a municipal ten-COVID-19delaysexperi- der I have recently reviewed. There are many risks imposed enced in 2020. Fingers crossedon you in contract documents that are not generally insur-thisheraldsamorepositiveable risks; a thorough review is always necessary. Keep in By Simon Fenn, CIP 2021; from what we can tellmind that if the risk being transferred to you is too great, from tender and bidding activ- there are always other projects. ity, many ICI roofing contractors have secured their workWe believe the indemnification agreement is the main quota for 2021.source of risk transfer in a contract; the insurance specifi-At the risk of casting a grey cloud over such positivecation is secondary to the indemnification agreement as news, tender/contract Indemnification Agreements andit prescribes the insurance you are required to provide in Insurance Specifications are becoming increasingly com- order to cover a risk event when it occurs, hence why most plicated and downright ugly at a time when the insuranceinsurance clauses state something along the lines of, Not-industry is in one of the most complex and adverse cycleswithstanding the Indemnification Agreement hereinI have seen in my 42-year career. It is of the utmost im- When reviewing insurance specifications you need to portance to read your tenders/RFPs and their accompany- be fully aware of the extent and scope of the indemnifi-ing supplementary conditions and addenda page to page,cation agreement. Some risks are not insurable, after all, cover to cover, in order to clearly understand the risk youand if unaware you could find yourself responsible for are assuming on every project you may bid. If you do notmuch more self-insured risk than you realize. This may be understand any single word, sentence, item or paragraph,a shocker, and is a little sarcastic, but insurance does not I implore you to take advantage of your experts, includingcover everything. Before reading further, keep in mind the your association resources, legal counsel, accountants andfollowing thought:risk and insurance advisers. By failing to do so, you may end up holding responsibility for unwanted and prohibi- Am I prepared to accept this risk?18ONTARIO ROOFING NEWSISSUE 2 2021 THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN'