MEDICAL,USA: 1. Liability of one entity is assumed by a second entity (insurance company). 2. Clause in an insurance contract that relieves the insurance payer of liability that may arise from the delivery of health care. 3. Provision that offers the insured protection in disputes between the insurer and the provider of a covered service. Also called hold harmless provision .
***
UK: A contractual arrangement whereby one party assumes the liability of another party. The effect is to transfer the potential financial loss. A tenant may hold his landlord ‘harmless’ against claims by injured third parties. The term is synonymous with ‘indemnity agreement’ but some purists make a distinction. They regard ‘hold harmless’ as paying on behalf of the indemnitee while ‘indemnity’ means reimbursing him after he has first paid the loss himself. It is customary for public and employers’ liability policies to provide a principal’s clause under which, subject to policy terms, any indemnity granted by an insured to his principal, is covered by insurance.
***
A contractual assumption by one party of the liability exposure of another. Lease agreements, for example, commonly require the tenant to hold the landlord harmless for bodily injury to property damage experienced by others on the premises.