Waiver of Subrogation

Subrogation is the legal right of an insurance company to pursue recovery from a responsible party after it has paid a claim. A waiver of subrogation is an endorsement that tells your carrier to give up that right in favor of a specific party — usually the entity that hired you.

In tree service work, waiver of subrogation requests come up frequently in contracts with utilities, municipalities, and large commercial property owners. Here is a practical example: your crew accidentally drops a limb on a client's irrigation system. Your GL policy pays the $8,000 repair. Without a waiver, your carrier could turn around and demand reimbursement from the property owner if there is evidence the owner contributed to the incident (say, by failing to mark the irrigation lines). The waiver prevents that recovery action, which is why property owners insist on it — it protects them from your insurer coming after them.

Waivers of subrogation can apply to your general liability, workers' compensation, and commercial auto policies. On the workers' comp side, if one of your climbers is injured and the client's negligence contributed, your comp carrier might subrogate against the client. A waiver stops that.

There is usually a small additional premium for this endorsement. It is almost always worth accepting, because refusing a waiver of subrogation can disqualify you from lucrative contracts. Just make sure your policy allows it — some carriers will not add waivers after a loss has already occurred on that job site.