Make These Critical Changes to Your Next Contract

Five essential contract changes every subcontractor should make before signing.

1. Narrow the indemnity

Limit indemnification to your own negligence. Reject requirements to defend the other party for their own wrongdoing.

2. Convert pay-if-paid to pay-when-paid

Even if you can't eliminate the conditional language entirely, narrow it so non-payment by the owner only delays — not eliminates — your right to be paid.

3. Cap consequential damages

Mutual waiver of consequential damages protects you from runaway claims for lost profits, lost productivity, and downstream business losses.

4. Clean up the change order procedure

Reasonable notice windows, written confirmation, and a fallback path if the GC won't issue the change order. No "constructive change" waivers.

5. Insurance and additional insured limits

Match additional insured obligations to your actual policy limits. Don't agree to coverage you can't deliver.