Here’s a crisp, clause-by-clause explainer of 18.4 (1999) / 19.2.5 (2017) on “Insurance for Contractor’s Personnel” — with comparisons, cross-links, and practical scenarios. 🛡️👷♀️
1️⃣ Purpose of 18.4 (1999) / 19.2.5 (2017)
Both editions require the Contractor to keep insurance in force for injury, sickness, disease, or death of anyone employed by the Contractor (including Subcontractor staff) arising out of execution of the Works. The cover is liability insurance, not a benefit policy, and it must stay effective while those personnel are assisting in the Works.
Key purpose & risk allocation:
- Places primary responsibility on the Contractor for its workforce risks, aligning with the Contractor’s control over site operations.
- Ensures the Employer and the Engineer are also protected as additional insureds (but excludes losses caused by their own acts/neglect).
Benefit: clean allocation of “employee injury” risk; avoids leakage into third-party liability covers (18.3 / 19.2.4).
2️⃣ Breakdown of 18.4 (1999) vs 19.2.5 (2017)
1999 — Sub-Clause 18.4
- Contractor “shall effect and maintain” insurance for liability arising from injury/sickness/disease/death of Contractor’s Personnel.
- Employer & Engineer indemnified under the policy; may exclude losses from their own acts/neglect.
- Cover must remain in force “during the whole time” such personnel assist in the Works; Subcontractors may place, but Contractor remains responsible.
2017 — Sub-Clause 19.2.5
- Mirrors 1999 wording: maintain liability insurance for injury/sickness/disease/death of employees “arising out of the execution of the Works.”
- Employer & Engineer also indemnified; exception for their acts/neglect preserved.
- Coverage duration and responsibility for Subcontractor employees restated.
- Set within a restructured insurance regime: 19.1 “General Requirements” (insurer terms subject to Employer consent, evidence of premiums, permitted deductibles, Employer’s right to step in if Contractor fails).
Related insurance buckets (context you’ll often need):
- 1999 18.3 third-party injury/property (excludes persons insured under 18.4).
- 2017 19.2.4 third-party injury/property + cross-liability clause (Contractor/Employer treated as separate insureds).
3️⃣ Key Interpretations & Implications
- Additional insureds: Employer & Engineer must be indemnified under the employee-injury policy; carve-out for their own fault limits unfair transfer. (1999 & 2017 match).
- Subcontractor staff: A Subcontractor may place the cover, but the Contractor remains responsible for compliance — so verify and police Subcontractor policies.
- General insurance discipline:
- 1999 18.1: evidence, policy copies, no material alterations without consent; failure to insure lets the other Party step in and recover premiums.
- 2017 19.1: Employer consent to insurers/terms, proof of premiums on request; Employer may procure insurance and set-off costs if Contractor fails (claims procedures under Clause 20 don’t apply to this step-in).
- Why 2017 changed: FIDIC tightened structure/terminology, added explicit cross-liability for third-party cover and clearer administrative controls (deductible caps, step-in, consent). This improves insurability and claim handling across jurisdictions.
4️⃣ Cross-Referencing with Other Clauses (how they “click together”)
- Third-party liability vs. employee injury: Employee injuries are under 18.4/19.2.5; third-party claims sit under 18.3/19.2.4 with joint names and cross-liability.
- Indemnities & limitations:
- 1999 17.1 Indemnities and 17.6 Limitation of Liability interact with insurance (no indirect/consequential loss; overall caps).
- 2017 17.4/17.5/17.6 (indemnities by Contractor/Employer & shared) create proportional sharing and fit-for-purpose interplay with professional indemnity.
- 2017 liability caps cross-reference the required values of the very insurances (including 19.2.5) — making limits contract-data driven.
- General Requirements for Insurances: 1999 18.1 / 2017 19.1 anchor evidence, consent, deductibles, alterations, and step-in rights.
5️⃣ What-If Scenarios (with outcomes)
A. Subcontractor’s welder is injured on site.
Primary policy: 18.4/19.2.5 (even if Subcontractor buys it, the Contractor is responsible to ensure compliance). Expect Employer & Engineer to be treated as additional insureds; exclusions for their own negligence may apply.
B. Employer’s site instruction negligently causes injury to Contractor’s employee.
Still 18.4/19.2.5 responds, but the policy may exclude loss “to the extent” it arises from Employer/Employer’s Personnel’s act/neglect — pushing that portion toward Employer indemnity/Employer’s liability regimes.
C. Contractor failed to maintain the employee-injury policy.
Employer may procure the missing insurance and recover premiums (1999 18.1; 2017 19.1 step-in). This recovery is outside the Clause 20 claims routine in 2017.
D. Third party (not an employee) is injured by site operations.
That’s 18.3/19.2.4 (joint names + cross-liability), not 18.4/19.2.5.
6️⃣ Suggestions for Clarity & Improvement (Particular Conditions)
To avoid friction with underwriters and close gaps, consider adding Special Provisions that:
- Name insureds & waivers: State that the Employer and Engineer are additional insureds on the employee-injury policy, with a waiver of subrogation except for wilful misconduct/gross negligence (mirrors the carve-out already allowed).
- Evidence & timing: Require certificates of insurance before site access and on renewal; tie to 19.1/18.1 evidence language for premium receipts.
- Limits & deductibles: Fix minimum limits and maximum deductibles in Contract Data (2017 anticipates this), and require global territorial/jurisdictional scope if personnel are mobile.
- Subcontractor compliance: Oblige the Contractor to collect and file Subcontractor COIs and endorsements (since the Contractor remains responsible).
- Local laws alignment: Where workers’ compensation or employer’s liability is mandatory, state that 19.2.6 (2017) or local equivalents are maintained at Contractor’s cost.
7️⃣ Visual: “Who Pays?” quick matrix
| Event | Who is harmed? | Primary policy | Clause hook | Likely payer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welder (Subcontractor) injured | Contractor’s Personnel | Employee injury | 18.4 / 19.2.5 | Contractor’s policy (Employer/Engineer as AI) |
| Visitor injured by works | Third party | Public liability | 18.3 / 19.2.4 | Joint-names liability policy (cross-liability) |
| Employee injury caused by Employer’s negligent instruction | Contractor’s Personnel | Employee injury (but carve-out for Employer’s neglect) + Employer indemnity regime | 18.4/19.2.5, 17.5 | Split per exclusions/indemnities |
| Contractor didn’t insure | — | Employer step-in | 18.1 / 19.1 | Employer procures; recovers premiums from Contractor |
Final Takeaways 💡
- The Contractor must maintain employee-injury liability insurance throughout the period its people (including Subcontractors) assist with the Works. (1999 18.4 / 2017 19.2.5)
- Employer & Engineer are protected as additional insureds, except for losses caused by their own acts.
- 2017 strengthens admin/control (consent to terms/insurers, deductible caps, step-in) and meshes insurance limits with liability caps.
Interpretative questions to consider 🤔
- Can it be interpreted that the Employer’s negligence fully voids cover under 19.2.5?
Likely no — the policy may exclude only “to the extent” of the Employer’s fault; other portions remain covered, with the balance addressed via indemnities. - If a Subcontractor’s policy lapses mid-works, can the Employer stop the works?
The Contract lets the Employer step-in to procure the missing insurance and recover costs; stopping works may arise under safety/Instruction powers, but the clean mechanism here is step-in and recovery.