How to sign a waiver

As a business, it is important to be legally insured against any type of risk in order to avoid lawsuits from your customers. 

Especially if your business activity includes a risk to consumers, such as extreme sports.

In fact, if a customer gets hurt and the law doesn’t cover you, the situation could cost you substantially and hurt your brand’s image.

To avoid this issue, you simply have to have the right sort of agreement with your clients. In this case, signing a waiver agreement will shield you from any legal action.

That’s why PandaDoc helps you by providing templates and tools for your legal and contractual agreements online.

Let’s take a look at how a waiver works and how to draft one.

What is a waiver?

A liability waiver form is nothing more than an agreement not to sue someone for something that happened.

To put it another way, a waiver is a document signed by the participant agreeing not to pursue any legal action against the activity provider.

A waiver is often used for one-time activities or services. Here is a list of different scenarios in which a waiver will be useful for your company:

• You are providing a potentially dangerous or risky activity for your participants, such as skydiving or visiting an amusement park.

• A brand-new product is being evaluated by your participants.

• You offer rental services (car, boat, motorized equipment, tools, etc.).

However, keep in mind that a waiver is not a commercial contract.

In fact, it is a document in which the customer understands and accepts the potential risks involved in purchasing or using the services and goods you provide.

What are the different types of waivers?

Now that you know what a waiver is and what it is used for, you should also understand that there are different types of waivers for different situations.

Here is a list of the types of waivers you may need depending on the characteristics of your business.

Waiver of liability

It is a legal document, also called a release of liability, that a person who participates in an activity must sign to acknowledge the risks involved in their participation.

By doing so, if a participant is killed or injured while taking part in the activity, the company that organized it is released from any and all liability under this waiver.

These waivers can be used before participating in other activities like skydiving or extreme sports like mountain biking.

Lien waiver

These are typically requested during the payment process. Indeed, before releasing their payment, the paying party may require having signed waivers.

The party providing services are promised payment in exchange for signing the lien waiver.

Waiver of subrogation

A waiver of subrogation prevents an individual or business from pursuing damage collection from a third party.

Contracts for property insurance, leases, and construction all frequently contain waivers of subrogation.

GAP waiver

Guaranteed asset protection (GAP) insurance is an optional add-on to your loan agreement, usually auto, that waives the balance of your loan in case your car is destroyed or stolen before you finish paying it off.

Loan waiver

The lender can voluntarily release the borrower from the obligation to repay the loan through a loan waiver.

As a result, the lender agrees to bear some or all of the loan’s costs.

The process of writing a waiver

It is essential to be crystal clear about the contents of a waiver prior to its creation.

As we’ve noted above, not all waivers are created equal, and some risks are more dangerous than others.

Even though a waiver gives your company guarantees, it does not mean you are free to do anything.

Let’s take a look at what should be included in a waiver and how to write one.

Use the right template

Now that you are ready to compose your waiver, you should also know that waivers require a format that must be respected.

Fortunately, PandaDoc offers ready-made waiver templates and electronic waivers for writing this document, making your job easier.

Describe your activity

To inform the participant of all of the risks they will face, specify the date and provide as much information as possible about your activity. 

Additionally, direct the participant to read the waiver carefully at the beginning of the document.

Drafting the terms of the waiver

In this section, you need to add an assumption of risk and describe the accidents and personal injuries to which the waiver will apply so that participants cannot sue you. 

Also, be sure to include that the participant accepts the risks involved in signing the document and that the company will not be held responsible.

Ask your lawyer for support

Now that you have defined the terms of your document, you should talk to a lawyer before sending it.

Indeed, a lawyer will be able to examine your document to ensure that it is written correctly and free of errors. Don’t hesitate to ask questions about what you can legally ask of the participant. 

This way, you will be able to write a strong waiver that will really protect your business (for instance, in the event that a participant decides to sue you anyway).

Add a part for signatures

The participant is now ready to sign the document.

Also, add check boxes above the signature part to clarify that the person has read and understood what he/she has waived.

You can use the PandaDoc service for waiver signing.

Create your waiver with PandaDoc

Waivers are legal documents that will protect your company from any attempt of legal attack from customers.

With PandaDoc, we help your company and provide you with all the tools to create your online waivers.