HOW TO INCREASE YOUR BARGAINING POWER

When contracting with an entity that has superior bargaining power, short line railroads often agree to overly stringent insurance requirements and unfair exculpatory clauses that they otherwise would not accept. Why? Because the party with superior bargaining power makes agreeing to their provisions a condition of doing business with them.

Bargaining Power Is Unbalanced

This is very risky. Why? Insurance policies do not typically contain provisions that require insurers to agree to provide insurance, delete exclusions, or add coverage endorsements to in-force policies, or to increase policy limits on demand. Exculpatory clauses, where you agree to release the other party from liability for their own actions, usually apply irrespective of whether you have insurance to cover the risk. Overly stringent insurance requirements and unfair exculpatory clauses imposed by parties with superior bargaining power very often result in significant uninsured losses to the other party.

CRT Consulting, LLC can help short line railroads avoid agreeing to overly stringent insurance requirements and unfair exculpatory clauses by bringing more balance to the negotiating process. Just like an attorney helps increase your bargaining power by bringing essential professional knowledge of legal issues, statutes, and contract construction techniques, CRT helps increase your bargaining power by bringing essential professional knowledge of risk management principles, insurance coverage, and the insurance marketplace. Your bargaining power is much greater when the weight of professional risk management knowledge is added to your side of the negotiating scale.

Bargaining Power Is Balanced