ABSTRACT
It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. (Williams James, 1897)
No Risk is the Highest Risk of All. (A.Wildavsky, American Scientist, 1979)
The ideas captured by the above quotations have formed the pivotal factor in many aspects of human life. In insurance, the 1601 Marine Insurance Act of the English Parliament is an example.1 In law, voluntary assumption of risk results in contributory responsibility, see page 14, and it may be observed in many authoritative works on sociology and philosophy. Nevertheless, few people involved in construction perceive its importance within the work done by the parties involved. It should be perceived that the risks inherent in construction should be specifically allocated in the contract(s) between the parties involved and that they may also be offloaded from one party to another by agreement. They may also be offloaded to a third party such as an insurer or a banker but that choice has to be based on proper principles relevant to the transaction and should also be referred to in their contract(s). The agreements made must be based on clarity and understanding of the respective risks, responsibilities and liabilities which are allocated to each. It is who bears the risk that is important.
