what is an adhesion contract 
an adhesion contract is an agreement that usually has non negotiable terms and conditions generally it s prepared by a party to a potential transaction that has the product or service sought by another party the consumer the former has the stronger bargaining position the latter must accept the adhesion contract to obtain the product or service adhesion contracts are also known as standard standardized or boilerplate contracts understanding adhesion contractsadhesion contracts are often used for insurance leases vehicle purchases mortgages and other transactions where there is a high volume of customers who fit a standard form of agreement for instance with an insurance contract the company and its agent have the power to draft the contract while the potential policyholder only has the right of refusal in other words the customer cannot counter the offer or create their own new contract to which the insurer could agree it is important for consumers to read an adhesion contract carefully as all the information and rules have been written by the other party 1adhesion contracts are usually enforceable in the united states according to the uniform commercial code ucc the ucc helps to ensure that commercial transactions take place under a similar set of laws across the country although the ucc is followed by most u s states it has not been fully adopted by some jurisdictions such as american samoa and puerto rico 2 louisiana stands alone among the 50 states in adopting only parts of the ucc 3the ucc has specific provisions relating to adhesion contracts for the sale or lease of goods contracts of adhesion are however subject to additional scrutiny and interpretation under state law history of adhesion contractsadhesion contracts started to become part of the u s legal system only after the harvard law review published an article on life insurance contracts by edwin w patterson in 1919 subsequently most courts accepted the idea of contract adhesion due in large part to a supreme court of california case that supported adhesion analysis in 1962 45the specifics of the legality and enforceability of adhesion contracts have changed over time the case law and interpretation may vary from state to state but it is generally agreed that adhesion contracts are an efficient way to handle standardized transactions 