In the context of property insurance, what happens when an exclusion applies to one of two contributing perils?

When an exclusion applies to one of two contributing perils, concurrent causation may come into play. This legal doctrine addresses scenarios where multiple perils contribute to a loss, and one or more of these perils is excluded from coverage.

In property insurance, if an event or damage occurs due to two contributing factors, and one is excluded while the other is not, insurance companies must assess whether the encompassed peril would still lead to the loss without the excluded peril's contribution. If it is determined that the non-excluded peril would have independently caused the damage, then coverage may still apply.

This principle highlights the nuances of policy interpretation in relation to the interplay between covered and excluded perils, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of how certain policies respond in complex loss situations.