'Anti-Concurrent Cause' Won't Work In Ariz. Fire Policies

Law360, New York (September 1, 2015, 2:34 PM ET) -- Anti-concurrent cause (ACC) provisions in first-party property insurance policies allow the parties to contract around the efficient proximate cause rule and exclude a loss caused concurrently by an excluded and a covered peril regardless of which is the predominate or most efficient cause. The majority of jurisdictions, with the notable exception of California, enforce ACC provisions. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, however, recently negated the enforceability of an ACC provision under Arizona law notwithstanding that Arizona has not adopted the efficient proximate cause rule. The court determined an ACC clause is inconsistent with the Arizona Standard Fire Policy.