• Contributory Causation is (1) the Doctrine of Tort, which places two or more parties jointly liable if their negligence cumulatively results in the same damages. (2) In property insurance, this term refers to a situation where there is a combination of covered and non-covered perils acting together (successively or simultaneously) and causing the same material damage. In the early 1980s, lower courts in California misapplied concepts of tort to the interpretation of first-party property policies and held that in “simultaneous causation” claims, the property insurer was liable as long as one of the causes was covered by the policy. As a result, these courts have denied enforcement of the flood or earthquake exemptions if there was a non-excludable factor contributing to the loss, such as zoning decisions or contractor negligence. In response, insurers have added a so-called anti-parallel causation (ACC) formulation to standard forms for homeowners, commercial real estate, and other first-party property policies to counter this mindset. (3) In liability insurance, this term is sometimes used. to refer to a situation where a claim against an insured person lists two or more causes of action, any of which by itself would be sufficient to hold the insured liable, but some of the causes of action are covered and some are not. . In this situation, the liability insurer must defend the entire claim.