What is Contributory cause?

In insurance law, a contributory cause is a cause of loss that operates with another cause to bring about the covered risk. For example, if an insured's house is destroyed by a fire that was caused by a neighbor's negligence, the neighbor's negligence would be considered a contributory cause of the loss.

In order for a contributory cause to be covered by insurance, it must be a proximate cause of the loss. A proximate cause is a cause that is directly connected to the loss and without which the loss would not have occurred. In the example of the fire, the neighbor's negligence was a proximate cause of the loss because the fire would not have occurred if the neighbor had not been negligent.

If a contributory cause is found to be covered by insurance, the insured may be able to recover damages from the other party who was responsible for the cause. However, the amount of damages that can be recovered may be reduced if the insured's own negligence contributed to the cause of the loss. In some cases, the insured may be barred from recovering damages altogether if their own negligence was the primary cause of the loss.

Contributory cause is an important concept in insurance law because it helps to determine who is liable for a loss and how much damages can be recovered.