ABSTRACT

Any of the perils insured by the ITCH(95) and the IVCH(95) can occur in time of peace as well as of war. A loss arising as a result of, for example, a peril of the seas, stranding, collision, or fire, can take place in a circumstance enumerated in the war exclusion or, for that matter, any of the other exclusion clauses. In the context of war (or warlike operations), the Lord Chancellor, Viscount Simon, in The Coxwold11 was very much concerned with the problem of the possibility of dual causes of loss. His remarks, though they were made in reference to the subject of ‘warlike operations’ of the fc & s clause which no longer exists, are, nonetheless, pertinent to the present discussion. He said:

In such a situation, the question for determination is whether the marine or the war insurer is liable for the loss. In each case, the matter is to be resolved by applying the principle set out in s 55, the rule of proximate cause.12 Using collision13 as an example, the issue is: is the loss proximately caused by a peril of the seas, a marine risk, or a war risk? If the former is regarded as the proximate cause of loss, it would be covered by the marine policy, and therefore it would be unnecessary to inquire further. On the other hand, if one of the circumstances enumerated in the exclusion clause is held to be the proximate cause, the loss would be excluded. In the words of the Lord Chancellor,14 ‘one has to ask oneself what was the effective and predominant cause of the accident that happened, whatever the nature of that accident may be’.