subject: Natural Peril Exclusions - Storm - Part II [print this page] As is so often the case with property policies, the real issue is causation, in other words an investigation of fact as to whether a covered or excluded peril caused the loss.
Again, in an Australian case, CICInsurances. HygeiaDianthus IndustriesPty Ltd. [1991] 6 ANZ IC, the court was required to identify the proximate causewas the cause an excluded peril or not? The assured owned a system of greenhouses and shelters insured against "any physical loss, destruction or damage ... not otherwise excluded". Disease was excluded from coverage. The greenhouses were damaged in a storm leaving the plants exposed to disease, resulting in physical loss. The court held that the proximate cause of loss was the storm not the disease.
A similar investigation was made by the court in the case of Anderson v. Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Ltd. [1977] 1 Lloyd's Rep 253. The Plaintiff had purchased household insurance covering damage due to storm, tempest or flood. After a very heavy rainfall, it appeared that roof rafters in the assured's house were damaged and there was a fall of plaster from the ceiling in one of the rooms. The court was asked to decide whether the heavy rainfall amounted to a storm within the meaning of the policy. The Court of Appeal concurred with Richards J at first instance, in that there was nothing to connect the damage complained of with the heavy rainfall. Further, heavy rainfall did not, by itself, constitute a storm. It is also interesting to note that the Court of Appeal considered the meaning of wear and tear, as it was alleged by the insurers that in fact the cause of the loss was indeed wear and tear, whereas the assured argued that wear and tear can only occur as a result of some friction. The court decided, in passing, that the manner in which the expression is used in relation to buildings meant that the phrase had a wider significance and included damage which naturally develops over the years without the necessity of there being any element of friction.
