Anti-Concurrent Air Conditioning?

Cassie and her neighbor were constantly on each other's nerves. One night, the neighbor snuck onto Cassie's property and jammed a stick into the A/C condenser fan blades out of spite, causing the mechanicals on the unit to break down.   Notable Timestamps [ 00:29 ] - The adjuster's manager points out the exclusion for mechanical breakdown, prefaced by anti-concurrent causation language. The adjuster still feels this loss was in the nature of a vandalism loss and should be covered. [ 01:45 ] - Trivia question! What sitting US Senator was assaulted by his neighbor while mowing his lawn? [ 02:45 ] - Mike & Brennan get into their history of neighbor feuds and doggie disputes... [ 04:04 ] - The "Anti-Concurrent Causation" preface deals with the multiple causation problem. The default approach is to determine which cause is dominant or proximate, but where a policy has the "Anti-Concurrent Causation" preface, that's not the approach. [ 05:35 ] - Tim pulls the policy out of his pocket and reads that exclusions that follow the A.C.C. preface are excluded "regardless of any other cause..." [ 07:00 ] - In four jurisdictions (AL, CA, WA, WV), the A.C.C. preface is disregarded. [ 07:40 ] - There is an argument to be made that mechanical breakdown is in the chain of events, and therefore the exclusion applies regardless of the vandalism cause. [ 09:11 ] - An insurance company can choose to draft their policy this way and exclude this loss. [ 10:44 ] - Usually when you think mechanical breakdown, you think of a machine reaching the end of its life, wearing out, as opposed to sudden damage. [ 11:23 ] - It is very rare to see the mechanical breakdown exclusion paired with the A.C.C. preface, likely due to this unintuitive situation. The A.C.C. preface is usually intended for exclusions more subject to misapplication, such as flood. [ 12:55 ] - The way this policy is drafted, any time a machine breaks down it would eliminate coverage... even during a fire? Would a court uphold that? [ 13:30 ] - Tim provides a recap of the scenario and the points above. Your PLRB Resources Mechanical Breakdown Exclusion and the Anti-concurrent Causation Preface – PCQ.2024.09.26.twh.a  - https://www.plrb.org/documents/mechanical-breakdown-exclusion-and-the-anti-concurrent-causation-preface-pcq-2024-09-26-twh-a/ PLRB, Homeowners Annot. Key – Mechanical Breakdown, Latent Defect, Inherent Vice (HO129) - https://www.plrb.org/documents/mechanical-breakdown-latent-defect-inherent-vice-ho129/ Anti-Concurrent Causation Preface (HO78) Annotation - https://www.plrb.org/documents/anti-concurrent-causation-preface-ho78/ Employees of member companies also have access to a searchable legal database, hundreds of hours of video trainings, building code materials, weather data, and even the ability to have your coverage questions answered by our team of attorneys (https://www.plrb.org/ask-plrb/) at no additional charge to you or your company. Subscribe to this Podcast Your Podcast App - Please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app YouTube - Please like and subscribe at @plrb LinkedIN - Please follow at "Property and Liability Resource Bureau" Send us your Scenario! Please reach out to us with your scenario! This could be your "adjuster story" sharing a situation from your claims experience, or a burning question you would like the team to answer. In any case, please omit any personal information as we will anonymize your story before we share. Just reach out to [email protected]. Legal Information The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the individual speaker and not necessarily those of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), its membership, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. The information, ideas, and opinions are presented as information only and not as legal advice or offers of representation. Individual policy language and state laws vary, and listeners should rely on guidance from their companies and counsel as appropriate. Music: "Piece of Future" by Keyframe_Audio. Pixabay. Pixabay License. Font: Metropolis by Chris Simpson. SIL OFL 1.1. Icons: FontAwesome (SIL OFL 1.1) and Noun Project (royalty-free licenses purchased via subscription). Sound Effects: Pixabay (Pixabay License) and Freesound.org (CC0).