Page 82 - Ebook health insurance IC27

The Insurance Times

According to the principle of contribution if there are more than one policy for the same
subject matter the insured will get only the actual claim amount. He cannot recover
separately from different insurance companies. Each insurer pays the proportionate
amount of loss suffered by the insured.

Proximate cause

According to the concept of proximate cause the loss will be paid only if it is caused
by the most active and efficient cause and it is insured under the policy. The proximate
cause may be defined as the active and efficient cause that sets in motion a train of
events which brings about a result, without the intervention of any forces started and
working at actively from a new and independent source.

If there are more than one causes of insurance only the original cause which led to the
damage will be considered. The subsidiary cause though may not be insured peril, even
then the loss will be paid since the original cause was an insured peril.

The proximate cause may not be the most nearest one but it should be the direct,
dominant, operated and efficient cause.

Example:
The classic example is that of a father who gives his child a loaded gun, which she
carelessly drops upon the plaintiff's foot, causing injury. The plaintiff argues that it is
negligent to give a child a loaded gun and that such negligence caused the injury, but this
argument fails, for the injury did not result from the risk that made the conduct negligent.
The risk that made the conduct negligent was the risk of the child accidentally firing the
shotgun; the harm suffered could just as easily have resulted from handing the child an
unloaded gun.

8 6 Guide for Health Insurance