The Anti-concurrent Clause and Its Impact on Texas Residents After Hurricane Ike

Abstract

A homeowner's insurance policy typically contains a section detailing both covered perils and non-covered perils. Covered perils may include wind damage, for example, and non-covered perils may include flood damage. Some insurance policies also contain an anti-concurrent clause, which may be troublesome for some Texas homeowners after Hurricane Ike. The problem an anti-concurrent clause presents is simple-it denies coverage to policyholders for damages caused by a covered peril. By validating anti-concurrent clauses, the Fifth Circuit denied recovery for damages caused by a peril covered under the policy. This Comment will explain the development of Texas case law interpreting insurance policies when concurrent causes of damage occur; the Fifth Circuit's interpretation of anticoncurrent clauses; and the legal effect of the anti-concurrent clause in Texas.