In first-party property cases, a peril that takes place before the proximate cause—for example, in sequence of events type situations where one peril is followed by—but does not cause—a second peril that was unforeseeable at the time the policy was issued. In these kinds of situations, courts hold that the second peril is the superseding cause, and hence, the proximate cause of the loss.
Coverage for the loss depends on whether the superseding cause is covered. In this kind of situation, the initial peril that is not selected as the proximate cause is said to be only a remote cause.