A clause in a liability or reinsurance contract designed to treat a series of loss occurrences unified by a common cause as a single loss. This means that any deductible or retention will be applied only to the aggregate of individual claims arising from the common cause and not to the claims individually. For example, individual claims originating in the same product design fault would be aggregated and might breach the deductible while each one individually might fall below it. The clause also has a bearing on the application of limits of indemnity. See HOURS CLAUSE; ORIGINATING CAUSE.