"Acts of God"?

Question

ok, i was working in the office this morning ( i work as an insurance broker) and i'm reading over a policy.. and i spot this..

"2.1. these special exclusions shall not apply to loss or damage resulting from an act of God
2.2 the burden of proving that loss of or damage to property insured results from an act of God shall be upon the insured."

how do you define what an act of god? is there a specific god to which these pertain? how on earth can you prove somethings an act of god?

bareing in mind that this is a live policy ( aka, it's in effect now, so it's not something that's 20 years old or something)

note, the way it's worded, it means the exclusions ( stuff that normally wouldn't pay out) WOULD pay out if it was deemed to be an "act of god".

Answer 1

There is a great movie about that called "The man who sued God". His insured sail boat gets hit by lightning, and his insurance company refuses to pay due to it being 'an act of God' so he sues the catholic church. Pretty good.
But, by act of God, I'm sure they mean Nature.

Answer 2

God’s Wisdom, Love and Power
People may wonder why, if God exists, He doesn’t wave a magic wand and fix things, making or at least influencing everyone so that they do exactly what they ‘should’ do. But God never takes away anyone’s freedom of choice. God’s wisdom is to recognize and respect each soul’s individual identity, freedom and inherent goodness. God shares knowledge – a profound understanding of the dualities and dilemmas of love and hatred, happiness and sorrow, victory and defeat, etc. – but He does not make our choices for us. The soul is free to choose ‘to be or not to be’, ‘to love or not to love’. God’s love strengthens the soul’s will to free itself from the distresses caused by vices such as selfish desire, anger, fear, ego and attachment. God’s power helps the soul to recognize its highest potential and to aim for perfection by practising the art of simple living and high thinking. Such practice by a significant number of souls eventually brings about positive change in the whole of humanity.
When you learn to tune your mind in meditation to the mind of God, then whatever the situation, you always have a source of help and strength to draw upon – an infinite reservoir of power and virtues that is only a thought away

Answer 3

Major disasters, like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc. are taken as “acts of God.” Because are beyond of human control. They pertain to the laws of nature and nature is working under the direction of God, as is stated in Bhagavad gita:
"TRANSLATION
This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of ****é, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."
PURPORT
It is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord, although aloof from all the activities of the material world, remains the supreme director. The Supreme Lord is the supreme will and the background of this material manifestation, but the management is being conducted by material nature.

Answer 4

If the term "act of god" bothers or confuses you, just think "act of nature" instead. It's an act of god/nature if a strong wind blows down a tree in your yard (assuming the tree was not unsafe to begin with.) It's an act of man if someone drives into the tree with their car and knocks it over.

Answer 5

Typically this refers to natural disasters. Though I don't know why they just don't say "natural disasters".

I kind of like seeing it there, because that way the people who blame events on invisible friends don't have a loophole.

Answer 6

It only shows that Atheist are exempt from those clauses. An other good reason to be and Atheist.