Rachel Bodine graduated from college with a BA in English. She has since worked as a Feature Writer in the insurance industry and gained a deep knowledge of state and countrywide insurance laws and rates. Her research and writing focus on helping readers understand their insurance coverage and how to find savings. Her expert advice on insurance has been featured on sites like PhotoEnforced, All...

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Leslie Kasperowicz holds a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Winnipeg. She spent several years as a Farmers Insurance CSR, gaining a solid understanding of insurance products including home, life, auto, and commercial and working directly with insurance customers to understand their needs. She has since used that knowledge in her more than ten years as a writer, largely in the insurance...

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Reviewed by Leslie Kasperowicz
Former Farmers Insurance CSR

UPDATED: Oct 30, 2020

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Named perils are the parts of your coverage that refer to specifically named risks and eventualities under which you may make a claim against your insurance policy. Insurance companies will normally lay out the specific dangers that they are willing to underwrite some or all of the risk on in the contract as a matter of course, this is to ensure that their legal obligations are fully understood if the matter of liability ever arises in legal proceedings.

What are the named perils on my insurance policy?

Because there are many possible eventualities which may be named on your policy it is impossible to give direct advice on this, you should reference your insurance contract and they should be clearly laid out in this contract and if you still feel uncertain about what exactly is a named peril in your arrangement, you should contact your insurance broker or agent to discuss the policy in more detail.

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What are some of the usual named perils on auto insurance policies?

named perilsIt is usual for auto insurance policies to have some or all of the following named perils, however, this is not a definitive list and we recommend that you check with your broker or agent and do not use this for reference to any specific policy.

  • Theft – not all auto insurance policies provide coverage for theft of the vehicle or loss of the vehicle it is most commonly found in comprehensive coverage
  • Fire and flood damage – again this is not a standard part of all policies for vehicles and is usually found in comprehensive coverage
  • Collision damage is often a standard when applied to 3rd party vehicles but damage to your own vehicle may not be a named peril in your policy
  • Bodily Injury – most insurance will cover damage and compensation to another person but again policies will vary as to how they cover damage and compensation for your own injuries
  • Acts of God – these may be very specifically defined as named perils and each policy will have different variants on the theme depending on the insurer and the coverage; these may include terrorist actions, nuclear attacks, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and even acts of war

If you feel a specific named peril does not appear on your insurance policy when you need or want it to you should contact your agent or broker to arrange additional coverage.

Named Perils – Additional Definitions

  • Investopedia – A home insurance policy that only provides coverage on losses incurred to your property from hazards or events named on the policy. Named peril policies may be purchased as a less expensive alternative to a comprehensive coverage or broad policies, which are policies that tend to offer coverage to most perils…
  • Investor Words – Insurance policy that covers only losses which result from causes explicitly listed in the policy. opposite of all-risks coverage…
  • IRMI – A property insurance term referring to policies that provide coverage only for loss caused by the perils specifically listed as covered. It contrasts with all risks coverage, which applies to loss from all causes not specifically listed as excluded…