A driver comparing optional add-ons on a car insurance quote often runs into two unfamiliar terms sitting side by side: all perils vs. specified perils car insurance. Both sit outside the mandatory liability coverage every policy carries, and both affect what happens to the vehicle itself after a loss, but they sit at opposite ends of how broad that protection is.
This article looks at what each coverage typically includes and excludes, how they compare to the more familiar collision and comprehensive coverages, and where a driver is likely to face the choice between them.
What Is the Difference Between All Perils and Specified Perils?
All perils and specified perils are both optional car insurance coverages that are generally designed to pay for damage to a driver's own vehicle, but they sit at opposite ends of how broad that protection is. All perils is typically built by combining collision and comprehensive coverage into a single policy option, while specified perils is a narrower, lower-cost coverage that is generally designed to respond only to the specific events named in the policy, such as fire, theft, or hail.
A driver chooses one or the other, not both, since all perils already includes everything specified perils is designed to cover and more. Mandatory liability coverage, which pays for damage or injury a driver causes to someone else, sits separately from both options and applies regardless of which one is chosen.
What Specified Perils Typically Covers and Leaves Out
Specified perils, sometimes called named perils, pays only for a loss caused by one of a fixed list of events written into the policy. Insurer guides describing a typical Canadian specified perils list, including the one used in Ontario, generally name events such as:
- Fire
- Theft or attempted theft
- Lightning
- Windstorm, hail, or rising water
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Riot or civil disturbance
- Certain transport-related losses, such as damage while the vehicle is being carried by a train, aircraft, or watercraft
The exact list varies by insurer and by province, so confirming the perils named on a specific quote is a better guide than assuming any list applies automatically. What specified perils typically leaves out matters just as much as what it includes: it generally does not respond to a collision with another vehicle or object, and it commonly excludes vandalism and many forms of glass breakage, which usually fall under comprehensive coverage instead.
How All Perils Builds on Collision and Comprehensive
All perils is generally structured as collision and comprehensive coverage combined under a single policy, often sharing one deductible rather than two separate ones. Collision coverage is typically designed to respond to damage from a crash with another vehicle or object, while comprehensive coverage is typically designed to respond to a broader range of non-collision events, including fire, theft, vandalism, hail, and an animal strike.
All perils generally adds one notable extra on top of that combination: extended theft protection for a vehicle taken by someone who would usually be excluded from a standard theft claim, such as a household member, a repair technician, or another person with lawful access to the vehicle. What all perils does not extend to is just as important. It is not a substitute for the mandatory liability section of a policy, it does not add accident benefits or direct compensation for property damage, and it does not cover mechanical breakdown, which no car insurance coverage is generally designed to address.
How Cost and Eligibility Compare
Because specified perils responds to a shorter list of named events, it is generally the lowest-cost of the three optional damage coverages, which tends to make it a fit for an older or lower-value vehicle where a driver wants some protection without paying for the broadest option. Comprehensive sits in the middle, typically priced below all perils but above specified perils, and is the most commonly chosen of the three for drivers who want broad non-collision protection without the extended theft feature. All perils is generally the most expensive, reflecting the combined scope of collision and comprehensive coverage plus the added theft protection.
Coverage details, deductibles, and pricing vary by insurer and by policy, and only the wording of an actual policy and a licensed broker can confirm what applies to a specific vehicle.
| Coverage | Responds to collisions | Responds to fire, theft, hail, and similar events | Covers theft by a household member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specified perils | Typically no | Typically yes, limited to the named list | Typically no |
| Comprehensive | Typically no | Typically yes, for a broad range of events | Typically no |
| All perils | Typically yes | Typically yes | Typically yes |
A lender or leasing company generally requires both collision and comprehensive coverage on a financed or leased vehicle, and many will accept an all perils option on a car insurance policy as satisfying that requirement, since it is built to combine the two. Specified perils alone typically does not meet a lender's requirement on its own, since it leaves out collision protection entirely.
Benefits of Knowing the Difference Between All Perils and Specified Perils
Understanding how these two coverages differ before a quote arrives helps a driver ask more precise questions rather than choosing a line item based on price alone. A driver with an older vehicle that has limited resale value may find that specified perils offers reasonable protection against the most common non-collision losses at a lower cost, while a driver financing a newer vehicle may be better served asking whether all perils is available given the broader protection and the extended theft feature it adds.
It also helps a driver read a quote more carefully. Two quotes with similar premiums can represent very different protection once the specific coverage named on each is compared, and knowing the difference between a combined, broad option and a narrow, named-event option makes that comparison easier to follow.
Where You'll Come Across This Choice
A driver typically runs into the choice between all perils and specified perils in a few recurring situations:
- Getting a new quote, when a broker or an online tool lists collision, comprehensive, specified perils, and all perils as separate line items to choose from.
- Insuring an older vehicle, when the car insurance deductible and the premium on a full comprehensive or all perils option start to look large relative to the vehicle's value.
- Financing or leasing a vehicle, when the lender's paperwork specifies that collision and comprehensive coverage, or an equivalent such as all perils, must be in place.
- Renewing a policy, when it is worth asking whether switching between these options still makes sense as a vehicle ages or its value changes.
Ask a Licensed Broker About All Perils and Specified Perils
Choosing between all perils and specified perils coverage depends on a vehicle's age and value, whether a lender has specific requirements, and how much protection a driver wants against theft and other non-collision losses. A licensed broker can walk through how each option would apply to a specific vehicle and compare the real premium difference across quotes. Start a vehicle insurance quote to talk through which coverage fits your situation.
Coverage details, deductibles, and premiums vary by insurer and by policy, and only the wording of an actual policy and a licensed broker can confirm what applies to a specific vehicle.
