Does All Perils Coverage on a Home Policy Include Comprehensive?
"Comprehensive" is an auto insurance term. All-perils home coverage covers every cause of loss except what your policy specifically excludes.
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Why your lender's checklist mentions this
Your lender wants proof of coverage before closing because the house is collateral for the loan, and they want it protected against anything that could destroy it, not just a short list of named dangers. All-perils, sometimes called open-perils, is the broader of the two common structures and it is what most lenders expect to see on a standard policy. The other structure, named-perils, only pays for causes of loss spelled out on the page, so if something isn't listed, it isn't covered. Your declarations page will say which structure applies to your dwelling coverage. Floods and earthquakes are excluded from all-perils policies too, so if your new house sits in a flood zone, your lender will likely require a separate flood policy on top of this one.
The exclusions page matters as much as the coverage
Two all-perils policies can carry different exclusions and different prices for the same house. Before closing, check what each one leaves out and what each one costs, not just the label on the front page.
What counts as an excluded peril on an all-perils policy
Every all-perils policy comes with a list of named exclusions, usually a page or two in the policy document, and this is where the real differences between insurers show up. Common exclusions include flood, earthquake, sewer backup, mold from long-term neglect, and damage from poor maintenance. Wear and tear is never covered under any homeowners policy, all-perils or not, because insurance pays for sudden and accidental loss, not the slow decline of a roof or a water heater reaching the end of its life. Some of these, like sewer backup, can often be added back as an endorsement for an added cost, so if your new house has an older sewer line or sits somewhere with a history of backups, ask whether that endorsement is available before you buy.
Named-perils policies work the opposite way. Instead of listing what's excluded, they list what's covered, and anything off that list is not paid for no matter how the damage happened. These policies are less common for standard homeowners coverage and show up more often on older houses, rental properties, or policies written through a state's last-resort insurance plan. If your lender's checklist just says proof of hazard insurance, a named-perils policy might technically satisfy it, but you'd be covered for a shorter list of events than an all-perils policy would give you. Your declarations page will state outright which structure you have.
Personal property, meaning your belongings rather than the house itself, is often covered under named perils even on an otherwise all-perils policy. That is standard, not a sign of a weaker policy, and it is worth checking so you know what structure applies to which part of your coverage. Jewelry, art, and other high-value items typically carry their own sub-limits regardless of which structure covers the rest of the house, so if you own anything expensive, check that limit separately.
Reading the exclusions page before closing takes a few minutes and tells you more than the summary page or the premium ever will. Two policies priced close together can leave out different things, and the cheaper one is not a better deal if it excludes something your house is actually likely to face, like wind in a coastal county or wildfire in a dry one. Ask what's excluded, ask what can be added back, and compare that list across every quote before picking one.
How dwelling and personal property coverage interact with these two structures
A single policy often runs both structures at once without saying so plainly. The dwelling itself, meaning the house, the attached garage, and built-in systems like plumbing and wiring, usually carries all-perils coverage. Personal property, meaning furniture, clothes, electronics, and everything else you'd pack into a moving truck, is frequently covered on a named-perils basis even when the dwelling is all-perils. This split is standard across the industry, not something to be wary of, but it means asking which structure applies isn't a one-time question. It can have two different answers depending on which part of the policy you're looking at.
Picture a pipe bursting and soaking both the drywall and your furniture. The dwelling portion pays out under all-perils rules, covering the damage unless it falls under a named exclusion. The personal property portion pays out only if water damage from a burst pipe happens to be on that list of named perils, which it usually is, but the two determinations are made separately even though the damage came from one event. Reading your declarations page means checking both halves, not assuming the broader structure covering your walls also covers what's inside them.
Other structures on the property, like a detached garage, a shed, or a fence, typically fall under a separate coverage category often called other structures, and it is worth checking whether that portion follows the same structure as the dwelling or the same as personal property. Older policies and some lower-cost options sometimes apply named-perils rules more broadly across the whole policy, including the dwelling. That is one reason the same premium can buy very different protection depending on the insurer.
Before closing, it helps to ask for the structure type on each coverage line, not just the policy as a whole. A quote summary that only states one structure for the entire policy is worth a second look, since most policies split it by coverage type. Your lender cares mainly about the dwelling being protected enough to cover the loan amount, but you're the one who will deal with the personal property side if something goes wrong, so it is worth knowing which rules apply to your own belongings before you sign anything.
Before you sign
Pull up the declarations page for each quote and check the structure listed for dwelling, personal property, and other structures separately. If one only states a single structure for the whole policy, ask which rules actually apply to each part.
