Named perils
Named perils is a type of insurance policy that only covers losses caused by the specific risks listed in the policy — such as fire, theft, or windstorm. If a loss is caused by a risk not named in the policy, it is not covered. The opposite approach is open perils (or all-risks) cover, which covers all causes of loss except those explicitly excluded. Named perils cover is typically cheaper but narrower.
Named perils vs open perils (all-risks)
With named perils cover, the burden is on you to show that the loss was caused by a listed peril. Common named perils include fire, lightning, explosion, windstorm, hail, smoke, theft, and vandalism. Flood and earthquake are frequently absent from standard named perils lists and must be added by endorsement or separate policy.
With open perils (all-risks) cover, the burden is on the insurer to show that the cause of loss falls within a named exclusion. This is a significantly broader form of cover and is why open perils policies are more expensive. Most UK home contents policies are written on an all-risks basis; named perils is more common in the US for standard homeowners policies.
When reading your policy, look for whether it uses phrases like "caused by" or "arising from" followed by a list (named perils) or "all risks of direct physical loss except" followed by exclusions (open perils). See our guide to exclusions explained and the exclusion glossary entry for how the two approaches handle coverage disputes differently.