Legal Definitions - comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance is a type of property insurance that provides coverage for damage to your own insured property from a wide range of perils, specifically excluding those caused by a collision with another vehicle or object. It typically covers losses due to events such as theft, vandalism, fire, natural disasters (like hail, floods, or windstorms), falling objects, and damage from animals.

Here are some examples to illustrate comprehensive insurance:

• Example 1: Natural Disaster Damage

  Imagine a severe hailstorm sweeps through a town. A car, parked in its owner's driveway, sustains numerous dents across its body and a cracked windshield due to the falling ice. The car owner's comprehensive insurance policy would cover the cost of repairing the hail damage to their vehicle.

  This illustrates comprehensive insurance because the damage was caused by a natural event (hail) and not by a collision with another vehicle or object.

• Example 2: Theft and Vandalism

  A person parks their car in a public garage overnight. The next morning, they discover that someone has broken into the vehicle, stolen the stereo system, and intentionally scratched the paint on the doors. Their comprehensive insurance policy would cover the cost of replacing the stolen stereo and repairing the vandalized paintwork.

  This demonstrates comprehensive coverage as the loss and damage resulted from theft and vandalism, which are non-collision events typically included in this type of policy.

• Example 3: Damage from a Falling Object

  During a strong windstorm, a large tree branch breaks off and falls directly onto a car parked underneath it, crushing the roof and shattering the rear window. The car owner's comprehensive insurance would pay for the repairs to the vehicle's roof and window.

  This situation falls under comprehensive insurance because the damage was caused by a falling object, an event distinct from a collision, and is therefore covered by this type of policy.