How to read your declarations page
Your declarations page sums up your policy: who and what is insured, each coverage and limit, your deductibles, discounts and forms. How to read it.
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Your declarations page, or “dec page,” is the summary at the front of your policy. It shows who and what is insured, every coverage with its limit, your deductibles, your premium, the discounts applied and the forms that make up the policy. If you only ever read one page of your insurance, make it this one.
It’s the first thing I ask to see, and plenty of people have never really looked at theirs. That’s understandable. It’s dense, it’s full of abbreviations, and it arrives looking like every other piece of insurance mail. But once you know the layout, it takes about five minutes to read.
Not sure where yours is? Here’s where to find it.
The top: who, what and when
- Named insured. The people the policy belongs to. Check the spelling and make sure everyone who should be there is.
- Address. Your mailing address, and for a home policy, the address being insured.
- Policy number and policy period. The dates the policy starts and ends. Your renewal date lives here.
- Policy form. On a home policy, a short code like HO-3 (a house) or HO-6 (a condo) tells you which kind of policy it is.
- Lienholder or mortgage company. If a lender has an interest in your car or home, it’s listed here. Make sure it’s current, especially after you refinance.
The middle: coverages and limits
This is the heart of the page. Each coverage is listed with its limit, the most the policy pays for that kind of loss, and usually its share of the premium.
On an auto policy you’ll typically see each vehicle with its VIN, the listed drivers, and coverages such as bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured motorist, medical payments or personal injury protection, collision and comprehensive. Some coverages apply per vehicle, so read each car’s column.
On a home policy, the property coverages are usually lettered: A for the dwelling, B for other structures, C for your belongings, D for loss of use, then E for personal liability and F for medical payments to others.
One line worth knowing: on many dec pages, a coverage applies only where a limit or premium is shown. A blank or “not included” means you don’t have it.
Deductibles
Your deductible is what you pay out of pocket on a claim before the insurance pays. Auto policies often have separate deductibles for collision and comprehensive. Home policies can have more than one too, as you’ll see below.
Discounts, fees and forms
- Discounts and surcharges. Look for the ones you expect. A missing discount is one of the easiest things to fix.
- Fees. Some policies list fees and surcharges separately from the premium.
- Forms and endorsements. An endorsement is an amendment that adds, changes or removes coverage. The list of form numbers here is the rest of your policy. The dec page tells you what you have; the forms tell you the details, including what’s excluded.
Florida · Switch to
On a Florida home policy
Florida home dec pages usually show two deductibles: one for hurricane losses and one for all other perils. The hurricane deductible is often written as a percentage of your dwelling coverage, so work out what that means in dollars. Many also show the hurricane portion of your premium separately, and list credits like windstorm loss mitigation. If you’ve had a wind mitigation inspection, check that the credit actually appears here.
Illinois · Switch to
In Illinois
Illinois law accepts a current declarations page as proof of insurance in your car, alongside your insurance card or an image on your phone (625 ILCS 5/7-602). On an auto dec page, look for uninsured motorist coverage, which every Illinois policy must include, and check whether you also have underinsured motorist and uninsured motorist property damage.
Good to know
- Compare it with last year’s. Line by line. If something changed that you didn’t ask for, ask why.
- Read it after every change. Added a car, a driver or a roof? Make sure the new dec page shows it.
- Keep the current one handy. It’s the fastest way to get an accurate quote, and the first thing you’ll want after a claim.
Want me to read it with you?
Send me your declarations page and I’ll walk you through it line by line, in plain English, and point out anything that looks thin or missing. No pressure, and no jargon.
Questions people ask
What is a declarations page?
The summary page of your insurance policy. It shows who is insured, what is covered, your limits, deductibles, premium, discounts and the forms that make up the policy.
Where do I find my declarations page?
Usually in your insurer's app or website under documents, or in the email that came with your policy or renewal. Here's where to look.
Is the declarations page the whole policy?
No. It's the summary. The policy forms and endorsements listed on it hold the details, including what's excluded.
Can my declarations page be proof of insurance?
In Illinois, yes. State law lists a current declarations page among the accepted evidence of insurance in the car.