Your declarations page is the two-or-three-page summary at the front of your homeowners policy, and it is the single most important document you own as a Florida homeowner. Almost every claim dispute traces back to a number on that page that the policyholder never read. Here is how to work through it line by line.
The "dec page" is not the policy. The policy is the fifty-to-eighty-page form behind it, full of definitions, conditions, and exclusions. The declarations page is the personalized cover sheet that tells you which version of that form you bought, how much coverage you purchased in each bucket, what you pay, and which endorsements were bolted on to modify the base form.
Think of it as the settings menu for your policy. The form text says what a covered loss looks like; the dec page says how many dollars are behind it. When an adjuster evaluates your claim, they read both documents together, starting with your dec page.
At the top you will find the named insured, the mailing address, the insured location (which may differ if you own a rental or seasonal property), the policy number, the policy period with effective and expiration dates, and the carrier and agency of record. Confirm the insured location is exactly right, including unit numbers. A wrong address on a Florida policy is more common than you would think and can complicate a claim.
Nearly every Florida HO-3 policy organizes property coverage into four lettered sections. These are the numbers that matter most.
Below these you will usually see Coverage E – Personal Liability and Coverage F – Medical Payments to Others. Liability is often defaulted to $100,000 or $300,000. If you own a pool, a trampoline, or a dog, and you have any savings to protect, that default is worth revisiting.
Florida dec pages list at least two deductibles, and sometimes three. The all other perils (AOP) deductible is a flat dollar amount, often $1,000 or $2,500, and applies to fire, theft, water damage from a burst pipe, and similar non-wind losses.
The hurricane deductible is a percentage of Coverage A, typically 2, 5, or 10 percent. On a home with $500,000 of dwelling coverage, a 5 percent hurricane deductible is $25,000 out of pocket before the carrier pays a dollar. Many policyholders read the percentage and never do the multiplication. Do the multiplication now, and make sure that number is one you could actually write a check for.
Some policies also carry a separate windstorm or named-storm deductible that applies to wind events that are not named hurricanes, and a growing number of Florida carriers add a separate roof deductible or roof surfacing payment schedule. Florida law also allows carriers to apply the hurricane deductible once per calendar year rather than per storm, which matters in a busy season. That provision appears on the dec page or in an attached endorsement.
Scroll to the section titled "Forms and Endorsements Applicable" and you will see a list of codes like HO-3, HO-04-90, or carrier-specific numbers. This list is where your policy is actually customized, and it is where most unpleasant surprises live.
Common Florida endorsements to look for include ordinance or law coverage (which pays to bring repairs up to current building code, usually at 10, 25, or 50 percent of Coverage A), water damage sublimits that cap non-weather water losses at $10,000 or similar, screen enclosure limitations, mold remediation caps, and roof surfacing actual cash value schedules that reduce payment based on roof age. You may also see limited theft, no liability for certain dog breeds, or a sinkhole exclusion with only catastrophic ground collapse retained.
If you cannot decode the codes, that is normal. Ask for a plain-language summary or run a policy translation so you know exactly which modifications apply before a storm rather than after one.
The premium section usually breaks out the base rate and then lists adjustments. Florida homeowners should look for wind mitigation credits, which can be substantial. Roof shape (hip versus gable), roof deck attachment, secondary water resistance, roof-to-wall connections such as clips or straps, and opening protection like impact windows or shutters all generate discounts documented on a uniform mitigation verification form.
If your dec page shows no wind mitigation credits and you have never had an inspection, you may be leaving real money on the table. Conversely, if you replaced a roof or added shutters mid-term and the credits are not reflected, the carrier will not apply them retroactively unless you send the paperwork.
You may also see fees and assessments that are not really insurance: the Citizens emergency assessment, the FIGA assessment, an inspection fee, or a managing general agent policy fee. These are not negotiable but they do explain why your total bill exceeds the quoted premium.
Near the bottom, the dec page lists the mortgagee or loss payee. If you refinanced or paid off the loan and the old lender is still listed, claim checks and renewal notices can go to the wrong place. Fix it in writing.
You may also see a notation about replacement cost versus actual cash value on the dwelling itself. Most Florida HO-3 policies pay replacement cost on the structure if you carry at least 80 percent of the rebuild cost, but that condition is in the form, not the dec page. If the carrier applies coinsurance because your Coverage A is too low, your payout gets reduced proportionally even on a partial loss.
Finally, check whether the policy shows a roof age, year built, square footage, and construction type. Those underwriting facts drive your rate and, if wrong, can create problems at claim time. A masonry home rated as frame, or a 2010 roof recorded as 1998, should be corrected. Roof age in particular is the single biggest driver of Florida eligibility and pricing right now, which is why roof age and insurance deserves its own review.
Does my Coverage A limit need to match my home's market value?
No. Coverage A should reflect reconstruction cost, which excludes land value and often differs substantially from market price. In some Florida coastal markets, market value far exceeds rebuild cost; in older inland neighborhoods, the reverse can be true. Ask your carrier for the replacement cost estimate they used and review it annually.
Is flood damage on my declarations page?
Almost certainly not. Standard Florida homeowners policies exclude flood, defined as rising surface water and storm surge. Flood coverage comes from a separate NFIP or private flood policy with its own declarations page, deductible, and limits. Wind-driven rain that enters through a storm-created opening is generally a homeowners claim; water that rises from outside is not.
Why did my hurricane deductible change at renewal?
Because it is a percentage of Coverage A, any increase in your dwelling limit automatically increases the dollar deductible. Inflation guard endorsements raise Coverage A each year, so a 2 percent deductible that was $8,000 can quietly become $9,200. Some carriers also change the available deductible options at renewal.
What should I do if something on the dec page is wrong?
Notify your agent or carrier in writing immediately and keep the confirmation. Errors in address, roof year, construction type, or mortgagee are usually corrected by endorsement with no penalty when reported promptly. Discovering the same error during a claim investigation is a far worse conversation.
Pull your declarations page today, multiply your hurricane deductible percentage by your Coverage A limit, and confirm your wind mitigation credits and roof year are accurate — those three checks catch most of the expensive surprises Florida homeowners run into. If the forms list reads like code or your limits have not been revisited since you bought the house, a Truscott policy checkup will translate the document and flag the gaps in plain English. We can also compare home insurance options if your current structure no longer fits the property. Reach out and we will walk through your dec page with you line by line.
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