What Is the Declarations Page on a Policy?

The declarations page — often called the "dec page" — is the summary page at the front of your insurance policy. It lists who is insured, what is covered, how much coverage you have, what your deductibles are, and how much you are paying. It is the single most important page in your entire policy.

What the declarations page includes

• Named insured: The person or people covered by the policy. This matters because coverage may not extend to people not listed.
• Policy number: Your unique identifier with the insurance company. You will need this for claims, payments, and any communication with your insurer.
• Policy period: The start and end dates of your coverage. If you have a gap between policies, you could be uninsured without realizing it.
• Coverage types and limits: Each type of coverage on your policy is listed with its maximum payout. For example, your auto dec page might show $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury liability.
• Deductibles: The amount you owe before the insurer pays, listed for each applicable coverage.
• Premium: The total cost of your policy for the period, sometimes broken down by coverage type.
• Property details: The address of your insured home or the year, make, and model of your insured vehicle.

Why you should read it

Most people file their policy documents away without looking at them. The dec page takes two minutes to read and tells you almost everything you need to know about your coverage at a glance. It is also the fastest way to spot errors — a wrong address, a missing vehicle, an outdated coverage limit. Catching these mistakes before a claim saves enormous headaches.

What Truscott recommends

Every time you receive a new or renewed policy, read the declarations page first. Compare it to your previous dec page and look for changes. If anything seems off or you do not understand a line item, ask your agent. At Truscott, we review dec pages with our clients and explain every number. Request a Truscott policy checkup and bring your dec page — we will walk through it together.