What is a Homeowners Insurance Declarations Page: Everything You Need to Know
Homeowners insurance helps cover your home and personal property against potential damages. It can help pay for replacement costs, living expenses, and legal expenses when you suffer damages due to a covered event. To fully understand what is covered by your insurance policy, it’s important to review your homeowner’s insurance declarations page.
Your declarations page serves as a summary of your homeowner’s insurance policy. It includes important information such as your policy number, coverages, coverage limits, discounts, contact information, premiums, and more. Here’s a closer look at what a homeowners insurance declarations page is and what important information it contains that you need to know.
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What is a Homeowners Insurance Declarations Page?
A homeowner’s insurance declarations page, also called a “dec page,” is typically the first page of your homeowner’s insurance policy and includes a comprehensive summary of all of your policy’s most important information.
This includes basic information such as:
- Your name
- Address
- Premium
- Description of the insured property
- The insurance policy agent
- The insurer
It also explains your policy’s coverage limits, deductibles, supplemental coverages, and policy forms.
Reviewing your declarations page is the best way to familiarize yourself with your insurance policy, and it can serve as proof of insurance when necessary.
Basic Information Included on a Declarations Page
Your dec page includes basic information relating to the insured parties.
This may include:
- Your policy number. You may need your policy number to file claims, log into your insurance provider’s website, or when contacting your provider over the phone.
- The named insured. At the top of the dec page, you’ll find the name and address of the primary named insured alongside any other policyholders.
- Your agent. The dec page will also list the agent that manages your homeowner’s insurance policy. You may be able to find your agent’s company address and phone number as well.
- Your insurer. Your dec page should list the name of your homeowner’s insurance provider, its address, and its phone number.
- The loss payee. The loss payee is the person or entity that receives a check to cover home repairs when you file a claim. If you have a mortgage, the loss payee will typically be your lender.
- The policy period. Near your policy number, you should also see the policy period, which is the period that your insurance policy is active.
- Your premium. The dec page will list your premium, which is the amount you’re required to pay during the policy period to retain your coverage.
- Your deductible. Your deductible is the total out-of-pocket amount that you must pay for damages before your insurance policy benefits kick in.
You’ll also find a description of your property on your declarations page, including your home’s construction type, utilities, roof type, and more.
Understanding Your Coverage & Policy Limits
On your dec page, you’ll find all of your policy’s coverages and policy limits. Coverages are generally divided into three categories: property coverages, liability coverages, and additional coverages.
Property coverages may include:
- Dwelling: Covers your home’s primary dwelling, including the property structure, roof, and appliances.
- Personal Property: Covers all of your personal property, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, and electronics.
- Other Structures: Covers structures not attached to your home, including a detached garage, shed, deck, and similar structures.
- Loss of Use: Covers temporary living expenses if a covered incident causes your home to become temporarily uninhabitable.
Liability coverages may include:
- Personal Liability: Covers legal expenses if you’re held liable for property damage or bodily injury.
- Medical Costs: Covers medical expenses if someone is injured on your property.
Additional coverages may include:
- Equipment Coverage: Covers appliances that break down due to a covered incident.
- Identity Theft: Covers expenses related to reclaiming your identity and repairing your credit if your identity is stolen.
- Water Damage: Covers water damage due to sewage backups.
- Service Line Coverage: Covers costs related to repairing or replacing utility lines that are under your property.
The coverages listed on your declarations page will depend on your specific policy, but these are some of the most common.
Discounts
The dec page will also list any discounts that have been applied to your homeowner’s insurance policy. This may include common discounts like:
- Bundle discounts
- Loyalty discounts
- Claim-free discounts
How to Get Your Declarations Page
You should be able to find your declarations page as the first page of your homeowner’s insurance policy. If you’re not sure how to access this page, contact your insurance provider and request a physical or digital copy of the document. You may also be able to access it through your insurance provider’s website.
Whenever you renew your policy, you’ll receive a new declarations page containing updated policy information.
Request a Quote
Homeowners insurance declarations pages contain all of the information policyholders need to understand their coverages, coverage limits, and more. Knowing where to find this page and how to read it will make it easier to make claims, provide proof of insurance, and shop for future homeowner’s insurance policies.
At KSA Insurance, we work with homeowners in South Carolina and across the southeastern United States to help them find comprehensive, affordable homeowners insurance policies that provide invaluable protection and peace of mind. Contact us today to learn more about our offerings.
