Let’s go back to the basics and talk about your insurance declarations page. Whether you’re insuring your car, home or business, every policy comes with one. The insurance declarations page provides you with the important information and details you need to know in order to understand the intricacies of your policy.
Let’s get started.
Your insurance declarations page or “dec” page specifically states what is being insured whether it’s a vehicle, home or something else. It also states the active coverages on the policy, so you know what you are paying for exactly.
The first page lists basic information about you and your agency.
It states your name, address, policy number and your agency’s name and contact information.
Other information listed on the first page includes:
- Premium
- Deductible
- Limits
- Policy term
- Coverages
Premium is a yearly fee that you pay in order to make the insurance policy effective. Depending on your payment plan, you can pay this monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. You could also choose to pay it all at once, annually.
Deductible is the portion of a covered claim that you pay. Your insurance company covers the rest, up to your policy’s limits.
Which brings us to policy limit, which is the maximum dollar amount your insurance company will pay towards a covered loss. For example, if there is a loss to your home that results in another individual getting an injury that requires medical attention, your homeowners policy lists the limits for medical payments. Let’s say the limit for medical payments is listed at $5,000. Then, $5,000 is the highest dollar amount your insurance company will pay towards medical payments for this loss.
Policy term is the length of time your policy will be active.
Coverages are additional specific ways your policy may protect you in the event of a loss.
Simply put, an insurance declarations page exists to help you understand what you are insuring and what is covered.
For example, if you make a change to your policy or buy a new piece of property, you can check your declarations page to see if your current coverages/limits are enough or if you need to increase them. This is especially important should a loss occur. If something unfortunate were to happen, the last thing you want to be doing is wondering if you have adequate coverage, which is why your dec page spells it out for you.