How to read your declarations page in five minutes
Every insurance policy comes with a declarations page. Two or three pages at the front of the policy that summarize what you actually bought. Carriers vary on layout but the contents are largely the same.
Most clients never read it. I get it. The full policy is a hundred pages of legalese. But the dec page is short, and it's where every important decision lives.
Here's how to read yours in five minutes.
What's on the dec page
Six sections, more or less. Find them in your policy.
- Policy basics: policy number, named insured, effective and expiration dates, term length.
- Vehicles or properties covered: VIN and year/make/model for auto, address and dwelling info for home.
- Coverages and limits: each named coverage, the dollar limit, the deductible if applicable, and the premium for that coverage.
- Discounts and surcharges: multi-policy, multi-vehicle, paid-in-full, defensive driver, claim-free, etc.
- Lienholder or mortgagee: bank or finance company listed as additional interest.
- Total premium and payment schedule.
The five things to actually check
Most of the dec page is reference material. These are the parts that decide whether you're properly covered.
One. Liability limits.
On auto, look for three numbers like 100/300/100 or 25/50/25. They mean per-person bodily injury, per-accident bodily injury, per-accident property damage. Connecticut minimum is 25/50/25 and that is barely enough. We recommend 100/300/100 as a floor for any client with assets to protect.
On home, look for the personal liability limit. Default is often $100,000. We push to $300,000 or $500,000 for almost everyone because the cost difference is small.
Two. Uninsured / underinsured motorist on auto.
This pays YOU when the at-fault driver doesn't have enough insurance. About one in eight drivers in Connecticut carries no insurance at all. Match your UM/UIM to your liability limits. If your liability is 100/300, your UM should be 100/300, not the state minimum.
Three. Dwelling limit on home.
This should be the cost to REBUILD your house with current materials and labor, not what you paid for it. Construction costs are up 25% to 40% since 2020. If your dwelling limit was set in 2019, it's probably wrong now. Compare your current limit to the carrier's rebuild estimator. If they don't match, your premium might still be fine, but a total loss claim won't be.
Four. Deductibles.
On home, look for the named-storm or hurricane deductible. It's often a percentage (1% to 5% of dwelling) instead of a dollar amount. On a $500,000 dwelling limit, a 5% hurricane deductible is $25,000 out of pocket before the carrier pays anything. Make sure you know what that number means in dollars before the storm hits.
On auto, your collision and comprehensive deductibles are the only things you control directly. $500 vs $1,000 vs $2,000 changes the premium meaningfully. Higher deductible only makes sense if you can absorb the loss.
Five. Endorsements and riders listed.
Anything beyond the standard policy gets named on the dec page or in an endorsement schedule. Look for things like:
- Water Backup (home)
- Service Line Coverage (home)
- Equipment Breakdown (home)
- Scheduled Personal Property (jewelry, fine art, firearms)
- Rental Reimbursement (auto)
- Gap Insurance (auto, financed vehicles)
- New Car Replacement (auto)
If you THINK you have one of these and it's not listed, you don't have it. It's that simple.
What clients usually find when they actually look
I do this exercise with new clients all the time. The patterns are predictable.
- Liability limits at state minimums when they should be 100/300 or higher.
- Dwelling limits 25% below current rebuild cost.
- No water backup endorsement on a basement-having house.
- A "missing" jewelry schedule on a $20,000 ring.
- A premium savings from dropping rental reimbursement two years ago that nobody remembers.
- An unfamiliar name listed as additional interest on auto from a paid-off loan that never got removed.
None of these are claims YOU filed. They're things the policy is silent about, and silence in insurance always means "no."
The other thing on the dec page
The very bottom often has a phone number for "questions about this policy." Call it. Ask the carrier directly what your dwelling rebuild estimate is, what your UM limits are, and whether you have water backup. Free. Five minutes. Worth doing every renewal whether you ever change carriers or not.
Send me your dec page
If you want a second set of eyes on it, email or text me a copy. I'll mark it up and tell you exactly what's missing, what's overpriced, and what's just fine. No charge, no obligation, no callback campaign afterward.