A homeowners insurance declaration page, often shortened to “dec page,” is the one- or two-page summary at the front of your policy that lists who is insured, the property address, the policy dates, each coverage limit, your deductibles, the premium, and your mortgagee. If a lender, title company, or contractor asks for proof of insurance, this is the document they want. The full policy runs dozens of pages of exclusions and definitions; the dec page is the readable version of the binding terms.
What the Page Is For
Your insurer issues a dec page when the policy is first written and a fresh one at every renewal. It travels with the policy packet and is usually available as a PDF through your carrier’s online portal. Mortgage servicers are legally permitted to require it as evidence that you carry continuous hazard insurance on the property.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1024.37 – Force-Placed Insurance Beyond that, you’ll be asked for it at closing, during a refinance, and any time you add a party with a financial interest in the home.
Most dec pages follow the same layout no matter which carrier issued them. The top identifies the insurer, the named insureds, the property address, and the policy number. Below that sits the policy period and form type. The middle of the page is a table of coverage categories with dollar limits and deductibles. The bottom covers endorsements, the premium breakdown, discounts, and the mortgagee clause.
Who and What Is Insured
The policy number is your reference for every call, claim, and change request. Next to it, the policy period gives the exact dates coverage is active, usually six or twelve months, often starting at 12:01 a.m. on the effective date. A loss one day past expiration is uninsured.
The named insured section lists everyone with coverage rights under the policy. If you own the home with a spouse or partner, both names belong here. A misspelled name or a missing co-owner can create complications at claim time or during a sale. The property address needs to match your legal description exactly.
Policy Form Type
The form designation tells you what kind of homeowners policy you have. HO-3, the “special form,” is the standard: it covers the dwelling and other structures against all perils except those specifically excluded, and covers personal property only against perils the policy names, such as fire, theft, and windstorm. HO-5, the “comprehensive form,” upgrades personal property to the same open-peril basis, meaning your belongings are covered against anything not explicitly excluded. The form type shapes what the policy actually does more than the dollar amounts do, so it’s worth knowing which one is on your page.
The Six Coverage Categories
The coverage table is the section most people flip to first. Standard homeowners policies divide protection into six categories, each with its own dollar limit. Coverages A through D protect your property and are grouped as Section I. Coverages E and F protect against liability to others and sit under Section II.
- Coverage A — Dwelling: Damage to the house itself and attached structures like a built-in garage or deck. This figure should reflect the cost to rebuild from the ground up, not market value or purchase price.
- Coverage B — Other Structures: Detached buildings on the property such as a freestanding garage, shed, fence, or pool house. Typically set at 10% of the dwelling limit automatically, so a $400,000 Coverage A gives you $40,000 here.
- Coverage C — Personal Property: Your belongings inside the home. The default is usually 50% to 70% of the dwelling amount.
- Coverage D — Loss of Use: Additional living expenses if your home is uninhabitable after a covered loss, such as hotel bills and restaurant meals above your normal spending.
- Coverage E — Personal Liability: Legal defense and court awards if someone is injured on your property or you damage someone else’s. Common limits are $100,000 or $300,000 per occurrence.
- Coverage F — Medical Payments to Others: A small no-fault coverage for a guest’s immediate medical bills regardless of who was at fault. Typical limits run from $1,000 to $5,000 per person.
Each dollar amount is the maximum the insurer will pay in that category, not a guaranteed payout on every claim.
How the Deductible Line Works
Your deductible is what you pay out of pocket before the insurer contributes anything to a covered loss. It appears next to or below the coverage table. A standard deductible is often a flat dollar amount, with $1,000 or $2,500 being common, and it applies per occurrence rather than per year.
Percentage-based deductibles for wind and hail are the trap. Instead of a flat figure, your page may show something like “2% wind/hail deductible,” which means 2% of your dwelling coverage limit. On a $400,000 dwelling, that’s $8,000 out of pocket before the insurer pays anything for wind or hail damage. These percentage deductibles typically run from 1% to 5% of dwelling coverage and appear as a separate line item. Check whether your policy carries both a flat deductible and a percentage one; the gap catches homeowners off guard constantly.
A higher deductible lowers your annual premium because you’re absorbing more of the risk, but choosing a figure you can’t actually cover on short notice defeats the point.
Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value
Your dec page indicates whether claims are settled on a replacement cost value (RCV) or actual cash value (ACV) basis, and the difference can mean thousands of dollars after a loss. Replacement cost pays what it costs to repair or replace damaged property with materials of similar quality at today’s prices. Actual cash value deducts depreciation, paying what the item was worth at the time of the loss given its age and condition.2National Association of Insurance Commissioners. What’s the Difference Between Actual Cash Value Coverage and Replacement Cost Coverage
The dwelling is usually written on a replacement cost basis. Personal property is where it varies. Many standard policies default to actual cash value for Coverage C, which means a five-year-old laptop is valued at what a five-year-old laptop is worth, not what a new one costs. If your page shows “ACV” next to Coverage C, you can often upgrade to replacement cost through an endorsement for a modest premium increase. The difference shows up most painfully after a large loss when you’re replacing an entire household of belongings.
Endorsements and Riders
Below the main coverage table, the page lists endorsements (also called riders) that modify or expand the standard policy. Each one shows its own coverage limit and any additional premium.
Standard policies cap payouts for certain categories of belongings. Jewelry is often limited to $1,500 regardless of what your pieces are actually worth. A scheduled personal property endorsement lets you list specific high-value items (an engagement ring, a guitar collection, fine art) with individual appraised values. Each scheduled item appears on the dec page with its own coverage amount, and claims are settled at that scheduled value without the standard deductible applying. An appraisal or receipt is usually required to schedule an item, and the insurer may ask for updated appraisals periodically.
A few other endorsements show up frequently. Water backup coverage pays for damage when a sewer or drain backs up into the home, which the standard policy excludes. Ordinance or law coverage pays the extra cost of bringing a damaged home up to current building codes during repairs, typically set at 10% of the dwelling limit. Identity theft coverage reimburses expenses related to restoring your identity. Each endorsement adds a small amount to your premium, and the page shows exactly what you’re paying for each one.
Premium and Discounts
The financial section shows your total premium and how it was built. You’ll see the base rate for your coverage, additional charges for endorsements, and a list of credits that reduce the total. Common discounts include credits for security systems, smoke detectors, deadbolt locks, bundling home and auto with the same carrier, and claim-free history.
Review this section at every renewal. Premiums rise with construction costs and shifts in local risk, and introductory discounts can quietly expire. If a discount you expected isn’t listed, call your agent; a qualifying feature like a new alarm system doesn’t always get applied automatically.
The Mortgagee Clause
If you have a mortgage, the dec page includes a mortgagee clause with your lender’s name and mailing address. The clause gives the lender a stake in the policy: if the home suffers a covered loss, the insurance payout is issued to both you and the lender, protecting the lender’s financial interest in the property. The lender also receives notice if you cancel the policy or let it lapse.
If you don’t provide proof of coverage when asked, the servicer can purchase force-placed insurance on your behalf and charge you for it. Force-placed policies are significantly more expensive than standard coverage and typically protect only the structure, not personal belongings, liability, or additional living expenses. Keeping a current copy of the dec page accessible prevents that scenario entirely.
What the Page Won’t Show
The dec page tells you what is covered, but it won’t always flag what’s missing, and standard homeowners policies carry notable exclusions. Flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners insurance and requires a separate policy, typically through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood insurer.3FEMA. Flood Insurance Earthquake damage is similarly excluded in most standard policies and requires its own endorsement or standalone policy.
In coastal and hurricane-prone areas, windstorm and hail coverage may be excluded from the main policy and written through a separate policy with its own deductible. In that case you’d have two dec pages, one for the homeowners policy and one for the wind coverage. If your page doesn’t list flood, earthquake, or windstorm coverage, you don’t have it.
Reviewing the Page for Errors
Read through the dec page as soon as you receive it, both at initial issuance and at every renewal. Errors are more common than most people expect, and they create real problems at claim time. Check the spelling of every named insured, the property address, the construction type and year built, and the coverage amounts against what you discussed with your agent.
Pay close attention to the deductible figures and to whether every endorsement you asked for actually appears. If you requested water backup coverage or scheduled a piece of jewelry and it isn’t listed, it isn’t part of your policy, regardless of what was said on the phone. Contact your agent or insurer to correct any discrepancies in writing. The dec page is the foundation everything else rests on: your claim payout, your premium accuracy, and your lender’s confidence that the property is properly insured.