The One Page That Tells You What You Bought

The declarations page — the "dec page" — is the summary at the front of your policy. It is two or three pages long, it is the only document that states what you actually carry, and almost nobody reads it. Here is how to, in about five minutes.

The top block: who and what

Named insured, policy number, and the policy period with a start and end date. Check the dates first. Coverage generally begins and ends at a specific time, not merely on a day, and a renewal you assumed had happened is worth confirming.

Then the listed drivers and the listed vehicles. Every driver in the household should appear somewhere — listed, or specifically excluded. A driver who is neither is the arrangement that produces the worst surprises.

The coverage table: the actual product

A column of coverage names and a column of limits. Read it as a list of promises with sizes attached:

• Bodily injury liability — two numbers, per person and per accident.
• Property damage liability — one number.
• Uninsured / underinsured motorist — may show a limit, or the word "rejected." Both halves are listed separately.
• Medical payments — a limit, or nothing.
• Collision and comprehensive — each with a deductible next to it, and they need not match.
• Optional items such as rental reimbursement or roadside assistance, if you carry them.

A coverage that is not on this page is a coverage you do not have, whatever anyone said on the phone.

Per-vehicle detail

On a multi-car policy, physical damage coverages are listed per vehicle. It is entirely possible to carry collision on one car and not the other — sometimes deliberately, sometimes as a leftover from a change made years ago. Check each vehicle's block separately rather than reading the first one and assuming.

The lienholder or lessor, if any, appears here too. If you have paid a car off and the lienholder is still listed, that is worth a call.

Endorsements and forms

A list of form numbers, often the least readable part of the document. These are the modifications to the standard policy — added coverages, restrictions, exclusions, state amendments. If you see something you do not recognize, ask what it does. A named driver exclusion lives here, and it is the single most consequential thing that can be hiding in that list.

The four things to check today

1. Is every household driver listed, or knowingly excluded?
2. Do uninsured motorist lines show a limit, or the word rejected?
3. Are both deductibles amounts you could produce next week?
4. Does each vehicle carry the physical damage coverage you think it does?

Four questions, one document, five minutes. It is the cheapest insurance review that exists.

Send us the page and we will read it with you line by line.