How To Read My Car Insurance Declaration Page

A car insurance declaration page includes numerous details that can help you understand the basics of your insurance coverage, such as your coverage dates, premiums, deductibles and more. You can often find it at the front of your car insurance policy, though the formatting of the declarations page can vary from insurer to insurer.

Continue reading for everything you need to know about your auto insurance declaration page, including definitions of key terms you need to understand in order to read it properly.

On This Page

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  What Is a Car Insurance Declaration Page?

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  What Is Typically on a Car Insurance Declarations Page?

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  Car Insurance Declaration Page Example

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  How Do I Read My Car Insurance Declaration Page?

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  When Do I Need My Car Insurance Declarations Page?

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  How Do I Access My Car Insurance Declaration Page?

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  FAQs

What Is a Car Insurance Declaration Page?

Also known as a dec page, a car insurance declaration page is a brief summary of your car insurance coverage that is typically included at the beginning of your car insurance policy documents. However, it is not always the first page of your policy, and it can span more than one page, depending on the amount of information your insurance company includes.^[1][2]

What Is Typically on a Car Insurance Declarations Page?

Insurance companies vary when it comes to what information they include on declarations pages and how they format them, but in general, you can expect your auto insurance declarations page to present some or all of the following information:^[1][3]

Car Insurance Declaration Page Example

The following infographic provides an example of how relevant information about your car insurance policy could be laid out on a declaration page.

How Do I Read My Car Insurance Declaration Page?

In the upcoming sections, we’ll go through some of the key pieces of information that appear on your declarations page and what you need to know about them to properly interpret what your declarations page conveys about your insurance coverage.

Coverage Period

The declaration page should present both your policy’s effective date — that is, the date it became active — and its end date, allowing you to easily check how much time you have until your policy comes up for renewal. Auto insurance policies most often come up for renewal every six months, though many policies instead renew once per year.^[3]

As your renewal date approaches, you should consider shopping around to see if you can find a cheaper car insurance policy that adequately meets your coverage needs.

Premium

Your car insurance premium is the amount of money you must pay to your insurance company to keep your policy active. In some cases, your declaration page may list both a standard premium that applies if you make monthly, quarterly or semiannual payments and a discounted premium that applies if you pay for the entire coverage period with a single upfront payment.^[1]

Coverage Limits

Each coverage type included in your insurance policy will come with its own coverage limit, which is the maximum amount of money your insurance company will pay toward a covered loss. In particular, you should pay attention to how your liability coverage limits are formatted. For example, if your declaration page lists 25/50/20 coverage limits for your liability insurance, it means your policy includes the following:

• $25,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage for any one person injured in a car accident
• $50,000 worth of bodily injury liability coverage to split across all of the people injured in a car accident
• $20,000 worth of property damage liability coverage per accident

Rated Drivers

The rated drivers listed on your declaration page are people who are covered by your car insurance policy and impact your premium. Since auto insurance generally covers anyone who drives your vehicle with your permission, your insurer will likely want to take all of the driving-age people in your household into account when calculating the risk of covering you and setting your rates.

However, in some states, you may have the option to specifically exclude certain people in your household from your car insurance policy.^[4] For example, if you have an adult child living with you who has already gotten into several accidents, you may want to exclude them from your policy and have them buy their own car insurance to keep your premiums lower.

Keep in mind that your insurance company likely won’t provide coverage if an excluded driver gets into an accident while driving your car.

Deductibles

Your car insurance deductible is your out-of-pocket contribution toward each claim, and your insurance carrier will automatically deduct it from your insurance settlement whenever one of your claims is approved. For example, if you file a claim for $10,000 worth of damage and have a $1,000 deductible, your insurance company would pay out $9,000.

The deductible you select will impact how much you have to pay for an auto insurance policy. In general, higher deductibles correspond with lower premiums since your insurance company will have to bear less of the financial burden anytime you file a claim. You should note that some types of car insurance, like liability, medical payments and uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, normally don’t require a deductible.^[5]

When Do I Need My Car Insurance Declarations Page?

It’s most important to review your declaration page when you first purchase a new car insurance policy. Before you start driving, you want to make sure that your policy details are correct and that you understand what is covered by your policy so you don’t risk having to pay fully out of pocket for a loss you are expecting your insurance provider to cover.^[6]

Additionally, it can be helpful to reference your declarations page when you are shopping around for a new car insurance policy so you can easily compare the details of the quotes you receive against your existing policy. Finally, your declaration page can serve as proof of auto insurance, although your insurer will usually send you an insurance card, which may make for a more convenient way to show proof of coverage.^[3]

How Do I Access My Car Insurance Declaration Page?

Anytime you buy or renew a policy, your car insurance company should automatically send you a copy of your insurance documents, including the declarations page, either physically or digitally. If you cannot find your declaration page, you should be able to contact your insurer to request it.