What Is a Car Insurance Declarations Page?
Learn where to find your policy's declarations page and the important details it contains about your coverage.
Written by
Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
Reviewed by
Cara Carlone is a licensed P&C agent with 20 years of experience. She has her P&C license in RI and TX and holds CPCU, API, and AINS designations.
A lot of paperwork comes along with an insurance policy, no matter what you're covering. One of these documents is your declarations page, which contains important information you should be familiar with about your policy and its coverage. But since we all lead busy lives, it's extremely helpful to have a declarations page to refer to when we need it.
You can also ask a local independent insurance agent to help you review details about your car insurance or get you covered with an entirely new policy if you're still in need. They can help you access any pertinent information about your coverage and much more. But first, here's an overview of what a car insurance declarations page is and why you might need to use it.
What Is a Car Insurance Declarations Page?
If you ever need to access a quick summary of your car insurance policy, you can find it on your declarations page. A car insurance declarations page contains an overview of important policy details, such as your policy number, coverage period, covered vehicles and drivers, and coverage types. Should you ever forget what kind of coverage you have or when your policy ends, you can easily find this information fast on your declarations page.
How to Read Your Car Insurance Declarations Page
It's easy to find the information you need about your policy and its coverage on the declarations page, which is the entire purpose of its existence. Refer to the template below to find out how to locate the policy details you're searching for.
Car Insurance Declarations Page Template
What a Car Insurance Declarations Page Includes
The car insurance declarations page includes the most important details of your auto insurance policy. It provides a summary of personal and vehicle information as well as an overview of your policy.
Standard information found on a declarations page:
- Your full name
- Your address
- Your insured vehicle(s)
- The names of any additional individuals insured on your policy
- The name of your insurance agent
- The names of any excluded drivers
- Your car insurance policy number
- Your VIN number
- The effective dates of your policy and its length
- The year, make, and model of your vehicle
- Your driving history, including any accidents and tickets
- Average annual mileage
- The names, addresses, and contact information of any loss payees (i.e., a lender or lessor if you purchased or leased a vehicle)
- A list of your coverages, including their limits
- Any discounts applied to your premium
- A breakdown of your premium amount and your payments
If you have questions about the information shown on your car insurance declarations page, your independent insurance agent can help you review your policy details.
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What a Car Insurance Declarations Page Does Not Include
A car insurance declarations page isn't intended to provide lengthy details about your coverage. As such, you won’t find explanations of your coverage, exclusions from your policy, or additions like rental car coverage or roadside assistance coverage on the declarations page. To track down that information, you’ll need to dig into the additional pages of your insurance policy.
Where to Find Your Car Insurance Declarations Page
When you obtain auto insurance, your insurance company will email and/or mail you a packet that includes all the details of your policy. The declarations page is located in the first few pages of the policy.
It’s critical to review your declarations page when you first receive it. There could be misspellings of names or addresses, and it’s always helpful to double-check that your coverage is accurate. Some insurance companies will ask the policyholder to review their coverage summary while they're still on the phone to ensure accuracy.
If you misplace your insurance declarations page, you can ask for another copy from your insurance company or speak to your independent insurance agent to obtain one.
When You Might Need Your Car Insurance Declarations Page
There are a few scenarios in which your car insurance declaration page can come in handy:
- When you buy a new vehicle: You can’t drive your vehicle off the lot until your insurance company sends your insurance declarations page to the dealership, proving that you are insured.
- When you shop for new insurance: If you’re unhappy with your auto insurance and are looking for a new provider, knowing what you’re getting from your current carrier and how much you're paying for coverage can help you compare new quotes.
- When you want to understand your insurance: If you’re interested in better understanding what your auto insurance offers, your declarations page can provide a thorough summary.
You may only need to refer to your car insurance declarations page a handful of times in your life, but in such instances, it's helpful to already understand its purpose, where to find it, and the information it provides.
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Here's How an Independent Insurance Agent Can Help
When you need to locate or review your car insurance declarations page or get set up with a new policy entirely, no one's better equipped to help than a local independent insurance agent. Your agent can easily help you find pertinent policy information when you're in need.
They can also help you update or cancel your coverage as time goes on. And when it's time to switch carriers, your agent can shop and compare quotes and policy details from multiple car insurance companies for you to find the absolute best rate and coverage.
https://www.allstate.com/auto-insurance/car-policy-declarations
https://www.progressive.com/answers/insurance-declaration-page/