Glossary

Declarations page

The front section of a policy that names the insured, policy period, covered locations or operations, limits, deductibles, premium and the forms attached.

Also called: dec page, declarations, policy declarations, decs

The declarations page is the policy's fact sheet. It states who is insured, the policy period, the insured locations or classifications, the limit and deductible for each coverage, the premium, and a schedule of the forms and endorsements that make up the contract. On an ISO package the common declarations (IL P 001) come first, and each coverage part adds its own, such as CG DS 01 for general liability.

The forms say what is covered in general. The declarations say how much, for whom, and where. A building left off the location schedule, or a vehicle or class code that was never listed, can leave you without coverage for it, whatever the form's wording promises.

Read it the day it arrives. Check the named insured against your legal entity, down to the "LLC" or "Inc."; the policy period and its start time; limits against your contracts; deductibles against your cash; and the forms schedule against the endorsements you actually received. An endorsement that appears in the schedule but not in the stack, or the reverse, is a question for your broker immediately, not at claim time.

how to read a commercial policy: declarations, forms and endorsements walks through the whole contract in order. See named insured and endorsement for the two entries on the declarations that most often need correcting.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

In the index now

Related terms

Named insured The person or entity identified as the insured in the policy's declarations, which holds the coverage and its duties; others qualify only if the policy says so. First named insured The party listed first as a named insured on the declarations, who the policy treats as the contact for premium, cancellation notices and changes. Endorsement A written amendment to an insurance policy that adds, removes or changes coverage, limits or conditions, and controls over the base form where they conflict. Per-occurrence limit The most a liability policy will pay for all damages arising from a single occurrence, however many people are hurt or claims are made. Aggregate limit The most an insurer will pay for all covered claims during a policy period, however many separate occurrences or claims there are.

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Related en español

Certificados de seguro: qué prueban y qué no Cómo leer un certificado de seguro ACORD 25, lo que no prueba sobre asegurado adicional o cancelación, y cómo las leyes estatales limitan los certificados. Cómo comprar seguro para su negocio, paso a paso Ocho pasos para comprar seguro comercial: liste sus exposiciones, fije límites, arme la solicitud, elija el canal, compare cotizaciones y emita la póliza. ¿Qué es una póliza para dueños de negocio (BOP)? Una BOP combina propiedad, ingresos del negocio y responsabilidad civil general para negocios pequeños de bajo riesgo. Qué incluye, qué deja fuera y su precio.