Read a declarations page box by box, and ask one question at each box: does this still match the business I bought? Start with the named insured and dates, then limits and deductibles, the premium basis, locations, and the forms list that tells you what to read next. This guide is for new owners holding a stack of the seller's policies. It gives you a 10-minute routine first, then a box-by-box reference table, what changes by policy type, and a sample walk-through.
The short answer
- The declarations page is the summary at the front of each policy: named insured, policy period, limits, deductibles, premium and its rating basis, locations or vehicles, and the forms schedule.
- After an acquisition, the first boxes to check are the named insured, the address and the policy dates.
- Compare the limits with your contracts and loan documents, and the premium basis (payroll, sales, vehicles, values) with your real numbers.
- The forms and endorsements schedule tells you what to read next. The declarations page is not the whole policy.
What is a declarations page, and what is it not?
The declarations page (often called the "dec page") is the part of the policy that fills in the specifics: your name, your dates, your limits, your locations. The coverage form behind it is a standard or carrier-written document that says what is covered and excluded; the declarations page plugs your details into it. Each policy has its own, so a company with five policies has five. On a workers' compensation policy the same summary is called the information page.
It is not the full contract. Endorsements can add exclusions or limit coverage without changing anything on the declarations page, which is why the endorsements often matter more. It is also not a certificate of insurance, which is a separate summary for third parties. See certificate vs declarations page.
How do you check a declarations page in 10 minutes?
Have the policy, your entity list, your top contracts and loan insurance requirements, and your latest payroll and revenue numbers next to you.
- Minutes 1 to 2: names and dates. Confirm the named insured matches the entity you own, and that the policy was in force on closing day. Flag the seller's name anywhere. See wrong named insured after an acquisition.
- Minutes 3 to 4: limits and deductibles. Compare limits with what contracts and the lender require. Note any deductible that would strain cash flow.
- Minutes 5 to 6: rating basis. Compare the payroll, sales or vehicle count with your real figures. A big gap can mean an audit bill later, or a refund.
- Minutes 7 to 8: locations and schedules. Check every location, vehicle and piece of scheduled equipment against what the business has today.
- Minute 9: additional interests. Confirm the lender is shown the way the loan documents require. That usually means a mortgagee clause for buildings and a lender's loss payable clause (not just a loss payee listing) for equipment and inventory.
- Minute 10: forms schedule. Circle any form titled exclusion, limitation, amendment or designated, and ask for copies.
Write each flag in one line. Ten minutes per policy will not tell you everything, but it tells you what to ask.
What does each box on a declarations page mean?
Use this table as the reference behind the routine. Layouts vary by carrier, but most declarations pages carry the same core items.
| Box | What it tells you | What to check after buying |
|---|---|---|
| Named insured and mailing address | Who the policy protects. The first name listed (the "first named insured") usually pays premium and receives cancellation notices and refunds | Is your entity listed? Does it still show the seller's company or old trade name? Is the address current? |
| Policy number and policy period | Start and end dates, commonly starting at 12:01 a.m. at the address shown | Was the policy in force on closing day? When does it renew? |
| Insurer | The company that carries the risk, which may differ from the broker or a parent brand | Is it an admitted carrier or an excess and surplus lines insurer (a non-admitted carrier that can write risks standard carriers decline)? See admitted vs non-admitted |
| Limits | The most the policy pays per occurrence, claim or accident, and on many liability policies a total (aggregate) for the policy period. On many claims-made policies, defense costs reduce the limit | Do they meet what customer contracts, the lease and the lender require? |
| Deductibles or retentions | What you pay before the insurer pays, usually per claim or per occurrence. With a self-insured retention, you pay (sometimes including defense) before the insurer steps in | Can the business absorb several in one year? Is any amount a self-insured retention rather than a deductible? |
| Premium and rating basis | The price, and what it is based on (payroll, sales, vehicles, square footage, values) | Do the estimates match your real numbers? Is the policy auditable? |
| Locations, vehicles or schedules | Where and what is covered | Are all current locations and vehicles listed, and sold ones removed? |
| Additional interests | Mortgage holders, loss payees and sometimes additional insureds by name | Is your lender shown with the clause the loan documents require (mortgagee or lender's loss payable, not just loss payee)? |
| Retroactive date (claims-made policies) | The earliest date of work or acts the policy covers | Does it reach back far enough to cover work done before closing? |
| Forms and endorsements schedule | Every form that makes up the policy, by number and edition | Note anything titled exclusion, limitation or amendment, and request copies |
What changes from one policy type to the next?
The core boxes repeat, but each line has its own key items.
| Policy | Key items on the declarations page | Common mismatch after a sale |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | Each occurrence limit, general aggregate, products and completed operations aggregate, personal and advertising injury, damage to rented premises, medical expense; classifications with a premium basis such as sales or payroll | Classification describes only part of today's work; sales estimate is out of date |
| Commercial property | Limit by location and building, covered causes of loss, valuation (actual cash value, meaning replacement cost minus wear, or replacement cost), coinsurance percentage (the share of full value you must insure to avoid a claim penalty), deductible, mortgage holder | Limits set from the purchase price rather than replacement cost; a moved or added location not listed |
| Commercial auto | Covered auto symbols (numbers that say which vehicles each coverage applies to), vehicle schedule, limits | Narrow symbols plus a stale schedule, so newly bought vehicles may not be covered as expected |
| Workers' compensation | Information page items: states covered (Item 3.A), employers liability limits (3.B), other states (3.C), endorsements (3.D), class codes with estimated payroll (Item 4) | A state where you now have workers is missing; payroll sits in the wrong class code; workers in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington or Wyoming need coverage from that state's fund, not this policy |
| Umbrella | Limits, retention, schedule of underlying insurance | A replaced or renamed underlying policy no longer matches the schedule |
| Claims-made lines (employment practices, cyber, professional, management liability) | Aggregate limit, retention, retroactive date, sometimes a prior or pending litigation date | A replacement policy with a retroactive date at closing, which may leave earlier acts uncovered depending on the form and deal structure |
On auto policies, the covered auto symbol matters as much as the schedule. Symbol 1 means any auto, and it is generally used only for liability coverage. Symbol 7 means only the autos specifically described. Under the standard form, broader symbols (1 through 6, or 19) automatically cover newly acquired autos of the type described for the rest of the policy period. With symbol 7, a vehicle added later is covered only if the policy already covers all your owned autos for that coverage or the new vehicle replaces a covered one, and you tell the carrier within 30 days. Ask your broker which symbols apply to liability and which to physical damage, and report new vehicles promptly.
What does a sample declarations page walk-through look like?
A hypothetical example. A buyer acquires all the shares of a commercial cleaning company through a newly formed holding company and pulls the general liability declarations page the seller's broker sent over. Reading box by box:
| Box | What it shows | The flag |
|---|---|---|
| Named insured | The acquired company and a trade name it no longer uses; the buyer's holding company is not listed | Ask the carrier to add the holding company and update the trade name by endorsement; this is one of the urgent items |
| Policy period | Runs four more months | Renewal falls soon after closing, so plan replacement or remarketing now |
| Limits | $1,000,000 each occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate | The largest customer contract requires a $5,000,000 umbrella on top; check the umbrella |
| Classification and basis | Janitorial services, estimated sales $3,000,000 | Actual sales are $4,000,000 and include floor refinishing; expect an audit adjustment and confirm the work is described |
| Locations | One office address | A second warehouse leased last year is missing; ask for it to be added now |
| Forms schedule | Lists a designated operations limitation and a blanket additional insured endorsement | Read both: one may narrow coverage, the other may or may not meet contract wording |
Ten minutes produced two fixes to request now (the named insured and the missing warehouse) and four questions for the broker. None of them required reading the full coverage form yet.
What should you do when the declarations page does not match the business?
Send your broker a written list of every mismatch and ask, for each one, whether it can be fixed by endorsement now or should wait for renewal. Wrong named insureds, missing locations, missing states and unlisted vehicles are usually urgent. Rating basis corrections may be handled by endorsement or at audit. If several policies are off, it may be time to compare keeping the program against replacing it; see keep the seller's insurance or start over.
A change counts only when the carrier issues the endorsement, so ask for the revised declarations page or endorsement in writing and file it with the policy. If you want a second set of eyes, Morrow can read the declarations pages you inherited against the business you bought and flag what to fix first; any changes depend on the carrier.
Keep reading
- Declarations Page vs Full Policy: Why the Endorsements Matter More
- What Documents Do I Need for an Insurance Review?
- Wrong Named Insured After an Acquisition: Entities, DBAs and Holdcos
- What Happens in a Business Insurance Review, Step by Step
- How to Read Loss Runs After You Buy a Business
- All guides for new business owners
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find the declarations page?
It is usually the first few pages of each policy. Your broker or the carrier's online portal can send it. In an asset deal the seller's policies stay in the seller's name, so the carrier may need the seller's written authorization.
Is the declarations page the same as a certificate of insurance?
No. The declarations page is part of the policy. A certificate is a separate summary prepared for a third party, such as a customer or landlord, and it does not change the policy.
What does first named insured mean?
It is the first entity listed as named insured. Under many standard policy conditions, the first named insured pays premiums, receives cancellation notices and gets any return premium. Make sure that is an entity you control.
Why does my declarations page show estimated payroll or sales?
Many liability and workers' compensation policies are priced on estimates and adjusted after the policy ends based on actual figures. If your real numbers differ a lot from the estimates, ask your broker to update them to avoid a surprise audit bill.
What should I do if the declarations page still shows the seller's company?
Treat it as urgent. Ask your broker in writing whether your entity can be added by endorsement now or needs its own policy, and get the revised declarations page or a new policy before relying on coverage. In an asset deal, the seller's policy generally does not protect your new company.
References
- Insurance Services Office: Commercial General Liability Coverage Form CG 00 01 12 07 (carrier-hosted copy)
- Insurance Services Office: Business Auto Coverage Form CA 00 01 10 13 (carrier-hosted copy)
- Insurance Services Office: Building and Personal Property Coverage Form CP 00 10 04 02 (carrier-hosted copy)
- Insurance Services Office: Common Policy Conditions IL 00 17 11 98 (carrier-hosted copy)
- NCCI: Workers Compensation and Employers Liability Insurance Policy WC 00 00 00 C (carrier-hosted copy)
Just bought a business? Get your insurance reviewed.
Send Morrow the declarations pages, loss runs and key contracts you inherited. Morrow can review them against the business you bought, flag gaps and request quotes where it makes sense. Any new terms depend on carrier underwriting.
Morrow · 25 New Chardon Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02114
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a coverage determination. Coverage depends on the actual policy wording, carrier underwriting, your purchase agreement and your contracts. Ask your attorney and accountant about deal and legal questions.