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What a homeowners declaration page is actually listing
The declaration page is the one-sheet summary of limits and deductibles. The exclusions that surprise people live in the policy form behind it.
After a homeowners policy is issued, the document that arrives first is the declarations page. It names the insured, the address, the policy period, the mortgagee if there is one, and the dollar limits. It is a summary. The promises and the refusals are in the policy form, the endorsements, and the exclusions.
The main limits
Coverage A is the dwelling. It should be set from the cost to rebuild the house, not from the purchase price or the tax assessment. Land is not rebuilt, and market value includes land. Coverage B is other structures such as a detached garage. Coverage C is personal property. Coverage D is loss of use, the extra cost of living elsewhere while a covered loss makes the home unlivable. Coverage E is personal liability. Coverage F is medical payments to others, a smaller no-fault amount.
Deductibles are not all the same
A policy can carry a flat deductible for most losses and a separate percentage deductible for wind, hail, or hurricanes. A 2 percent hurricane deductible on a $400,000 dwelling is $8,000, not the $1,000 all-peril deductible printed next to it. Percentage deductibles are a common reason a claim feels smaller than the homeowner expected.
What a standard policy usually leaves out
Flooding from outside the house is not a standard homeowners peril. Earthquake is not either, except by endorsement in some markets. Sewer backup, ordinance or law costs to rebuild to current code, and jewelry above a small sub-limit are frequent gaps. An HO-3 policy, the common form for owner-occupied houses, covers the dwelling on an open-peril basis and personal property on a named-peril basis. An HO-6 is the usual condo form. An HO-4 is renters insurance, which covers belongings and liability, not the building.
Replacement cost, actual cash value, and roof schedules vary by carrier and by state. Read the endorsements attached to your own policy. This page is a glossary, not a coverage opinion.