Sometimes, you must prove that you carry certain types of insurance in certain amounts, such as when a police officer asks to see proof of auto insurance. In these cases, you may wonder what document to provide. Every insurance contract has a declarations page that is part of the policy, but an evidence of insurance document is usually produced separately from the policy.
Declarations Page
The purpose of the declarations page, or dec page, is to summarize the major coverage and limits afforded to the insured by the policy onto a single page for easy reference. For example, an auto insurance policy dec page will list the liability insurance limits as well as any other coverage in the policy, such as collision or uninsured motorist, and the applicable deductibles and limits. The dec page does not list the conditions or exclusions that may apply.
Evidence of Insurance
Typically, "evidence of insurance" refers to a document that is generated and provided by either the insurance company or agency that sold the policy, rather than part of the policy itself. With auto insurance, the insurer typically provides a small piece of paper with certain policy information on it that you are supposed to keep in your vehicle at all times. This identification card or other documents such as certificates of insurance can all be used as evidence of insurance.
Use of Dec Page
The dec page is part of your policy, so you should keep it with the rest of your policy wherever you store your insurance documents. It is typically a full-size piece of paper and might be attached to the rest of the contract. Because of this, it can be burdensome to use it as an evidence of insurance document. However, most agencies that require evidences of insurance will accept a declarations page as sufficient evidence.
Information
Declarations pages and typical evidence of insurance documents both contain most of the same information. You will typically find the insured's name and contact information, the issuing agency's name and contact information, the insurance company's name, the policy number and effective and expiration dates listed on both documents. The declarations page usually has more detailed information than a standard evidence of insurance document, so you can use a dec page as evidence, but not the other way around.