Policy anatomy

One reusable mental model for every policy you’ll ever read — property, casualty, life, or health. Learn it once and you can navigate any contract. All STABLE.

The standard structure (DICE + DEC)

Most policies are built from the same parts. A common mnemonic is “DICE”, plus the Declarations and Endorsements:

Part	What it does	Question it answers
Declarations (Dec page)	The front page: named insured, address, policy period, limits, premium, deductibles, covered property/vehicles.	Who, what, how much, when?
Insuring agreement	The insurer’s core promise — what it agrees to cover.	What does the company promise to do?
Definitions	Defines key terms used in the policy (e.g., “you,” “insured,” “occurrence”).	What do the words mean?
Conditions	The rules/duties both parties must follow (pay premium, give notice of loss, cooperate, allow inspection).	What are the rules of the deal?
Exclusions	What is not covered (perils, property, situations carved out).	What’s NOT covered?
Endorsements / Riders	Add-ons that modify the base policy (add/remove/change coverage). “Endorsement” is the P&C term; “rider” is the Life/Health term.	How is the standard policy changed?

Read order tip: to know if a claim is covered, check the insuring agreement (is it the kind of loss we cover?), then the exclusions (is it carved out?), then conditions (did the insured meet their duties?), all scoped by the definitions and declarations.

Key concepts that live in the structure

• Named insured / additional insured / third party — the named insured is the primary policyholder; an additional insured is added by endorsement; a third party is someone outside the contract (e.g., a claimant in a liability claim).
• Premium — the price of coverage (see 02 Rating & pricing).
• Deductible — the amount the insured pays before coverage responds.
• Limits of liability — the maximum the insurer will pay (per occurrence, per claim, aggregate — important in casualty).
• Cancellation vs nonrenewal — cancellation ends a policy mid-term (limited reasons/notice); nonrenewal declines to continue it at the end of the term.
• Assignment — transferring policy rights to another; generally needs insurer consent (recall insurance is a personal contract — see 03 Contract law).

Why this model is so useful

Every line-specific page in this wiki (Property, Casualty, Life, Health) is really “what goes in the insuring agreement, exclusions, and conditions for this type of policy.” If you internalize the skeleton here, those pages become “fill in the parts,” not “memorize a new structure each time.”

It’s also how you’ll read the Tech E&O policy form at the center of the Glacis play: the insuring agreement (what professional acts are covered), the claims-made conditions (retroactive date, reporting), and the exclusions (prior knowledge, bodily injury, etc.). See 06 Tech E&O.

Next

→ 05 Property: Property principles or jump to your line.

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