What Is an ACORD 27 Evidence of Property Insurance Form?
It's a standard form showing a lender or buyer that a home is insured, listing coverage amounts without the full policy details.
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Your lender asks for this form because it wants proof your dwelling coverage meets what you owe on the loan, not because it needs the whole policy. It shows the insurer, the policy number, the coverage amounts, and the effective date, nothing more. Before closing, check that the dwelling amount on it matches or exceeds your loan amount and that the effective date lines up with your closing date. If those numbers are off, call whoever is writing your policy and get it corrected before you sign anything.
The dwelling number on that form is what you'd be living with if the house burned down, so it deserves more than a glance before closing. An amount sized to just clear the loan balance can leave you short of what rebuilding actually costs. You still have a choice of insurer up to closing. That makes now the time to check whether the coverage and the price are the best you can get.
How is an ACORD 27 different from a binder or a declarations page?
These three documents get confused because lenders sometimes ask for more than one. A binder is a temporary proof of coverage your insurer issues after you've agreed to the policy and before the full paperwork is printed. It's short, usually a page, and it confirms coverage exists as of a certain date. The ACORD 27 is a standardized form, same layout no matter which insurer issues it, built specifically to show a lender the coverage amounts and policy facts it needs. The declarations page, often called the dec page, is part of your actual policy. It lists everything the ACORD 27 does plus more detail on endorsements, exclusions, and other coverage limits like personal property or liability.
Lenders ask for the ACORD 27 specifically because it's standardized. Every insurer fills out the same fields in the same places, so whoever reviews it at the title company or lender's office knows exactly where to find the dwelling amount, the policy number, and the effective date without reading through pages of policy language. That's the whole reason the form exists. It's faster for everyone at closing, not a lesser version of proof of insurance.
Some lenders ask for the declarations page instead of or alongside the ACORD 27, and some title companies have their own preference. If you're not sure which one your closing requires, ask early rather than assuming the ACORD 27 covers it. Getting the wrong document in front of the right person a day before closing is the kind of delay that pushes a closing date.
None of these documents are the policy itself. The actual contract, with all its terms, conditions, and exclusions, is the full policy document, which your insurer sends separately and which you should keep. The ACORD 27, the binder, and the dec page are all summaries built for different audiences and different moments, not substitutes for reading what you actually bought.
Who fills out the ACORD 27 and when does it show up?
Your insurance agent or the company writing your policy fills out the ACORD 27, not you and not your lender. It gets generated after you've picked a policy and paid for it, or at least committed to paying for it, since the form states coverage that's actually in effect or about to be. You won't be asked to fill in any fields yourself. Your job is to tell the agent where to send it and to check the numbers once it arrives.
Timing matters more than people expect. Most lenders want the ACORD 27 in hand a few days before closing, not the morning of, so title can confirm coverage is lined up before funds move. If you bind a policy the night before closing, the form can still be generated quickly since it's a short document pulling from data the insurer already has. But quickly is not instantly, so asking for it the same day you bind coverage is cutting it closer than it needs to be.
It's worth asking your agent directly how they plan to deliver it. Some send it straight to the lender or title company, some send it to you to forward along. Either way works, but assuming someone else is handling delivery when no one actually sent it is how a closing gets delayed over a document that takes minutes to produce. A short email confirming who's sending what, and by when, closes that gap.
If anything changes after the form is issued, a higher dwelling amount, a different effective date, a change in insurer, a new ACORD 27 has to replace the old one. The form reflects the policy as it stood when it was filled out, not updates made afterward. If your loan amount shifts late in the process or you switch carriers days before closing, flag it so a corrected form goes out instead of a stale one sitting in the closing file.
Before closing
Pull up your policy's dwelling amount and effective date, then check them against your loan amount and your closing date. If either doesn't match, get it fixed before the ACORD 27 goes out.
