Do I need to keep old insurance policy documents?

Question

If I have documents from a policy term that has expired is there any reason to keep those documents anymore?

Answer 1

This totally depends on what kind of policy it is.
If it is a life policy then it is fine to dispose of it.

HOWEVER, if it is any sort of liability policy you should keep it for as long as you can.

If a future claim is made based on a liability that happened during the time the policy was valid (even if it is not valid at the time the claim was made....which could be years later), then you having your policy documents will save you a lot of time, trouble and money of having to go back and find out if you were covered at that time.

Insurers are required to pay out claims on lapsed policies all the time if it can be proven that the damage happened while that policy was in effect. This is called having a 'tail' on the policy.

Some kinds of policies have long tails.

Answer 2

Records Retention is different for each state. In the state of North Carolina, records retention is 7 years for all insurance policies. If it's a pollution related policy, then keep it for 20 years. If it's a standard policy, keep it for 7.

It's always better to have access to the document even if it takes up space than to not have it

Answer 3

As a general rule of thumb, destroy all lapsed whole-life policies with no cash value, and all expired term policies. There is no reason to keep them on hand if they no longer offer any sort of benefit.

None of us know when we're going to die. If you hang on to an expired policy, it will cause HUGE confusion in your family because they infer the policy's still good. I've seen alot of time, money and effort wasted trying to track these policies down, especially if the company that issued the policy was sold to another company.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

i'm an accountant/place of work supervisor. My rule of thumb is to in no way throw them away. only pass them to storage after approximately 10 years. I dont actually propose in no way, yet a minimum of 10 years for tax information, receipts, etc. I on occasion would desire to be attentive to something and that i'd desire to seem lower back via issues like that.

Answer 5

Keep a year, Unless you have had a claim then 3 years

Answer 6

I'd keep three years. The company also keeps them for 7, and original signatures forever.

Answer 7

No, but shred them because they are full of personal information that can be used to steal your identity.

Answer 8

no