Is it me or we bombarded with a wide variety of paperwork? I swear every I turn around our insurance company is mailing us new paperwork!!! On top of that, all the prescription receipts, EOB’s and doctors visits will fill any home file folder in a month or two.
So here is how I “Clear the Clutter” on our insurance paperwork. I may not being doing everything by the “rule book” but I do know at all time where my paperwork is and our policies.
At the start of any policy, you will likely receive a detailed booklet/declarations explaining the terms and conditions of your policy. Not only will this paperwork provide you with details of your insurance coverage, but it will also give instructions on filing insurance claims. I of course will call my insurance agent before I try to sit down and read “how to”. I just want to be told, do it and move on! Shocking, I know…I have very little patience.
You will need to keep paperwork for the entire life of the insurance policy, whether it is life insurance, homeowners insurance or auto insurance. . Any time there are changes in your policy, your insurance company will also send you paperwork detailing these changes. Keep these documents as well. Once the policy has ended, you will want to keep your paperwork for an additional three to seven years. This extension will ensure your documents are available in the case of unfinished business with the company or insurance claims being submitted late.
Auto Insurance: I keep the policy information of both of our vehicles. With that being said, every six months when I receive a new bill and policy information I shred the policy before because that policy has expired and this is the new policy for the next six months.
Home Owners/Renters Insurance: Here again I keep the declaration pages sent by our insurance company for the current year and shred the previous year.
When our house was hit with the hail storm, I kept a separate file again for the claim, the adjuster’s form of our damage, the roofers bids, guttering bid and so on. You want to be able to grab any “pending claim” and have ALL of the information at your fingertips at all times.
Medical Insurance: This is where things can get tricky. If you are filing claims for medical reimbursement you will want to keep a copy of your file just incase the insurance company accidentally loses your claim or submits incorrect information. After a claim has been submitted, your insurance company will send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB), which details the coverage, provided for each individual claim. You may be able to discard EOB paperwork once that specific medical charge has been paid in full. Here again I keep the declaration pages sent by our insurance company for the current year and shred the previous year.
With any paperwork or filing you want to make sure you have plenty of documentation to state your case. As I have told you before we had a couple of major surgeries with our boys when they were little. I kept all the doctor bills, hospital bills, prescriptions and EOB’s until everything was paid in full. I kept all of this paperwork separate from our normal medical records in it’s own file so that I had it at my fingertips. I saved close to $4000 from an incorrect billing. Always, double check everything and don’t be afraid to call your insurance company and ask them to look at it again or make sure they “coded” it correctly in the first place.
By Michelle Lehman with Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter”