A Records Retention Program Can Help Your Business
Businesses collect a substantial amount of records over the years. Some are crucial for current and future operations; others aren’t. While no one wants to hold onto a stack of papers and documents forever, discarding them can be a costly mistake if you need them at some point. The following discussion addresses insurance records retention and when it’s safe to send them to the shredder.
Records Retention Program
This basic approach is one of the safest ways to manage your company or business records. The program specifically describes what records will be kept for a designated amount of time and how each record will be treated. The standards set forth are useful whenever you need those records while eliminating unnecessary clutter.
Retaining Records Based on Policy
Any business or company is likely to deal with a wide range of insurance coverages during operations. Some come into play in future financial planning while others may be obsolete and are candidates for disposal. For example, an occurrence-based policy that is typically always active covers losses that occurred during its term regardless of the time the claim was made. If the incident happened decades ago while the policy was active, the policy will cover the loss even if it has expired.
Other Records Worth Keeping
Like occurrence-based policies, property policies provide coverage for loss or events involving owned, rented, or leased assets. However, the coverage is provided soon after the loss occurs, and there is a time frame for claiming those losses. Likewise, claims made through workers’ compensation cover the employer’s liability for injuries and losses to employees, and their records should be retained for a specific period.
Retaining certain records can make the operation of your business much smoother and those involved much easier. While there are limited restrictions and requirements surrounding record retention, the real benefit lies in reducing out-of-pocket expenses for the business. By evaluating unique needs and budgets, an appropriate retention plan can be developed and implemented enabling management and staff to act accordingly. Our experts at IRCH can offer help insurance companies discover the appropriate record retention program for their specific needs.
