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In the past, Insurance Agencies needed spacious offices to handle staff, file cabinets, supplies and a number of other items. Thanks to the Internet age, this has all changed. Once you go paperless, you will no longer need file cabinets. A desk drawer file cabinet should be enough to store those important hard copies of crucial documents.

It’s truly a different world from 15 years or so ago, when an agency needed tangible items for communication and storage. Today, the cost to run an office has become very inexpensive. Also, more and more employees can work from home or telecommute — another space-saving factor. Have you downsized you office? Are any employees working from home?

I like your posts

My agency is too small.. we never had to downsize.. 'cuz we only had 4 people workin! But with the software we have.. the fact that we've gone paperless.. the need for a CSR to process that stuff has been eliminated.. in fact.. my 900 dollar scanner i purchased 1 year ago is now rarely used because i rarely scan now..

This is definitely an interesting question for bigger agencies.. especially with different software out there.. i use Hawksoft.. but i took a look at other agency management programs and i can definitely see how that software replaces humans!

Last week Wednesday i shredded 4 boxes of files.. and now i can go into my cabinets and go shred those too.. but one thing i need clarification on.. are we supposed to keep a hardcopy.. for 5 years? 7 years?

there is no hard and fast rul but the agency management experts say you should keep hardcopy files for 7 years then you can shred them as well.

ewguva wrote:there is no hard and fast rul but the agency management experts say you should keep hardcopy files for 7 years then you can shred them as well.

That is just plain wrong. The scanned copy replaces the hard copy, is not in addition to it. Keep the scanned original until you are sure the scanned data has been backed up to an offsite backup and then shred it. Wait a few weeks extra if you like.

I think the earlier poster was referring to shredding of old data that was never scanned in. The answer is you decide how long to keep your data 5 or 7 years, scanned or hard copy is all the same , and then get rid of it at that point.

Your State Insurance division should have specific rules about how long you must keep any and all transactions relating to your customers and their insurance. I know ours does. You don't want to "guess" at this. And yes, unless you live in the dark ages, electronic copies are treated the same as paper copies. I "keep" my files for much longer than the State requires simply because we have been paperless for over 7 years now and we'd rather expand our data capacity than purge files. Our process is scan and shred, and we continue to push our carriers to send us things (including policies) electronically rather than paper policies. I don't like having to spend our limited resources on shredding documents that could easily have been delivered to us electronically. It's not only a waste of our natural resources, it's a waste of the agency's money. Then there is the storage issue. I no longer have a storage locker to pay for to keep files that can't yet be shredded. They're all gone, and yes, all of them were outsourced to a reputable shredding company who certifies how they are shredded and privacy issues are complied with. So be sure to get the correct regulations in your own State about how long to keep files and follow that carefully. Good luck...aloha,

Island Girl Agent:
Do you have the URL to your state's DOI that spell out these "specific rules?"

Im in CA and i called teh DOI and they don't tell you a specific amount of years

This is a good post please

There are lots of companies and organizations who offer software to most Insurance companies such as Policy Management Systems, Contact Management Systems, Agency Management Systems, and Client Relationship Management Systems (CRMS) that are designed for Agent and Insurance professionals. This technology would help to lessen manpower and to enhance and boost production for Insurance companies.