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LOUISIANAAGENT
E&O Q&A RECORD RETENTION WHEN YOUR AGENCY GOES PAPERLESS BY MARY LAPORTE, AINS, CPCU, CIC, LIC, CPIA Q: Our office is finally eliminating paper customer files and going paperless. The question came up on how long we should keep customer records. We used to keep everything for five years.Is that still the rule of thumb for digital records too? A: The first thing you need to do is check to see if your state has requirements for maintaining records.Your state agent’s association should be able to provide that information.
Generally, I have always recommended keeping personal lines records for 5-7 years, and commercial records for 7-10 years. In the past, an agency’s desire to keep paper records longer was tempered by space limitations. Thanks to technology, space is no longer an issue. One argument, therefore, is to keep records indefinitely since it is so easy to do. That can be a double-edged sword.
