Keep copies before you send originals: insurance claims and your records

A claim form needs the original prescription. An employer wants the original medical certificate. A new clinic asks to keep your old report. It’s easy to say yes, and weeks later find that you have nothing.

Many families have been caught this way: the original goes off with a claim, the claim takes months, and the next doctor asks for the very same paper. The fix is simple.

Copy first, always

Before any original leaves your hands:

1. Photograph every page, flat, in good light, with all four edges in the picture. Check that the photo is readable.
2. Or photocopy it, if you’re at an office and have the chance.
3. Check you’ve got every page, including the back, stamps and signatures.

Note what you sent

Write a short line in a notebook or on your phone:

• what the paper was;
• who it was for and how you sent it (by hand, courier, post);
• the date, and a reference or tracking number if there is one.

If something goes missing, this note tells you exactly where to look.

Ask for the original back

When you can, ask the office to return the original, or to take a photocopy and let you keep the paper. Many are happy to do so if you ask. If they must keep it, ask for a receipt that lists what they took.

Know what is worth keeping

For any medical claim, keep a copy of:

• the discharge summary and the final bill;
• prescriptions and pharmacy bills;
• lab reports and scans;
• the claim form and any letters back from the insurer.

Keep them together, in one folder for that claim, with the person’s name on it. When the claim is closed, keep the folder with that person’s other records. A past claim can be useful again, for example when a doctor asks about an earlier illness.

If the original is gone

Call the place that gave you the paper and ask for a duplicate. Hospitals and labs usually keep records and can reissue them, sometimes for a small fee. Your copy helps them find it: give them the date, the name and any reference number.

Where Kinsu fits

Kinsu stores each page as a photo or file on your phone, labelled with whose it is, and searchable by name, doctor or tag. It keeps your records on your phone, encrypted, and doesn’t send them to your insurer or anyone else. It isn’t a replacement for the originals when someone needs them. It makes sure you always have a copy.