Record Keeping

iiinycboi

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Ok, need some gurus or anyone who knows.

I have too many file metal cabinets, and i am trying to expand my in house staff.

Is e-copy of document sufficient for record keeping? I will hire someone to scan all those documents and place on server. Seems like i need more and more file cabinets and i want to get rid of all paper.

Dont know how those signatures will work if they require me to show backup of signed docs. But i am assuming scanned versions are A-OK for record keeping?
 
That will probably vary by the state. However, I think electronic copies would be fine considering that some people fax documents back and forth and there hasn't been an issue with that.

Personally what I do is that I copy everything in for ease of accessibility but keep the hard copies just in case. I've never been audited by the state DOI or had an E&O claim (knock on wood) so I can't say what they would like.

Why don't you call your state DOI, E&O carrier, and then ask your normal carriers what they say? Get it straight from the horses' mouths.

By the way, agency management systems are EXCELLENT for these things. They timestamp conversations and notes and you cannot delete them afterwards, giving them a lot of credence if and when you have an issue with "he-said/she-said" scenarios.
 
hmm, yeah i have qq solution but i'm not quite up to speed with the program yet, i dont know if i'm suppose to memo everything taht happens?
 
Heck, most of my documents are e-signed. Why would I bother to keep a hard copy of an electronic signature?

I scan everything. Need a hard copy? I'll email it to you and you can print it out.

Dan
 
E-documents are the way to go. If anyone needs a physical copy just print one out. It may vary from state to state but like djs things like esign and EZbuyesales.com exist so you should be fine. I dont use a cms. Instead I organize my e-files exactly as if i were to use a filing cabinet and manila folder system.

1. receipt
2. app
3. signatures
4. pictures

Each day you can back up your files to an external hard drive or cloud storage.
 
the only thing that is hard copy, is the signature pages. most of my clients feel uncomfortable without signing anything on paper and just giving me money lol.

so everything is done on the computer, then i print out the signature page and have them sign it. How do you do e signature? you got those little machines that let them sign?
 
so ive been doing efax since i started its great. I'm able to market and sign applications for the entire state of California from a remote location. I do one of 2 things. Either I email/fax them the paper work then they send it back (then I send ID cards). I like this way because I use an efax service and have a program that allows me to print documents to a PDF format instead of to a printer. everything is digital and i can print signed copies at any time. Or I will use a site called ezbuyesales.com. I rarely use the second option since it costs the client $10.

there are some companies that allow esignatures but you either have to pay for the service or have a somewhat computer literate client (which we all know is never).

bottom line its how you pitch it. I always finalize tell them the price and if they like it charge the card then tell them you need to get to a fax machine or scanner. once you have their money they get creative and find ways or you can always suggest they go to a fedex or ups store.
 
I use docusign. There is also echosign and a few others.
There is a monthly fee, but it saves me in postage and hassle.

I find a lot of clients don't have fax machines or scanners (or at least don't use them). Docusign allows them to sign the papers without ever printing them.

Now, if they are in the office, I print them, have them sign them and then scan them back in.

Dan
 
Check with the DOI to CYA. Most are friendly to technology but some insist on being dinosaurs. Hopefully it never becomes an issue but if an issue arises, you don't want to compound it with the DOI.
 
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