Business insurance records: documents to keep for a claim

Start with the fact you may need to establish, then identify relevant sources. Collecting everything without a purpose can make useful records harder to find.

Question	Records to consider	Reference or missing information
What insurance was agreed?	Wording/version, schedule, endorsements, statement of fact or proposal, change confirmations.	Pack location and missing versions.
What work was agreed and delivered?	Contracts, changes, advice/designs, approvals and correspondence.	Project reference and version history.
What item existed and whose was it?	Invoice, asset ID, serial number/model, photos and ownership or lease records.	Inventory reference and sources.
What value or loss needs supporting?	Valuations, costs, estimates and financial records.	Basis, date and unanswered questions.
What happened and what checks existed?	Incident, inspection, maintenance, training and witness records.	Event reference and access route.
What was reported or agreed?	Submissions, requests, responses, decisions and approvals.	Chronology and unresolved actions.

The schedule shows policy-specific details; endorsements amend the terms; a statement of fact records information supplied when arranging cover. Keep the policy documents that apply to the relevant period.

These are examples, not a universal mandatory list. The provider may request other relevant material. A certificate is not the full policy; use the certificate and policy-document guide for retrieval and document differences.

Create an index pointing to existing records. Assign a person responsible for retrieval, identify gaps and test access. You do not need new software to start.

Copy the template below for each useful record group.

Field	Prompt	Your entry
Category and reference	Policy, project, asset or incident reference.
Description	Record and fact it may help establish.
Date, version and source	Document date/version and source.
Person responsible	Who can retrieve it?
Secure location	File, physical location or authorised access route.
Backup and recovery	How can a usable copy be recovered?
Last review	When was access/completeness checked?
Gap and action	Missing item, source to try and person responsible.
Retention purpose	Why it is kept and applicable requirements.
Retention review date	When to review continued retention.
Before disposal	Relevant claims, complaints or other matters to check.

Use clear references, dates and versions in filenames, for example Project-014_2026-10-15_Report-v2.pdf. The index should locate records without copying sensitive content into an unsecured sheet. Keep it current.

Group relevant work records into:

• agreed contracts, project terms and instructions;
• scope changes and responses;
• work delivered, including advice or design versions and delivery records;
• client approvals;
• relevant communications.

Preserve dates and context: a final report alone may not show an earlier instruction or which version the client received. The professional indemnity insurance guide explains the cover separately.

Example: finding the agreed scope and a later change

A consultant indexes the agreed project terms, a dated request changing the scope, the response and the version of the report supplied. The sequence helps show what was agreed and when, without deciding fault.

Preserve relevant originals and version history, and ask the provider what is needed. Label notes written later so they cannot be mistaken for records made at the time.

Create an inventory linking relevant items to supporting records. Entries may include:

• internal reference, description, make/model and serial number;
• whether the item is owned, leased, hired or borrowed, and who is responsible for it;
• current location;
• purchase date and links to invoices and photographs;
• relevant valuation basis and date;
• missing information and the action needed.

An inventory does not determine the insured value

Purchase price, accounting or tax value, repair estimate and the policy’s valuation basis may differ. Ask which figure the provider requires. Replacement with a new item (new-for-old) depends on the actual settlement terms.

Check that the relevant items and types of loss are insured.

Example: linking an item to its purchase record

An inventory reference links an equipment photograph, serial number, invoice and location so they can be retrieved together. These sources do not themselves establish settlement value.

Create records during ordinary safe operations. After a loss, collect evidence only where safe and do not delay emergency protection. Ask the claims contact about inspection or disposal requirements; do not retain hazardous items unnecessarily.

Select records relevant to the question being investigated:

• Incident records: label directly observed facts, allegations, estimates and later recollections.
• Maintenance and inspection records: show relevant equipment history and checks.
• Training and working-arrangement records: show relevant duties, roles or instructions.

These records do not alone prove compliance or liability. Use the employees and subcontractors guide for working-arrangement questions.

Personal information needs a relevant purpose, an appropriate lawful basis, restricted access and secure sharing. Health information has additional legal protections. Obtain privacy advice if the basis or safeguards for collecting or sharing it are unclear.

Insurance records do not replace separate health-and-safety or other legal record duties.

1. Restrict access to authorised people and store records securely; avoid public links for client files.
2. Keep recoverable backups and check how the arrangement handles loss, deletion and recovery. Synchronisation alone may not provide an adequate independent backup.
3. Test recovery: check that a recovered file opens and can be used. See the NCSC backup guidance.
4. Confirm an authorised person can retrieve important records if the usual person or device is unavailable. Keep passwords, encryption keys and recovery secrets in an appropriate secure arrangement, outside the index.

Index paper originals and useful copies too, and store them securely. Check whether originals are needed for a particular request; a scan is not universally interchangeable with an original.

Tell the provider which record is missing and ask what alternative evidence it will consider. Possible sources include duplicate supplier invoices, payment records, dated photographs, inventories, lease records and project correspondence.

A bank payment may support a purchase but not identify the item, condition or insured value. A photograph may show an item but not establish ownership or price. The provider decides what further evidence it needs under the applicable process.

Record:

• what is missing;
• sources tried;
• whom to contact next;
• the provider’s answer and outstanding actions.

Label reconstructed timelines and recollections as later accounts, not original records. If the same event destroyed or made records unavailable, explain that promptly and ask how to proceed without waiting to complete the file.

There is no single retention period for every record. Ask:

• Why is this record being kept?
• Which policy, contract, professional, accounting, tax or privacy requirements apply?
• Is it relevant to a potential or actual claim, complaint or other matter?
• When should continued retention and secure disposal be reviewed?

A tax timetable or one profession’s rule is not a universal destruction date for insurance records. Set a justified retention and review approach, with appropriate legal, professional and privacy advice. Check relevant matters before deletion, particularly sensitive information.

Requirements may differ in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; obtain advice for the relevant jurisdiction.

1. Identify the provider’s question and the requested records.
2. Retrieve relevant sources and preserve originals.
3. Check required formats and whether a redacted copy (a copy with information removed) is appropriate. Keep annotated or redacted working copies distinguishable from originals and explain relevant changes.
4. Send relevant records through the provider’s approved secure channel. Clearcut does not receive claims material.
5. Keep the submission record, state gaps or uncertainty and ask what remains outstanding.

Follow the actual timing and cooperation requirements rather than assuming a universal submission window. An acknowledgement confirms receipt, not acceptance of cover or settlement.

The claims guide explains reporting; use the disputed-decision guide for an actual disagreement.