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You are here: Home / Archives for Document Organization

Life Insurance: Policies for Head of Household – Part 3 of 3

January 29, 2012 by Tracy

This week was odd. In many ways I felt like I was just treading water. My head was above the water without any danger, but I was not making progress.

Though I did get some purging, cleaning, and organizing accomplished, other priorities fell by the wayside. Getting back to the basics and focusing on what is important, I plan to make progress this week.

If you are looking for that one organizational project to complete this week, consider working on your important documents. Need to start at the beginning? Then begin here. If you are following my filing system, then this second file opening holds our head of household’s term life insurance policy and combination whole life and long-term care insurance. The last bundle of paperwork in this file is the accidental death insurance policies.

Accidental Death Insurance

If you are a member of a bank, federal credit union, or credit card holder, then you have probably received an invitation for accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance coverage.

These policies usually give you $2,000 of 24-hour protection provided through your bank, credit union, or credit card provider without cost to you. After you accept this insurance, then you will receive options to increase your coverage for minimal cost per month.

Accepting the Free Coverage

Since these policies are nice backups, I always accept the basic coverage since the policy is free. These policies are not whole life insurance or term, but will disperse payment after death or dismemberment due to an accident.

These policies are very specific and limited, so our family bypasses the options to increase these benefits. However, we do keep the free policies.

Choosing your Beneficiary

At least once a year, I call the insurance providers to verify our beneficiary designations are up-to-date. I choose a primary beneficiary and two contingent beneficiaries.

If my family can receive a claim due to an accident, then I want to offer the insurance company multiple ways to get the payment into my family’s possession.

Documents Kept Safe

These two policies for Paul, provided through our credit union, include the following documents:

      • Certificate of Insurance
      • Correspondence from Provider
      • Beneficiary Designations

Each set of documents is paper clipped together, and then both sets are paper clipped together and housed behind Paul’s combination whole life and long-term care insurance documents. All these items are then placed in the second file opening of Box 2, holding our important insurance documentation.

With another file opening complete, you are on your way to getting those insurance documents organized. Though our files are different, finding a place for each type and labeling the sections allow for quick retrieval. Besides getting organized, filing your important documents will help you in using time wisely for years to come. Happy organizing!

Filed Under: Life Insurance, Document Organization, Box 2 Tagged With: life insurance

Life Insurance: Policies for Head of Household – Part 2 of 3

January 22, 2012 by Tracy

Last week we began looking at the second category in Box 2 of our important documents. These life insurance documents take up three file openings because I choose one opening per person or policy.

The first opening holds our head of household, my husband Paul’s life insurance documents. Within this file slot are three bundles of documents. The first (covered last week) is the term life insurance paperwork. The second bundle is the combination life insurance and long-term care insurance information.

Combination Life Insurance and Long-term Care Insurance

Where the term life insurance policy is a personal policy for which we applied and appears on Paul’s MIB report, this combination life and long-care policy is a group policy gained through Paul’s employer and is not reported on his MIB report.

This combination policy is currently a life insurance policy since Paul does not need the long-term care benefits. At open or annual enrollment, we can increase the amount of coverage.

Though this policy is held at a group rate, Paul owns the policy. If his employment ends with his employer, then the payroll deduction will end. But we can continue to hold the coverage by paying the premiums directly to the insurance company.

The documents kept in this bundle include:

1. Change notifications. Choosing to automatically increase the value each year, we receive notification of the new premium amount, new face value, and the date of the change.

2. Endorsements. Through an endorsement, the insurance company informs us of any additions or subtractions to our riders on this policy. I add these notices to this file for confirmation of coverage.

3. Beneficiary Designations. All written verifications or changes to the beneficiary designations get filed with the policy.

4. Policy. Detailing this insurance contract, the policy stays in this file.

5. Application for insurance. Though this group policy did not require a physical exam, Paul still needed to apply. During an annual or open enrollment session, Paul answered health questions and chose the amount of coverage.

With the completed electronic application, we requested a copy. Though Paul’s coverage is in force, I still keep the application documentation in this file.

Paper clipped together, these documents stay behind the term life insurance documentation in this second file opening.

Keeping the documentation surrounding the policy allows me to find the answers I need when accessing this insurance coverage. Whether you have personal life insurance, group life insurance, or applying for insurance, keep your paperwork organized and appoint a file opening for those documents. Good job plugging along. Happy organizing!

Question: What type of life insurance policies do you hold? Please add your answer to the comments.

Filed Under: Life Insurance, Document Organization, Box 2 Tagged With: life insurance

Life Insurance: Policies for Head of Household – Part 1 of 3

January 15, 2012 by Tracy

After finishing the first file opening last week in Box 2 of our important documents, we are ready to begin the second opening which begins the second category, life insurance.

In my filing system, I have dedicated three openings (slots 2 -4) for life insurance:

Slot 2: Paul’s policies – Head of Household

Slot 3: Tracy’s policies – Spouse

Slot 4: Children’s policy – Children

Your file will differ from mine. Remember, I am sharing my file to give you an example of setting up a filing system. The important part is to appoint one file opening per person. This arrangement will keep the documents organized. In my system, the second file opening holds all life insurance policies for my husband, the head of our household.

Head of Household

We carry three types of policies for Paul:

    • Part 1 – Term Life Insurance
    • Part 2 – Combination whole life and long-term care
    • Part 3 – Accidental death insurance

Term Life Insurance Policy

The bulk of our insurance is held in term life insurance. Having used Suze Orman’s recommendation, we purchased our term life insurance policies through SelectQuote. This company researches the available options and handles your process from start to finish. I have found this company very helpful in securing our term life insurance policies.

Behind the summary page, I keep the following documents on Paul’s term life insurance policy:

1. Receipts or billing notices indicating the date, payment amount, and payment type. With this term life insurance, we pay an annual premium for the life of the term. To prove the annual payment, I keep these receipts.

2. Beneficiary Changes and Notifications. Any correspondence from the insurance company regarding the beneficiary designations resides behind the payment receipts.

3. Policy Changes. Our insurance company extended the term of our policy by a week due to a processing delay. This information is kept behind the beneficiary notifications.

4. Policy. This 20+ page document is our contract with the insurance company of how, what, where, when, and how much they will pay in the event Paul passes away. (I know this information is not easy to process because you are preparing for the worst. However, time spent now will ease your stress level should you need these documents.)

5. Additional Correspondence. The last items in the bundle of term life insurance for Paul are the application, copy of first payment, and notes from Select Quote conversations.

Placed together, these items are paper clipped. These items are the first of three bundles housed in the second file opening of Box 2.

Annually reviewing your important documents is easier when the paperwork is housed together, assigned a designated place, placed in that designated space, and you remember the designated place. 🙂 Keep using time wisely as you organize your important documents!

Question: When was the last time you reviewed your beneficiary notifications? Please add your answer to the comments.

Filed Under: Life Insurance, Document Organization, Box 2 Tagged With: life insurance

Personal Insurance: Medical Information Bureau Reports

January 8, 2012 by Tracy

Did you work a few minutes this week on filing your important documents? Even with my documents organized, I still have to keep up those files.

Though I did not file any paperwork this week, I did access my files and sort in-coming insurance documents.

To start or maintain your files, take it one step at a time. Plan to spend a few minutes this week, set the timer, and organize.

In File Box #2, the first file opening houses our personal insurance documents: summary page, annual enrollment reports, former severance package, and privacy policies and travel insurance. The last items in this first category are our medical information bureau reports.

Medical Information Bureau Reports

The MIB, Inc. (formerly the Medical Information Bureau, Inc.) is a non-profit organization that keeps a database of any health, disability, or life insurance for which you have applied.

Information in your Report

If your applications required a medical exam where a medical issue was noted, then that medical issue is coded (per MIB’s system) and reported in their database. If you then apply for another policy, the new insurance company will access your MIB file and discover that information.

Since both Paul and I have life insurance policies for which we applied and had medical exams, I requested our free annual report from MIB, Inc. If you have never applied for health, disability, or life insurance, then you will not have any information on file.

NOTE: If you only have insurance through employer group plans, then you will not have information in your file. The MIB file only records information on personal insurance policies for which you apply.

Another reason your file might be empty would be if your insurance policies have been held longer than 7 years. Just like your credit report, entries older than seven years are purged from your file.

Requesting your Report

If you want more information regarding MIB, Inc., read this easy-to-understand article. When you decide to request your free report (which you should), visit MIB, Inc.’s web site for more information and their phone number.

Reviewing your Report

When you receive your free report, review it for errors, and file the accurate report in this file. If you find discrepancies, then contact MIB to correct the inaccuracies.

Our Medical Information Bureau reports complete our personal insurance category. As you request these reports, your  insurance file will be in a pending status since you cannot add those document until they arrive. Just keep plugging along organizing other important documents, and then tackle these MIB documents when they arrive.

Great job working on your important documents! This process is time-consuming, but using time wisely now will save you time in the future. Keep up the good work, and happy organizing!

Question: Where are you in the process? I would love to cheer you on as you get your documents organized!

Filed Under: Document Organization, Personal Insurance, Box 2 Tagged With: personal

Personal Insurance: Privacy Policies and Travel Insurance

January 1, 2012 by Tracy

Welcome 2012! With the arrival of a new year and a new month, I celebrated this afternoon by decluttering, cleaning, and re-organizing my dining room. Love to start the new year off getting organized. If you are setting goals to get organized this year, then Using Time Wisely is your ally.

On Sundays, I highlight an area of document organization. Having covered in 2011 Box 1, which has credit cards/credit reports and scores, personal, home ownership, and vehicle documents, we continue our insurance document organization housed in Box 2. This series reveals my organizational system. Please adjust and adapt this system to meet your needs. Finding a home for all those documents will make retrieving them a snap.

Thus far in Box 2, our first category, personal insurance, resides in the first file opening. In my file, the summary page, annual enrollment reports, and former severance package fill most of this first file slot. The next two sets of documents are privacy policies and travel insurance documentation.

Privacy Policies

At one point, I housed all the privacy policies from all the insurance companies in this file. But as we have added policies, I found that keeping the privacy notices with the insurance policies is the best use of my time. I do not need to search two different file folders (one for the policy and one for the privacy notice) when I need these documents.

With all the other privacy policies with their associated insurance policies, I have one privacy policy that remains: the health insurance program for South Carolina. This state agency does not write any insurance policies, but they are the administrator of our group insurance policies. Keeping their privacy policy documentation housed in this file with the annual enrollment documentation works for me.

Travel Insurance

As holders of Visa credit cards (Yes, I use credit cards for 90% of my purchases and pay off those amounts each month!), we receive worldwide automatic travel accident and baggage delay insurance when we pay for our flights with our Visa credit card.

Visa sent us the Description of Coverage which outlines the plan, eligibility, cost, beneficiary, benefits, exclusions, and effective date. In the event I need to file a claim, I can find the information quickly from the documentation, kept safe in this file.

In keeping my family’s personal insurance documents organized, I have placed the privacy policy and travel insurance documentation behind the former severance package paperwork. In continuing this series next week (without anymore Top 10 interruptions), I will complete this first category in Box 2.

Keep plugging along. By breaking down your goals to little sections, you will get there. Choose to organize one file this week. Work on a new one next week. Within a few weeks, you will have a category complete. You can do it! Happy organizing!

Filed Under: Document Organization, Personal Insurance, Box 2 Tagged With: insurance, personal

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