Can insurance companies destroy paper claim files after imaging them, and which states require originals to be kept?

In most cases, yes—an insurer can destroy paper claim files after imaging them, provided the scanning program is sound and no law, regulation, or legal hold requires the originals. The decision is not really about “paper versus digital.” It turns on whether the digital image can serve as a trustworthy, legally acceptable record for as long as the file must be retained.

When destruction is appropriate

Before discarding originals, a defensible imaging program generally establishes:

• Authorized policy. A written scan-and-toss (or “scan-then-destroy”) policy approved by legal and compliance, applied consistently rather than case by case.
• Image quality and completeness. Captures are legible, complete, and verified against the source before any paper is destroyed.
• Trustworthiness controls. Metadata, audit trails, access controls, and integrity checks demonstrate the image was not altered—an expectation reflected in records standards such as ISO 15489.
• Retention alignment. Images are kept for the full retention period required by the applicable retention schedule, then disposed of consistently.
• No active hold. No litigation hold, audit, investigation, or regulatory inquiry requires preserving the original paper.

When these conditions are met, courts and regulators in many contexts will accept the digital image as the official record, and the paper can be destroyed.

Why “which states” has no simple list

There is no single national list of states that mandate keeping insurance claim originals. Requirements come from several overlapping layers, and they change:

• State insurance codes and department regulations, which set claim-file retention periods (often several years after a claim closes) and occasionally address acceptable record formats.
• Statutes governing electronic records and signatures (most states have adopted a version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act), which generally allow electronic copies to satisfy retention duties if they accurately reproduce the original and remain accessible.
• Other obligations—tax, employment, or evidence rules—that may attach to specific documents.

Because these rules vary and are periodically revised, confirm the current requirements with your state’s department of insurance and your legal counsel for every state in which you operate. Note especially any documents whose original form carries independent legal weight (for example, certain signed instruments).

For broader guidance on building a trustworthy scanning program, see the digitization and imaging hub. The Sedona Conference offers practical guidance on the legal defensibility of electronic and digitized records.