I’m trying to clean up some particularly persistant piles of paper, and one of the major components is/are the statements from my insurance companies that I get when I have a service performed. They are not bills.
I know I need to save the ones from at least this year (because I also have a health savings plan and need to use them to get reimbursement) but I know I have these things filed away for years back. Some are from insurance I don’t have anymore, probably.
How long should I reasonably expect to need to save these?
If you are referring to statement that say “Dr. X paid $100 for general services 7/11/02”, then I can’t imagine why you need to keep them at all after a year. That allows enough time to know that the Dr.'s office hasn’t made a mistake with the payment and gives you documentation for your savings plan. I know I have never needed things of that nature for over a year and it is quite possible to get a new copy from your insurance copy in the event that it somehow came up.
Good advice. Your insurer should be able to create a new one for you for (typically) seven years, in the very unlikely event you would need one beyond the first year. EOBs are more important if you have secondary insurance (i.e. you are also covered under someone else’s policy) and you need to submit them to the other insurer to cover any remaining expenses.