Griffiths & Armour is one of the UK's leading independent professional indemnity insurance brokers, and risk managers. The website explains all aspects of solicitors professional indemnity insurance for legal professionals.
The question as to how long a business should retain documents is an important and often confusing one. This article gives general guidance on the issues involved with a document retention policy.
With the increasing sophistication of computer storage systems, it is now possible to store many hundreds of thousands of documents relatively cheaply. With the drop in price of file servers and the associated backup hardware, digitising newly produced documentation is a real possibility for many.
Many practices may never need consider purging documents; they simply digitise newly produced documentation as it is created. Nevertheless, for those with many years of old paper files to consider, the cost and time implications of digitising these can be a drain on resources.
As arrangers of Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance to various professions, the document retention question is one which we are often asked. If it is one you have already grappled with, then hopefully, this paper will do nothing more than reinforce the advice already given. Alternatively, if it’s something you have never considered, now might be the time to do so.
With many practices struggling with burgeoning documentation, deciding when it is finally safe to destroy files is of increasing importance.
Document retention
Be it schematics for the construction of a building, advice issued to clients on a negligence claim, or papers supporting the valuation of a house, documents are produced which are vital to the service that is provided. Indeed, the documents produced might be the very service itself. Storage space is finite for all businesses – everything cannot be stored indefinitely. The danger with destroying document early, however, is readily apparent.
Although general guidance can never address the specifics of individual situations, and specific advice should always be taken, the following three areas should definitely frame the debate: Professional Indemnity policy requirements, Contractual requirements and liability periods as well as other factors.
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