The Science Of Insurance Archaeology

By Harriet Porter


Over the last couple of years, insurance corporations have been dealing with law suits over policies that were issued many years back. Many a times this information concerning the policy, brokers and premiums is not available and the company has to pay millions in litigation. Insurance archaeology ensures that you are able to find these documents.

Such litigations are sometimes based on a product they made many years ago which caused harm. A number of these cases are asbestos and environmental related. Asbestos is harmful to people over time according to research. However, it took a long time for this to be discovered. Companies that made asbestos based materials, for instance, when sued have to look for the old policies.

These policy documents can only be found by insurance archaeologists. Their work is to use any possible clues they can find to locate the tiniest shred of information regarding the policies. It is not always possible though and most times they go missing completely. It has been difficult to keep the old insurance policy documents over the past years.

Over the last decades companies may have merged, acquired, relocated, downsized and even employees handling the policy relocated or not alive. Restructuring a business, purging of files, lost files are also other reason why these files cannot be located. In addition, during the Millennium bomb in the year 1999 companies destroyed so many documents.

When faced with a probable expensive claim, the insurer will wan to see the policy documents. These documents when available are a sure way to avoid long costly litigation. For this reason companies need to locate and organize them and also secondary evidence coverage of the insurer. If there are not suits likely to face your company then you may relax. However when you have the documents they will give you preparedness for any claims.

These documents do not prove important only in the face of litigation. They can be used by corporations seeking to merge or go under acquisition as a method of audit. They give information about past policies that would cost the company in future. It is due to the legal requirement that liabilities be transferred to the next corporate successors. This gives insight into whether you are acquiring an asset addition or asset reduction company.

The work of insurance archaeologists revolves around being a detective, historian and an excavator. They have to go through broker records, locate and interview retirees and also the descendants of former employees. They are forced to go through countless files in ledgers and other accounting documents and government databases. They also have to sort through personal garages and attics of former employees. Sometimes these retired employees or descendants of those who are dead are in different states.

It is very important you hire insurance archaeologists if you have been in business for decades and most importantly if you have misplaced old policy documents. These will save you so much in litigation. In addition, when merging or acquiring another company have an archaeologist go through their old policies. This will save your company a lot in litigation.




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