How to fax insurance documents

Find the right fax number

Use the number on the paperwork for your claim or policy: the claim form, the letter acknowledging your claim, or the claims page of your insurer’s own website. Departments differ, so a life insurance claim, a health plan’s coverage request and an auto claim can go to different numbers at the same company.

Medicare’s standard form for asking a drug plan to cover a prescription is one example: the plan prints its own fax number on the form, which can be sent by mail or by fax.

Avoid fax numbers from third-party lists unless your insurer’s own materials confirm them.

What to include

• Your policy number and, once you have one, your claim number: on the cover page, and on the documents wherever there’s room.
• The completed and signed claim form, if your insurer uses one.
• The supporting documents your insurer asks for, such as photos, estimates, receipts, or police or medical reports.
• A short note saying what you’re sending and what you need from the insurer.

Keep the originals, and a copy of everything you fax.

How fast the insurer has to answer

State law sets deadlines for many insurers. Two examples:

• Texas: Insurance Code section 542.055 gives the insurers it covers 15 days from receiving notice of a claim to acknowledge it, start investigating and ask for the items they need.
• California: under title 10, section 2695.5 of the state’s regulations, an insurer must answer a claimant’s communication that reasonably calls for a response within 15 calendar days, and acknowledge a notice of claim within 15 days.

Other states have their own rules, and your policy sets deadlines of its own, such as the time allowed to send a proof of loss. Your FaxTonic status page records when the insurer’s fax machine took your documents.

Health and life insurance: privacy

HIPAA’s privacy rules apply to health plans, most health care providers and the businesses that work for them. HHS points out that many organizations holding health information, life insurers among them, don’t have to follow these rules. Either way, fax an insurer only what it asks for.

If you work for a health care provider or a health plan, don’t use FaxTonic for patient information: FaxTonic doesn’t sign HIPAA business associate agreements.

How to fax your insurer with FaxTonic

1. Gather the claim form and documents and scan or photograph them. FaxTonic takes PDF, JPEG, and PNG files, up to 4 MB once prepared for faxing and 20 pages per fax. Split a large claim file into several faxes and say so in each cover page’s note.
2. Open FaxTonic and add your files in the order the insurer should read them.
3. Fill in the free cover page: your name and phone number, your policy and claim numbers in the subject, and what the fax contains in the note.
4. Choose the insurer’s country, enter the fax number and check the total before you pay by card. A page to the United States costs $1.49; see all prices for the other countries.
5. Keep your status page with your claim records.