Insurance And Financial Planning

Record Keeping Rules

Independent Representatives, Firms, And Independent Partnerships

Record keeping rules include firms’, independent partnerships’, and independent representatives’ obligation to keep certain files, ensure the security of the information included in them, and keep information up to date when necessary. They may still establish stricter standards than those specified in regulations. More specifically, rules for record keeping specify that firms, partnerships, and independent representatives must…

  • establish a file for each client
  • take all necessary measures to prevent loss, destruction, or falsification of data, whether it is kept digitally or otherwise
  • take measures to provide, in a reasonable amount of time, information included in a client file when a legally authorized person wishes to see it. This requires an appropriate filing and tracking system.

Attached Representatives

The representative is probably the person who, from the front line, must ensure that all the useful and necessary information for maintaining client files is included. If he conducts business as an independent representative, he is fully responsible for keeping certain files, ensuring the security of the information included in them, and keeping information up to date when necessary. If he conducts business for a firm or independent partnership, he is often the one who will then send information to the firm or independent partnership. He must adhere to standards established by the firm or partnership, which is why it is important to know these standards.