Before you lodge a claim, circulate a policy amendment or send an adjuster pack, timestamp the exact PDFs and exports you will rely on. TimeBinder® makes a fingerprint in your browser. The files stay on your device. You get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate that shows each exact file existed no later than a recorded time. It does not show who is covered, who is liable, or how a claim must be decided. Free to start.
Table of Contents
The routine: date the pack before it leaves
- Freeze the set: policy schedule and wordings, endorsement or amendment PDFs, claim form and supporting invoices or photos, adjuster or broker notes you will submit, and any coverage correspondence you treat as decisive.
- Optional. Check hashes with the free SHA-256 hash checker.
- Timestamp the pack (up to 10 files or one zip). Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required.
- Save the Proof of Time Certificate with the claim or underwriting file.
- Then lodge or circulate. If you issue a revised endorsement, amended schedule or updated adjuster report, timestamp the new version before you send it.
See how to timestamp a file, how to timestamp a contract version, and OTS file as evidence: what to give a lawyer.
Situations this habit is built for
Near-duplicate “Scenario” pages on this site covered the same practical problems. The useful points fold into this guide:
- Endorsement and amendment timing. When a cyclone exclusion, sub-limit or other endorsement was circulated and accepted often decides whether a loss sits inside cover. Date the endorsement pack you sent or received, not only the final claim form.
- A contents inventory before a loss. A home contents inventory for insurance is easier to stand behind if the photos and list existed no later than a recorded time, not only after a claim starts.
- An illustrative scenario. Insurance fraud prevention case study shows how a dated claim-file chronology can be used when versions are disputed.
- Claim-file versions. Denied or disputed claims often turn on which invoices, photos or loss schedule existed when the claim was first lodged. Timestamp that first pack, then each material update.
- Adjuster and broker reports. If a later report is said to have been “always on file,” a dated fingerprint of the earlier report separates versions without arguing from memory.
- Policy timeline under review. Coverage conflicts and audits ask whether policy records were altered after a loss. Independent timestamps on the schedules and wordings you held before the event are stronger than file “Date modified” alone.
- Missing policy timestamp. If nobody dated the operative wording, both sides reconstruct history from email. A short habit of timestamping renewals and mid-term amendments reduces that gap.
These are record-keeping habits. They do not decide cover, liability or regulatory outcomes.
Why portal “submitted at” is not enough
An insurer or broker portal records when a form was lodged. It does not fingerprint every supporting PDF, photo set or endorsement package you prepared offline. Laptop clocks and Word “last saved” times are easy to dispute. A blockchain timestamp anchors a hash of the exact bytes to a public ledger time. See how long a Bitcoin timestamp takes and is a blockchain timestamp admissible in court?.
What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t
A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show authorship, ownership, coverage, liability or that a claim must succeed. It does not replace policy terms, broker advice or a lawyer. This is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Which files should I timestamp first?
The operative policy schedule and wording, any endorsement in dispute, the claim form and the supporting pack you will lodge (invoices, photos, loss schedule). Add adjuster or broker reports when those become part of the file.
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Do I need a new timestamp after every email?
No. Timestamp when the file set you rely on changes in a material way: new endorsement, revised claim schedule, new adjuster report.
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Can a timestamp reverse a denied claim?
No. It can only show when a specific file existed. Cover still turns on the policy, facts and the insurer’s process.
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What about regulatory or audit scrutiny of policy timelines?
Keep dated copies of the schedules and amendments you held before the event under review. A timestamp supports chronology; it does not replace regulated record-keeping rules.
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What does it cost?
Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing
Timestamp your claim or policy pack free
Show that this exact file existed no later than a recorded time. Files stay on your device. Get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate. Free to start. Open TimeBinder
