Separate an insurance explanation from a sales offer

Keep a possible explanation of benefits with your private records while you check it against the insurer's account or claim information. A matching claim helps identify the subject but does not, by itself, authenticate a letter. Verify unfamiliar contact, payment or response instructions through the number on your insurance card or an account route you already trust.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated October 2, 2026.

Match the letter to a record

Note the insurer's name, any claim or policy reference, the service date or coverage period and any amounts shown.
Open the insurer's portal from an address you already use, or call the number on your insurance card. Do not use contact details from the letter.
Look for a claim, statement or policy with matching details. Treat a match as context for verification, particularly before following payment or contact instructions in the letter.
If you find no match, ask the insurer whether it sent the letter, and keep the letter until it answers.

Mailings that mix both

Some mailings combine an account summary with a pitch for another product. When a piece includes any account detail, file the whole piece with your records rather than with advertising. If a letter mentions a decision, an appeal or a payment, verify the required action and deadline through the insurer's official process.

Private claim-check worksheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Insurer named: [name] Reference on letter: [claim or policy number, or none] Service date or period: [dates] How I checked: [portal I already use / number on my card] Matching record found: [yes/no] Purpose: [explanation / sales offer / mixed] Question still open with insurer: [question]

What to do with confirmed offers

Once you have confirmed that a piece is solely a product advertisement, ask the verified insurer whether it can stop mailed offers. The absence of account details alone is not enough to classify it. Keep any unresolved letter with your private verification notes.

Official source

Medicare: Other Mailings

Keep Medicare account letters out of junk-mail requests Separate Medicare plan brochures from official mail Keep benefit renewal letters separate from advertising Separate hospital fundraising from care correspondence Check an insurance envelope before opting out Keep important mail All practical mail guides

Keep personal records with the organization that handles them

Junk Mail Magic is for ordinary unwanted advertising. Use the official contact route in this guide for records, account changes or someone else’s correspondence.

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