Insurance claim portals commonly limit document uploads to 2MB–5MB per file. Medical bills, pharmacy receipts, hospital discharge summaries, and police reports scanned at full resolution can easily exceed these limits. This guide covers which documents to compress, what level to use, and how to keep evidence clear enough for claims processing.
Upload Limits by Insurance Type
Claim Type
Typical Upload Limit
Recommended PDF Size
Medical / hospitalisation claim
2MB–5MB per file
Under 1MB per document
Motor insurance claim
2MB–5MB per file
Under 1MB per document
Travel insurance claim
2MB–5MB per file
Under 1MB per document
Life insurance claim
2MB–5MB per file
Under 1MB per document
MySalam / Perlindungan Tenang (Malaysia)
2MB per file
Under 500KB
Email to agent or adjuster
10MB–25MB total
Under 3MB per email
Which Compression Level to Use
Important: use Balanced, not Maximum, for claim documents
Unlike resumes or government forms, insurance claim documents contain critical details that adjusters must be able to read clearly — diagnosis codes, item amounts, dates, and signatures. Use Balanced compression, which keeps images at 96 DPI — enough for clear on-screen review. Only use Maximum if the portal rejects the file even after Balanced compression.
Medical bills and receipts: Balanced. Item amounts, dates, and provider names must be clearly legible.
Hospital discharge summaries: Balanced. Diagnosis codes and treatment details are critical.
Photos of vehicle damage (as PDF): Balanced. Image clarity is important for damage assessment.
IC / identity documents: Maximum is fine — just the IC number and name need to be readable.
Step-by-Step: Compress and Submit
1
Scan Your Documents
If you have physical receipts or bills, scan them using your phone's camera scanning app (iOS Notes, Android Google Drive, or a dedicated scanner app). Save as PDF. Aim for 200 DPI when scanning — this gives good quality while keeping file size manageable.
2
Open ShrinkPDF
Go to shrinkpdf.fyi on your phone or computer. Your documents never leave your device.
3
Upload and Compress
Tap Choose PDF File, select the document, and choose Balanced compression. Download the compressed file.
4
Verify Before Submitting
Open the compressed PDF and check that all amounts, dates, and reference numbers are clearly readable at 100% zoom. If anything is hard to read, go back and use Balanced instead of Maximum, or re-scan at higher resolution.
5
Upload to the Claim Portal
Submit the compressed document via your insurer's portal or email it to your agent. Keep the original uncompressed scan in a safe folder — do not delete originals after compressing.
Keep originals — always
Always keep a copy of the original uncompressed scan. The compressed version is for submission convenience. If your insurer requests a higher-resolution copy later, you'll need the original. Store originals in a cloud folder (Google Drive or iCloud) labelled by claim date.
Handling Multiple Documents
Most claims require several documents — IC copy, medical bills, referral letter, discharge summary. Insurers often prefer these as separate files, but some portals only allow one upload per claim.
If separate files are accepted: Compress each document individually with Balanced and upload one by one.
If only one file is allowed: Use ShrinkPDF's Merge tool to combine all documents into a single PDF in the correct order, then compress the merged file with Balanced.
Recommended order when merging: IC copy → referral letter → medical bill(s) → pharmacy receipt(s) → discharge summary → any other supporting docs.
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Will compressing a medical bill PDF affect the claim? ▼
No, if you use Balanced compression. Balanced keeps images at 96 DPI — all text (amounts, diagnosis codes, dates, provider names) remains clearly legible at normal viewing size. Insurance adjusters review documents on screen at 100% zoom. Avoid Maximum compression for claim documents as it may make smaller text harder to read.
My claim portal says the file is too large. What should I do? ▼
Compress each document with ShrinkPDF's Balanced setting first. If still over the limit, try Maximum — most claim documents will still be legible. If a single document (like a multi-page hospital bill) is still too large after Maximum compression, use ShrinkPDF's Split tool to divide it into sections and upload each section separately.
Is it safe to compress insurance claim documents on ShrinkPDF? ▼
Yes. ShrinkPDF processes all files locally in your browser — your medical bills, IC copies, and supporting documents are never uploaded to any server. This is important for sensitive personal health and financial information in claim documents.
Should I compress or merge my claim documents first? ▼
If the portal accepts separate files, compress each individually first. If you need to merge into one file, merge first and then compress the combined PDF. Compressing before merging is also fine — the result is similar either way.