|
We do not sell
customer information. |
| We do not share your information
with persons, companies, or organizations outside of SMI Agency
that would use that information to contact you about their
products and services. |
| We expect persons or
organizations that provide services on our behalf to keep your
information confidential. We also expect those persons or
organizations to use your information only to provide the
services we have asked them to perform. |
| We convey to our employees about
the need to protect your information. We have established
safeguards (these are physical, electronic and procedural) to
protect this information. |
Attention Internet users . . .
This notice provides information about your use of our Web site. This
includes:
| Logging on and our use of
online data collecting devices known as “cookies;” |
| Our collection of data such
as IP address (the number assigned to your computer when you
use the Internet). This also includes browser and platform
types, domain names, access times, referral data, and your
activity while using our site; |
| Who should use our web site;
|
| The security of data
transmitted over the Internet; and Links and co-branded
sites |
Below are answers to questions you might have about privacy. You may
be wondering..
What do we do with your information?
We do not sell your customer or medical information to anyone. We do not
share this information with companies or organizations outside of SMI
Agency that would use it to contact you about their products and
services. If that practice were to change, we would offer you the means
to opt out of this type of information sharing. Also, we would obtain
your consent before sharing your medical information for marketing
purposes.Your agent or broker may use your information to help you with
your insurance needs. We may also contact you about products, features,
and options in which you have expressed an interest. Without your
consent, we may provide your information to persons or organizations in
and out of SMI Agency. This would be done as permitted or required by
law.
We may do this to:
| Fulfill a transaction you
have requested. |
| Investigate or handle
claims. |
| Participate in insurance
support organizations. The information in a report prepared
by an insurance organization may be retained by that
organization and distributed to other persons |
| Comply with lawful requests
from regulatory and law enforcement authorities. |
These persons or organizations may include:
| Our affiliated companies. |
| Companies that perform
services, such as marketing, on our behalf. |
| Other financial institutions
with which we have an agreement for the sale of financial
products |
| Other insurance companies.
This would be done so they could perform their role in an
insurance transaction involving you. |
| Independent claims
adjusters. |
| A business or businesses
that conduct actuarial or research studies. |
| People who request
information pursuant to a subpoena or court order. |
| Repair shops and recommended
claims vendors. |
What kind of customer information do we have, and where did we get
it?
Much of the information that we have about you comes from you. When you
perform certain transactions, you may give us information such as your
name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, family member
information, credit/debit card numbers, auto/property ownership and/or
Social Security Number. These transactions include when you submit an
application for insurance, submit a request for insurance, submit a
request for products and services we offer, or submit a request for an
insurance quote. We keep information about the types of services you
purchase from us and our affiliates. Examples of this include premiums,
account balances, and payment history. We may collect information from
our web site. This includes your activity while using our site and
information from online collecting devices known as “cookies” (see
below). We may collect information from outside sources such as consumer
reporting agencies and health care providers. The information we collect
may include the following:
| Loss information reports. |
How do we protect your customer information?
We expect any company with whom we share your information to use it only
to provide the service we have asked them to perform. Information about
you is also available within SMI Agency. It is available to those people
who may need to use it to meet and service the needs of our customers.
We communicate the need to protect your information to all employees and
agents. We especially communicate this need to people who have access to
it. Plus, we have established physical, electronic, and procedural
safeguards to protect your information. Note that if your relationship
with us ends, your information will remain protected. This protection
will be provided according to our privacy practices outlined in this
notice.
How can you find out what information we have about you?
You may request to see, or obtain by mail, the information about you in
our records. If you believe that our information is incomplete or
inaccurate, you may request that we correct, add to, or delete from the
disputed information. To fulfill your request, we may make arrangements
to copy and disclose your information to you on our behalf. This may be
done with an insurance support organization or a consumer reporting
agency. You may also request a more complete description of the entities
to which we disclose your information, or the conditions that might
warrant such disclosures. Please send any of the requests listed above
in writing to:
SMI Agency Insurance CompanyCustomer Privacy Inquiries 1802 Broadway
Suite 118 Galveston, Texas 77550
If you are an Internet user on our web site, SMIAgency.com, provides
information about us, our products, and the agencies and brokers that
represent us. You may also perform some transactions on the web site.
This Privacy Statement applies to users of SMI Agency.com, regardless of
whether the user is an SMI Agency customer. In addition, as an Internet
user, you should be aware of the following . . . .
What are cookies and how are they used?
Do you log my activity on your site?
Will I receive promotional e-mails from SMI Agency?
During the period you are logged in our site, we log IP addresses (a
number assigned to your computer when you use the Internet), browser and
platform types, domain names, access times, referral data (the last site
or URL you visited before logging into our site and the first site or
URL you visit after leaving our site), and your activity while using or
reviewing our site.
As part of our services, we also use cookies. A cookie is a message sent
to your browser from a Web server that is stored on your computer’s hard
drive. The message is sent back to the Web server whenever the browser
requests a page from that server. Many commercial Internet sites use
cookies. While a code in the cookie file enables the site to label you
as a particular user, it does not identify you by name or address unless
you have provided us with such information (over the Internet or
otherwise) or set up preferences in your browser to do so automatically,
in which case it may identify you by name, address or other personal
information. You may opt out of accepting cookies by changing the
settings on your browser. However, rejecting cookies may prevent you
from using certain functions and you may have to repeatedly enter
information to take advantage of services or promotions.
In general, cookies allow us to identify you as a particular user and
thus provide you with a more customized service. We may also use cookies
to track and measure customer or user requests, inquiries, preferences,
interests, demographics, traffic patterns and Web site usage, and to
determine audience size and repeated usage. This information may also be
used to manage and customize our Web site’s content, layout, and
services in order to improve our site, enhance customer service, and
provide tailored messages.
As indicated above, we may also use customer information to send you
promotional communications about products, features, and options that we
believe may be of interest to you. If we have your e-mail address, we
may do this by e-mail. If you do not wish to receive promotional e-mails
from us, you can inform us of your desire to be removed from our mailing
lists by writing us at SMI Agency Insurance Company, Customer Privacy
Inquiries, 1802 Broadway Suite 118, Galveston, Texas 77550
Who Should Use Our Web Site?
Our Web site is for insurance and financial products and services and is
not intended for children. We offer insurance and financial products and
services and thus do not market any products or services to children
under the age of thirteen or knowingly collect any information from
children under the age of thirteen. If we become aware that information
is or has been submitted by or collected from a child under the age of
thirteen, we will delete this information.
What security procedures do we use to guard against the loss, misuse,
alteration, or theft of information while that information is being
submitted to SMI Agency over the Internet?
We use the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol, secure servers and
security protocol to safeguard the information you submit.
To help ensure the security of your personal and financial information
that you submit to us (other than via an e-mail message), we use
security software to encrypt the information before and during its
transmission through the Internet. We only allow information to be
submitted for transmission if your browser is compatible with our
security software. If your browser is not compatible, you will receive a
message indicating your transaction can be completed but at a lower
level of security.
E-mail messages are not secure. Our security software does not encrypt
e-mail messages. E-mail messages traveling through the Internet are
subject to viewing, alteration, and copying by potentially anyone on the
Internet.
We take seriously the issue of safeguarding your privacy online.
However, please note that you should exercise discretion with respect to
the submission of any personal or financial information via e-mail.
Please keep in mind that transmitting information via e-mail over the
Internet is never completely secure and thus any information submitted
may be intercepted, collected, used or disclosed by others. If you are
concerned about the security of your communication, we encourage you to
send your correspondence through the postal service or use the telephone
to speak directly to us. We are not responsible for the security or
confidentiality of communications you send to us through the Internet
using e-mail messages. |
