 |
|
|
This Privacy Notice does not apply to residents of Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico and Vermont. If you are a resident of either Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico or Vermont, click
here to view the appropriate Privacy Notice:
MN, MT, NM and VT Privacy Notice
|
|
|
|
GE Identity Theft Protectionsm
IMPORTANT PRIVACY CHOICES
How We Use and Protect Personal Information
At GE Identity Theft Protection, protecting your privacy is very important to us. GE Identity Theft Protection is offered by Signature Agency, Inc., a subsidiary company of the General Electric Company (GE). We value your trust. We want you to understand what information we collect, how we protect it, and how we may use it. We treat nonpublic personal information (“NPI”) that identifies you with respect and in accordance with this Privacy Notice. NPI is vital to GE Identity Theft Protection in meeting our goal to provide you with products and services.
This Privacy Notice is designed to provide information regarding how we collect, use and disclose NPI we gather when you visit us on the World Wide Web. This Privacy Notice is currently applicable only to our United States customers and visitors (other than residents of Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico and Vermont) when they interact with our Web site
Our Privacy Notice
This is our Privacy Notice:
- We will describe what NPI we collect, how we protect it, and how we may use it.
- We will provide customers our Privacy Notice at the start of the customer relationship.
We will also provide current customers our Privacy Notice each year.
Whenever we change our Privacy Notice, we will provide current customers a revised notice.
- We will maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect NPI we obtain about our customers.
- We will not share NPI with others or consumer report information with GE companies (except as permitted by law), unless we have provided you with a chance to opt out. That is, you may opt out by telling us not to share your NPI.
- We will honor an opt-out request at any time. We will also remind current customers each year of their right to opt out.
- If you are only browsing our Web site and are not a current customer, you will not be provided with the opportunity to exercise the opt-out selections described in this Privacy Notice.
- We will require servicing companies to whom we disclose NPI to adhere to our Privacy Notice.
- We will keep your health information confidential. We will not disclose it to outside companies without your permission, except as permitted by law.
- We will also comply with any other state requirements that relate to the use and protection of your NPI. In those states with more restrictive laws, we may provide a separate notice of those requirements.
Please read on for more details. This Privacy Notice includes examples of the types of NPI we may collect and with whom we may share NPI. These examples should not be considered a complete list of our information collection or sharing practices. As used in this Privacy Notice, "you" and "your" refer to an individual consumer and "companies" may include individuals.
Information We May Collect
We may obtain NPI to provide you with products and services you have requested, to determine if you qualify for products and services, and to service your membership. We may collect NPI that identifies you and describes how to contact you. We may also collect NPI on your transaction and experience information. We may collect this NPI from you, our affiliates and outside companies. We have listed examples below of the sources and types of NPI we may collect.
- Applications, registration forms, or other forms that contain your name, address, phone number, social security number, e-mail address, income, assets, vehicle information, policies, and accounts with others.
- Your transactions or experiences with us, our other GE or outside companies, such as your insurance or health coverage, premiums, transaction history, and claims history.
- Credit reporting agencies and other similar companies, such as your obligations with others, your driving record, medical claims, and social security number.
- You and others, such as NPI relating to your employment, other insurance coverage, past or present health condition, habits, avocations, finances, credit data, and other personal characteristics.
- Hospitals, doctors, laboratories and others that provide NPI about your past or present health condition. Health information will be collected with your permission as we deem proper to determine if you qualify for coverage, process claims, and prevent fraud. Health information will also be collected as permitted or required by law.
- Other companies that have NPI about you, such as your name, address, phone number, and transaction information.
Information We May Disclose and To Whom We May Disclose Information
We may disclose the NPI we collect. Unless specifically stated below, you cannot opt out of these disclosures. The service providers and others to whom we disclose NPI are obliged to use such information only for the purposes stated. Disclosures may be made as stated below.
Disclosures To Service Providers
We may disclose NPI we collect to others, such as insurance agents, banks, administrators, software consultants, and other third parties that provide services for us. These services may include:
- Administrative or customer support;
- Printing and delivering statements and other documents; and
- Protecting against fraud.
Disclosure of NPI made to these service providers is done to help us better serve you.
Disclosures To Other GE Companies
We may disclose NPI to other GE companies, which are involved in diverse businesses ranging from financial services to consumer products. You do have the right to opt out of sharing consumer report information as described below. We may disclose NPI to other GE companies, for purposes such as:
- Fulfilling your requests; and
- Offering you other products or services that may interest you.
Disclosures To Outside Companies
We may disclose NPI we collect to outside companies for marketing and related purposes, unless you have opted out. Outside companies are non-GE companies who may offer products or services to you. These may include:
- Banks, insurance or other financial companies;
- Retailers or direct marketers; and
- Non-profit or social organizations.
If we have agreements with outside companies that restrict sharing your information, we will abide by those agreements.
Disclosure of Health Information
We may disclose health information as authorized by you or as permitted or required by law. For example, we may disclose NPI to determine if you qualify for coverage, process claims, or prevent fraud.
Disclosures to Marketing Firms
We may disclose NPI we collect to companies with which we have marketing arrangements. These would include:
- Companies that help us market our products and services; and
- Other financial institutions with which we have joint marketing arrangements to offer financial products or services.
Other Disclosures Permitted By Law
We may make further disclosures of NPI as permitted or required by law. For example, we may disclose NPI to law enforcement agencies or state insurance or health care authorities.
When We Will Notify You
If you are a current customer, we will send a Privacy Notice to you each year. If you no longer have a customer relationship with us, we will continue to follow our Privacy Notice and practices. In that event, you will not receive future Notices from us. We will always post our current Privacy Notice on our Web site.
Change In Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to change or add to our Privacy Notice at any time. If we make material changes, we will provide current customers with a revised notice. This Notice will describe our new practices and will give them a chance to opt out, where permitted, under the revised Privacy Notice. We will always post our current Privacy Notice on our Web site.
Our Security Procedures
We maintain procedures and technology designed to prevent unauthorized access to NPI. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural protections in accordance with applicable standards to protect NPI. We restrict access to NPI to employees and others for lawful business purposes to assist in providing products or services to you. Employees who violate our Privacy Notice are subject to disciplinary action.
Online Privacy
In addition to the Privacy Notice outlined above, the following online privacy principles apply when you visit us on the World Wide Web.
-
Online information and collection. You can visit us on the World Wide Web without telling us who you are and without revealing anything about yourself, including your e-mail address. Our Web servers collect the name of the domain you used to access the Internet, such as aol.com. We may also collect the Web site you came from and visit next.
- We may measure the number of visits, average time spent, and other data about visitors to our Web site, in general. We may also use this data to monitor site performance and to make the site easier and more convenient to use. We may use this in the course of delivering an advertisement to you.
- We may also summarize data about our customers, sales, traffic patterns, and services, and provide these statistics to third parties. However, when we provide this to others, it will not include any information that identifies an individual.
- Cookies. Cookies are small pieces of data stored by your Internet browser on your computer's hard drive. We use cookies to enhance your Web viewing experience and to measure Web site usage. With the help of cookies, we may present you with customized offerings or content that may be of interest to you. We may also use cookies to remember your user name so you do not have to reenter it each time you visit our site. You may be able to set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to prevent cookies from being sent. Please note, however, that, by not accepting cookies, you may limit the functionality we can provide to you when you visit our site.
- Links to other Web sites. We are not responsible for the information collection practices of other Web sites when you link to them from our Web site. We cannot control how those parties use cookies or whether they place on your computer cookies that may identify you personally. You should carefully review the privacy policies of the Web sites you visit to understand how they collect, use, and disclose information.
- Information from Children. We do not knowingly solicit information from children and we do not intentionally market our products or services to children.
- E-mail communications. Occasionally, we may send you e-mail communications with information that may be useful to you, including information about our products and services or about offerings from other GE companies or third parties. You will be given the option of not receiving any such e-mail messages, if you choose.
- Encryption. We use encryption and authentication tools to protect information we gather on our Web site. E-mail communications outside of our Web site, however, may not be protected. If you are sending us an e-mail communication that includes highly confidential information, such as a credit card number, you may want to call us or send it by regular mail.
- Access. In some cases, you may be able to update certain information that you provided to us. This may require you to use a unique user name and password (or "PIN"). Also, where the capability exists, you may request that we modify or delete information we have gathered during your visit to our Web site.
- Visitors/Registered Users. As a visitor to our Web site, you may have access to certain features without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself. We will not gather any information about you when you are using these features. We may require you to become a registered member in order to gain access to and use other features. Once you become a registered member, we may collect personal information when you use our Web site.
"Opting Out" - Consumer Selections Regarding Information Sharing
We are committed to protecting NPI. We commit to using or sharing it in ways that will improve or expand upon the services we provide to you. We also want you to know that -- as a valued customer -- you may request through an opt-out response that we not share certain information.
Please Note: if you have previously provided us with your opt-out request, you do not need to submit another request. We will continue to honor your initial opt-out selections.
Sharing Personal Information with Outside Companies (Selection 1)
If you prefer that we not share NPI about you with outside companies, you may opt out. That is, you may direct us at any time not to disclose this information to outside companies. If you wish to opt out of this type of sharing, simply notify us as described below and your request will be honored.
We may continue, however, to share NPI under a servicing or joint marketing arrangement with an outside company or as permitted by law. We may also continue to share public information and information that does not identify you.
It is important for you to know that this opt out only applies to the NPI collected by GE Identity Theft Protection. NPI obtained by other GE companies may be shared with outside companies, unless you also have opted out with those specific GE companies.
Sharing Consumer Report Information with other GE companies (Selection 2)
GE companies may share consumer report information among themselves. This is NPI that is used to determine if you qualify for credit and insurance. Examples of this type of NPI are: your income and your account or payment history with others.
If you prefer that we not share consumer report information with other GE companies, you may direct us not to disclose this information to them. If you wish to opt out of this type of sharing, simply notify us as described below at any time and your request will be honored.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows us to share with other GE companies NPI that relates to our experiences or transactions with you or your accounts. We are allowed to share this even if you have opted out. Examples of this type of NPI are: account balances, payment history, account usage, and your name and address.
Instructions on How to Notify Us
When you become a customer of of GE Identity Theft Protection, we will send you complete instructions on how to exercise your opt-out selections.
*****
The practices and policies contained in this Privacy Notice replace all previous notices or statements with respect to the same subject.
This Privacy Notice will not apply to your relationships with other financial service providers, such as banks and independent insurance agents. Their privacy policies will govern how they collect, use and disclose NPI that you allow them to access.
This Privacy Notice applies only to the information collection practices of GE Identity Theft Protection. NPI obtained by other GE companies will not be governed by this Privacy Notice. You should review the privacy policies of those specific other GE Companies to understand how they collect, use, and disclose NPI.
Revised August 18, 2004
|
