Forbes Underwriting Solutions
PRIVACY POLICY
At Forbes Underwriting Solutions we are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy describes our current practices and procedures in relation to the collection, handling, use and disclosure of personal information. It also outlines how you can complain about a breach of your privacy and how you can correct your personal information that we hold.
What information do we collect and how do we use it?
When we arrange insurance coverage on your behalf, we ask you for a range of personal information. This can include your name, age, address, contact details, and information about your personal affairs and financial arrangements including your assets, personal belongings, financial situation, health and wellbeing.
Upon receipt of this information from you, we relay it to a range of insurance issuers and/or intermediaries, who we ask to provide quotes for your insurances and premium funding requirements. The provision of your personal information, allows the insurance issuers to make an appropriate decision as to whether to insure you or offer Premium Funding and if so, on what terms.
Our insurance issuers may in turn pass on this information to their reinsurers. Please note, that some of these companies are domiciled outside Australia. For example, if we seek insurance terms from an overseas insurer (e.g. Lloyd’s of London), your personal information may be disclosed to the insurer. If this is likely to happen, we will endeavour to inform you of this and where the insurer is located.
If you have to make a claim under your policy, we may assist you by collecting, holding and disbursing information about the nature and circumstances of your claim. Sometimes we also need to collect information about you from others. We may also be required to provide this information to your insurance issuer (or anyone your insurer has appointed to assist it to consider your claim, e.g. loss adjusters, medical brokers etc.) to enable it to consider your claim. Again this information may be passed on to reinsurers.
From time to time, we may use your contact details to send you direct marketing communications, including offers, updates and newsletters that are relevant to the services and products we provide. By asking us to assist with your insurance wants and needs, you are consenting to receiving such direct marketing communications. We will always give you an easy option for electing not to receive these communications in the future. You can opt-out of these communications at any time, by contacting us and letting us know of your decision.
What if you don’t provide some information to us?
We can only advise you about and assist you in arranging the insurance products and services you need, if we have all relevant information. If you do not provide us with the information we request, we will likely be unable to provide you with the insurance products and services you need and want. Further, Australian insurance laws require you to provide your insurers with specific personal information before issuing you with insurance products and services. This means, that you have a duty to disclose, fully and accurately, personal information which the law determines is relevant to the insurer’s decision to issue their products to you.
When do we disclose your information overseas?
If you instruct us to seek insurance terms and we recommend an overseas insurer to you, we may be required to disclose your personal information to that insurance issuer. For example, if we recommend a policy provided by Lloyd’s of London, your personal information may be given to the Lloyd’s broker and underwriters at Lloyd’s of London, who will use it to make a decision about whether to insure you.
Where reasonably possible, we will tell you of our intention to refer you to an overseas insurance issuer, and mention to you the privacy implications involved. We will then seek your specific consent prior to disclosing your personal information to that insurance issuer. As a matter of company policy, if an insurance issuer is domiciled in a jurisdiction outside Australia, we will seek to ensure that your personal information is protected in comparable ways to our Privacy Act.
It is industry custom and practice for Australian and overseas insurers to acquire reinsurance from reinsurance companies that are located throughout the world. This means that in some cases your information may be disclosed to them for assessment of risks and in order to provide reinsurance to your insurer. We do not make this disclosure, this made by the insurer (if necessary) for the placement for their reinsurance program. However, as a matter of company policy, if an insurance issuer is domiciled in a jurisdiction outside Australia, we will seek to ensure that your personal information is protected in comparable ways to our Privacy Act.
How do we hold and protect your information?
We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency of the personal information we hold. We also take all reasonable steps to protect to ensure that it is stored and held safely and securely.
We ensure that your information is safe by protecting it from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure. We maintain physical security over our paper files, electronic data and premises, by using appropriate locks and security systems. We also maintain computer and network security; for example, we use firewalls (security measures for the Internet) and other security systems such as user identifiers and passwords to control access to the computer systems where we store your information.
We hold the information we collect from you initially in a working file, which when completed is electronically imaged and stored, after which any paper copies are maintained in an onsite security bin before removed by an appropriate service provider and destroyed at an offsite shredder. In some cases, your file is archived and sent to an external data storage provider for a period of time. We only use storage providers located in Australia who are also regulated by the Privacy Act.
We keep your personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or to comply with any applicable legal reporting rules or document retention requirements.
Will we disclose the information we collect to anyone?
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others.
We may need to provide your information to contractors who supply services to us, e.g. to handle mailings on our behalf, external data storage providers or to other companies in the event of a corporate sale, merger, re-organization, dissolution or similar event. However, we will take reasonable measures to ensure that they protect your information as required under the Privacy Act.
We may provide your information to others in the following circumstances:
a. If we are required to do so by law;
b. If you consent to the disclosure; or
c. In some other circumstances contemplated and permitted under the Privacy Act
How can you check, update or change the information we are holding?
Upon receipt of a written request from you, we will give you access to the personal information about you which we hold. We will also correct, amend or delete any personal information that we agree is inaccurate, irrelevant, out-of-date or incomplete.
If you wish to gain access to or to correct your personal information please write us a letter addressed to:
“The Privacy Officer”
GPO Box 273 Sydney NSW 2001
Or contact us by way of:
T: (02) 43420280
M: 041 2202299
Email:
We will not charge you a fee for providing access to your personal information or for complying with a valid correction request. Where the request relates to a complex or difficult issue, and responding to it will involve a considerable amount of time, then we may pass on to you any relevant fees and charges that we accrue in responding to your request.
In some limited cases, we may need to refuse access to your information or refuse a request for correction. We will advise you as soon as possible after your request if this is the case and the reasons for our refusal.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the personal information we collect and hold about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date. From time-to-time we may contact you to confirm that your personal information is correct.
Giving your Consent
By asking us to assist with your insurance wants and needs, you are consenting to the collection and use of the information you have provided to us for the purposes described above according to this policy.
Website information and content
Anonymous data – We may use technology to collect anonymous information about the use of our website. For example, when you browse our website, our internet service provider logs your internet protocol address, the date and time of your visit, the pages and links accessed, and the type of browser you used. It does not identify you personally, and we only use this information for statistical purposes, and to improve the content and functionality of our website. We collect this information in order to enable us to better understand the marketplace we operate in, and to improve the delivery of our products and services to you.
Cookies – In order to collect this anonymous data we may use “cookies”. Cookies are small pieces of information which are sent to your browser and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Sometimes, where the website retains information from page-to-page, it may retain personal information. This is purely to increase the functionality of our website. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to discover the identity of the user. Cookies do not damage your computer and you can set your browser to notify you before you receive a cookie, so that you can decide if you want to accept it. Once you leave the site, the cookie is destroyed, along with any attendant personal information.
Please note, that we disclaim all liability for any damages or injury caused by, including but not limited to, any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation of transmission, computer virus, or line failure. To the extent permitted by law we will not be liable for any damages or injury, including but not limited to, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in this site.
Forms - Our Website allows visitors to submit information via Self-Service forms (Claim Forms, Proposal Forms and Contact request). The information submitted via the Forms is not encrypted – an option is available for Proposal and claim forms to be downloaded in PDF format for faxing or scanning. Should you be concerned about confidentiality of your information, this would be the recommended method.
Information collected via on-line forms is sent to our offices via or (not encrypted) and is also stored on a database which is accessible by Forbes Underwriting Solutions staff only (password protected).
We also use your information to send you requested product information and promotional material and to enable us to manage your ongoing requirements, e.g. renewals, and our relationship with you, e.g. invoicing, client surveys etc.
We may occasionally notify you via direct marketing about new services and special offers, events or articles we think will be of interest to you. We may send you regular updates by email or by post on insurance matters. If you would rather not receive this information or do not wish to receive it electronically, email or write to us.
We may use your information internally to help us improve our services and help resolve any problems.
How can you Complain about our Privacy Policy?
If you have concerns about our Privacy Policy, please write to:
“The Privacy Officer”
GPO Box 273 SYDNEY NSW 2001
Or contact us by way of:
T: (02) 43420280
M: 041 2202299
Email:
Upon receipt of your complaint, we will address the issue and provide you with a response within
30 days of receiving your complaint.
If you remain unhappy, after our resolution of your complaint, and you are an individual located in Australia, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and make further complaint.
Forbes Underwriting Solutions ABN 39 121 714 510 is a trading name of the Parent Company Apari Pty Ltd
ABN 20094723707
Australian Financial Services Licence 232340 GPO Box 273
Phone +61 (2) 4342 0280Sydney NSW 2001
Mobile +61 (0) 412202299