California Privacy Statement

 

This California Privacy Statement is for California Residents only and supplements the Privacy Notice above. This privacy statement is provided to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA). This privacy statement describes the personal information that Fortegra Financial Corporation (“we,” “our,” or “us”) collects in the course of its business, explains how this information is collected, used, shared, disclosed, and retained, describes rights provided by the CCPA to California Residents (“consumers” or “you”) regarding their personal information, and explains how consumers can exercise those rights.

California Residents include every individual who is in California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose, and every individual who is domiciled in California but who is outside of California for a temporary or transitory purpose.

What is Personal Information?

We may collect, use, or disclose your personal information. Personal information is information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with you or your household (“personal information”). “Personal information” does not include (1) publicly available information, such as information that is lawfully made available from federal, state, or local records or has been made lawfully available to the public by you or widely distributed media, and (2) de-identified or aggregate consumer information.

With a limited exception, and as noted in other sections of this privacy policy, certain provisions of the CCPA do not apply to:

  • Certain personal information covered by or collected under industry-specific federal and state privacy laws including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the California Financial Information Privacy Act, and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

 

Personal Information We Collect and Use

The CCPA requires us to disclose certain information regarding our collection, use, sale, sharing, disclosing, and retention of personal information.

 

Collecting Your Personal Information

In the past 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information:

  • Identifiers. This may include a real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, policy/certificate number, or other similar identifiers.
  • Personal information described in the California Customer Records Statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)). This may include a name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver's license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information.
  • Characteristics of Protected Classification under California or Federal Law. This may include age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental capacity, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth, and related medical conditions), or veteran or military status.
  • Commercial information. This may include records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
  • Internet or other similar network activity. This may include browsing history, search history, or information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
  • Geolocation data. This may include physical location or movements.
  • Sensory data. This may include audio, electronic, visual, or similar information, such as photographs or video recordings created in connection with our business activities, and recordings of calls to our representatives and call centers.
  • Professional or employment-related information. This may include current or past job history or performance evaluations.
  • Inferences drawn from other personal information. This may include information, data, assumptions, or conclusions derived from facts, evidence, or another source of information or data reflecting your preferences, characteristics.
  • Sensitive Personal Information. This may include a social security number, driver’s license number, passport number, account number, precise geolocation, racial or ethnic origin, and content of certain consumer communications.

In the past 12 months, we have collected personal information from the following categories of sources:

 

  • Personal Information You Provide Us Directly. Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect and retain personal information (such as your first and last name; telephone number; mailing address; email address; date of birth; employment history; bank account or other financial account number and account details; health status; medical history; date and cause of death, injury, or disability; recordings of telephone calls to our representatives and call centers; photographs or video recordings created in connection with our insurance or other business activities, including for claims assessment, processing, settlement, and disputes, or for other relevant purposes as permitted by law; and other general information) that you voluntarily provide us through your interaction with us or our agents by phone, by mail, by e-mail, by fax, at our offices, and through our website in order to provide you with the service(s) we offer, and to operate and maintain your account, or products or service provided (e.g., when you call us or visit us with questions, when you obtain our products or services, submit a claim or benefits request, or pay monies owed to us).
  • Personal Information We Receive From You When You Visit Our Website. When you visit our website, we collect personal information on the efficiency and working of our site (e.g., cookies, IP addresses). The types of information your browser or internet session automatically sends us each time you visit one of our sites, which we automatically collect, includes: your browser (e.g., Chrome, Internet Explorer), your internet domain (e.g., AOL, Netcom, Earthlink), your computer’s operating system (e.g., Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Linux), your navigation path (i.e., the URLs of where you come to our site from, which of our pages you visit, and where you go as you leave), and your IP address.
  • Personal Information We Receive Directly Or Indirectly From Other Parties. We also collect your personal information directly or indirectly from others, such as consumer reporting agencies (credit and debit bureaus), affiliates, agents, data analytics providers, marketing providers, publicly accessible websites, or other companies.

 

How We Use and Disclose Your Personal Information

We may collect and disclose your personal information for the following business or commercial purposes:

  • To fulfill or meet the reason for which the personal information was provided. For example, if you have provided personal information to us in order to obtain insurance coverage, we will use that information to determine if you qualify for such coverage.
  • To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
  • Performing services such as maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, providing financing, providing analytic services, to resolve complaints, to send you important information regarding changes to our policies, or providing similar services on behalf of the business.
  • Helping to ensure security and integrity to the extent the use of your personal information is reasonably necessary and proportionate to these purposes.
  • Debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
  • Internal research for technological development and demonstration.
  • Advertising or marketing services on our own behalf, except for cross context behavioral advertising.
  • To comply with legal obligations.
  • Establish and defend legal rights; protect our operations or those of any of our group companies or business partners, our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our group companies, you or others; and pursue available remedies or limit our damages.
  • Verification, maintenance, or improvement of the quality of our services and devices.
  • Auditing related counting ad impressions to unique visitors, verifying positioning and quality of ad impressions, and auditing compliance with this specification and other standards.
  • If the personal information is part of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, or other transaction where a third party assumes control of us. The information will be shared as permitted by the CCPA.
  • Prevent, detect and investigate crime, including fraud and money laundering, and analyze and manage other commercial risks.
  • To advance our commercial or economic interest not otherwise identified above.

 

When We Disclose Your Information

We may disclose your personal information to service providers and third parties in order to carry out specific business or commercial purposes. In the preceding 12 months, we have disclosed the following categories of consumer personal information for business or commercial purposes to service providers and the following categories of third parties:

CATEGORY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED

(defined above)

CATEGORY OF THIRD PARTIES TO WHOM THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WAS DISCLOSED

Identifiers, personal information described in the California Customer Records Statute, commercial information, and professional or employment-related information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Personal information described in the California Customer Records Statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)) information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Characteristics of Protected Classification under California or Federal Law

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Commercial information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Internet or other similar network activity

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of sharing how users interact with our website.

Geolocation data

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Sensory data

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing and improving services.

Professional or employment-related information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Inferences drawn from other personal information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Sensitive personal information

Affiliates and/or third parties for the purpose of providing services.

Selling or Sharing Your Personal Information for a Business or Commercial Purpose

We do not and will not sell or share (for cross-contextual behavioral advertising) your personal information to any third party, nor have we done so in the past 12 months. It is our business practice not to sell or share (for cross-contextual behavioral advertising) the personal information of minors under 16 years of age and we have no actual knowledge of doing so.

 

Use of Your Sensitive Personal Information?

We only collect or use sensitive Personal Information for the following business or commercial purposes:

 

  • To perform the services or provide the goods reasonably expected by an average consumer who requests those goods or services.
  • To prevent, detect, and investigate security incidents that compromise the availability, authenticity, integrity, and or confidentiality of stored or transmitted Personal Information.
  • To resist malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal actions directed at us and to prosecute those responsible for those actions.
  • To ensure the physical safety of natural persons.
  • For short-term, transient use, including, but not limited to, non-personalized advertising shown as part of your current interaction with us.
  • To perform services on our behalf.
  • To verify or maintain the quality or safety of a product, service, or device that is owned, manufactured, manufactured for, or controlled by us, and to improve, upgrade, or enhance the service or device that is owned, manufactured by, manufactured for, or controlled by us.
  • To collect or process sensitive Personal Information where such collection or processing is not for the purpose of inferring characteristics about a consumer.

 

Your Rights under the CCPA

The CCPA provides you with certain rights, described below, with respect to the collection, retention, disclosure, and sale of your personal information. As described in more detail below, the CCPA provides you with the following rights:

  1. The Right to Know/Access what Personal Information we have collected about you. Before or when we collect your Personal Information, you have the right to know:
  • The categories of Personal Information (including Sensitive Personal Information) we collect, the business or commercial purpose for which we collect and use the Personal Information, and whether we sell or share that information; and
  • How long we intend to keep each category of Personal Information, including Sensitive Personal Information

You also have the right to request that we provide you with certain information about the personal information we collect, use, or disclose about you as well as the categories and specific pieces of information that we have collected and maintained about you since January 1, 2022. Specifically, you have the right to request the following information:

  • The specific pieces of personal information we have about you.
  • The categories of personal information we have collected about you, including:
    • The categories of personal information we have collected about you.
    • The categories of sources from which the personal information about you was collected.
    • Our business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information.
    • If we shared your personal information:
      • The categories of personal information that we disclosed about you for a business and, for each category identified, the categories of third parties to which it disclosed that particular category of personal information; and
      • The categories of third parties that we share personal information.
  1. The Right to Delete the Personal Information we collected and maintained about you once we verify your request. However, there may be reasons we need to keep your Personal Information and we will inform you if that is the case.

  2. The Right to Correct inaccurate Personal Information we have collected from you and maintained about you. Once we verify your request, including the inaccurate information, we will update your inaccurate Personal Information from our records and our service provider’s records.
  1. The Right to Limit the Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information if we use the information for reasons that are not aligned with why we obtained such information. However, we can use this information as permitted by law, to follow the law, and to give you the best service.
  1. The right to Non-Discrimination or Non-Retaliation, which means we cannot discriminate or retaliate against you if you exercise your rights under the CCPA.

 

You also have the Right to Opt-Out of the sale or sharing (for targeted advertising) your Personal Information. However, we do not sell or share your Personal Information.

 

How to Exercise Your CCPA Rights

Submitting a Verifiable Request to Know, Correct or Request to Delete

To exercise your Right to Know, Correct or Delete, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by either:

Only you (or your authorized agent) may make a verifiable consumer request for your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

 

To submit a verifiable consumer request, you (or your authorized agent) will be asked to:

  • Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative. We will use any personal information collected from you in connection with our verification of your request solely for purposes of verification.
  • Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or your authority to make the request on behalf of another person. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us.
  • We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.

 

Verifying Your Identity

Once you submit your verifiable consumer request, we will verify your identity by matching the information you provided us with information in our systems. If you submit a request to know specific pieces of personal information or a request to delete or correct certain information, in addition to verifying your identity with information we have on file, you also may be required to submit a signed declaration under penalty of perjury stating that the requestor is the consumer whose personal information is the subject of the request. If we are unable to respond to your request for specific pieces of information, we will evaluate your request as if it is a request to know the categories of personal information that we have collected about you.

We will generally avoid requesting additional information from you to verify you. However, if we cannot verify your identity based on the information we currently maintain, we may request additional information from you, which will only be used to verify your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. We will delete any new personal information we collect to verify your identity as soon as practical after processing your request unless otherwise required by the CCPA.

Generally, if we are unable to verify your identity, we will deny your request and inform you of our inability to verify your identity and explain why we were unable to do so.

We will not charge you to verify your identity. In addition, we will not charge you or your authorized agent a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

When and How You Will Receive a Response

Once we receive a consumer request, we will confirm our receipt of your request within 10 business days and provide you with additional information about how we will process the request. We also will promptly take steps to determine whether the request is a verifiable consumer request, and disclose and deliver the requested personal information. Our goal is to respond to your verifiable consumer request within 45 days of receiving it. However, in the event that we need more time (up to 45 more days to respond to your request), we will inform you of the need for an extension in writing along with the reasons for the extension. If you have an account with us, we will deliver your requested personal information to that account. If you do not have an account with us, you are not required to create an account with us to make a verifiable consumer request and we will deliver the requested personal information by mail or electronically, at your option.

When you request information, we will provide the information requested in a format that is readily useable and that will allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance. If you request access to the categories and specific personal information that we have collected about you, we will provide your personal information in a format that is portable, readily usable, and that will allow you to transmit the information to another entity without hindrance (Data Portability request).

If we are unable to comply with a given request, we will provide you with a response within 45 days (or if more time is needed, up to 90 days total) explaining why we have not taken action on your request and identifying any rights you may have to appeal the decision.

Please note that we will only respond to a verifiable consumer request for access or data for personal information twice (2) within a 12-month period.

Authorized Agent for Requests

You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. If you would like to use an authorized agent to submit a request, you must provide the authorized agent with written and signed permission to do so, verify your own identity directly with us, and directly confirm that you provided the authorized agent with permission to submit the request. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they are authorized to act on your behalf.

Changes to Our California Privacy Statement

We are required by law to update this California Privacy Statement at least once each year. We will notify you by mail, email or through a notice on our website homepage when we make changes to this privacy notice. This privacy policy was last updated on 7/1/2023.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding our California Privacy Statement, the ways in which we collect, disclose, and use your personal information, or how to exercise your rights under the CCPA, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Phone: 800-888-2738

Website:  www.fortegra.com/data-subject-access