Physicians Insurance Online Privacy Policy
Last Updated: April 18, 2024
Physicians Insurance Online Privacy Policy
Privacy is important to Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company, its subsidiaries, and Physicians Insurance Risk Retention Group, Inc. (collectively, “Physicians Insurance”, “we”, “our”, and “us”). This online privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains our data collection and use practices, and applies to any websites that we own and control, such as the www.phyins.com website (the “Website”) and any related products and services, including any associated interactive features, widgets, plug-ins, applications, content, downloads, and other services we may offer to you that posts a link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Services”), regardless of how you access or use them, whether via personal computer, browser, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, or other device (each a “Device”).
This Privacy Policy describes the collection, use, sharing, and processing of personal and other information of users of our Services. To the extent that we provide you with notice through our Services of different or additional privacy policies or practices (e.g., at the point of collection), those additional privacy policies shall govern such data collection and use. By accessing the Website, you are consenting to the information collection and use practices described in this Privacy Policy.
In addition to reading this Privacy Policy, please review our Terms of Use {hyperlink to terms of use}, which governs your use of our Services. If you do not agree to our Terms of Use and the collection, use and sharing of your information as detailed in this Privacy Policy, please do not access or otherwise use our Services or any information or content accessible on our Services.
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time, and we will post a notice or inform you of any such changes on our Website. Your use of our Services following the posting of an updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of such updated Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to apply the amended terms to the information that we have already collected, subject to any legal constraints. We will not, however, use your previously collected Personal Information in a manner materially different than represented at the time of collection. To the extent that any provision of this Privacy Policy is found by a competent tribunal to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed to the extent necessary for the remainder to be valid and enforceable.
Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to our information-gathering, use, and dissemination practices in connection with the Services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any of our information practices conducted separately by Physicians Insurance outside of our Services.
This Privacy Policy is written in the English language. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any translated versions of this Privacy Policy. To the extent that any translated versions of this Privacy Policy conflict with the English-language version, the English-language version of this Privacy Policy shall control.
COLLECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We collect information from you in several ways, including when you choose to share information with us by entering it through our Website and by using automated processes. We also collect information about your transactions with us, such as any information you submit to us through our Services.
Information You Provide.
We may ask you and you may choose to provide certain “Personal Information” to us, which is information that identifies you personally, such as your first and last name, email address, payment information including financial account numbers, mailing and billing addresses, government identification numbers, policy number, date of birth, social security number, job title, marital status, employment information, and telephone number. If you submit a claim online, you may also provide a description of the claim that may include health and medical information, and other personal information included in your description. Please note that we use a third-party payment processor and so we do not store information about your payment card when you submit an online payment. If you choose to submit a claim online, we may require you to provide additional information, such as information about your insurance policy, including the policy number, and information about the harm suffered and the circumstances, causes, reasons, and events that led you to make an insurance claim. This information you submit may also include posts, comments, photos, messages, feedback, and other content you generate. We may collect this information in a variety of places, including claim submission forms, through our Website in its various forms including any applications, and through our bill payment platform.
Information About Third Parties.
By submitting Personal Information about any third party, you represent and warrant to Physicians Insurance that you have the consent of the third party to do so, and that the information you submit is factually accurate.
Automated Information Collection.
In addition to any information that you choose to submit to us via our Services, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically (or passively) store or collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with our Services (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may be stored or accessed using a variety of technologies that may be downloaded to your Device whenever you visit or interact with our Website. To the extent that we associate Usage Information with your Personal Information we collect directly from you through our Services, we will treat it as Personal Information.
This Usage Information may include:
your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, unique device identifier (“UDID”), or other unique identifier (together, a “Device Identifier”). A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access our Services, and our computers identify your Device by its Device Identifier;
your Device’s functionality (including browser, operating system, hardware, mobile network information);
the URL that referred you to our Website;
the areas within our Website that you visit and your activities there, including remembering you and your preferences;
your Device’s location;
your Device’s characteristics; and
certain other Device data, including the time of day, among other information.
Tracking Technologies. We may use various methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). Tracking Technologies may set, change, alter, or modify settings or configurations on your Device. A few of the Tracking Technologies include, without limitation, the following (and subsequent technology and methods later developed):
Cookies. A cookie is a data file placed on a Device when it is used to visit our Website. HTML5 cookies can be programmed through HTML5 local storage.
Web Beacons. Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our Website’s pages and messages. Web beacons may be invisible to you, but any electronic image or other web programming code inserted into a page or email can act as a web beacon. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including, without limitation, to count visitors to our Services, to monitor how users navigate our Services, to count how many emails that we sent were actually opened, or to count how many particular articles or links were actually viewed.
Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with our Services, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your Device from our web server or a third-party service provider, is active only while you are connected to our Services, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.
Browser Fingerprinting. Browser fingerprinting is the collection and analysis of information from your Device, such as, without limitation, your operating system, plug-ins, system fonts, and other data, for purposes of identification.
ETag, or Entity Tag. This is a feature of the cache in browsers. It is an opaque identifier assigned by a web server to a specific version of a resource found at a URL. If the resource content at that URL ever changes, a new and different ETag is assigned. Used in this manner, ETags are a form of Device Identifier. ETag tracking may generate unique tracking values, even where the consumer blocks HTTP and/or HTML5 cookies.
Recognition Technologies. These are technologies, including the application of statistical probability to data sets, which attempt to recognize or make assumptions about users and devices (e.g., that a user of multiple devices is the same user).
Tracking Technologies Usage. We may use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including:
Strictly Necessary. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that we consider strictly necessary to allow you to use and access our Website, including cookies required to prevent fraudulent activity and improve security.
Performance Related. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are useful in order to assess the performance of our Services, including as part of our analytic practices or otherwise to improve the content, products, or services offered through our Services.
Functionality Related. We may use cookies or other Tracking Technologies that are required to offer you enhanced functionality when accessing our Services, including identifying you when you sign in to our Website or keeping track of your specified preferences, including in terms of the presentation of content on our Website.
Targeting Related. We may use Tracking Technologies to deliver content relevant to your interests on our Website and third-party sites based on how you interact with our content. This includes using Tracking Technologies to understand the usefulness to you of the content that has been delivered to you.
You may be able to set your browser settings to use our Website without cookie functionality. Please note that if you block cookies, some Website functions and Services may be unavailable and we will not be able to present personally tailored content and advertisements to you. Your browser may provide you with some options regarding cookies. For more detailed information about how to disable or administer your cookie settings in your web browser, please refer to the applicable page for the browser you are using:
• Safari: http://help.apple.com/safari/mac/8.0/#/sfri11471
• Google Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en
• Microsoft Edge/Internet Explorer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-vista/Block-or-allow-cookies…;
• Firefox: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website…;
You can withdraw your consent to allow for cookies, change your browser settings, and delete the cookies already stored on your computer at any time. Please note that if you delete or choose not to accept cookies, you may not be able to utilize the features of the Services on our Website to their fullest potential.
Turning off third-party cookies
You can turn off certain third-party targeting/advertising cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative: https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1 and by visiting Google: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may use the information that we collect from you to process transactions and provide products, services, and information to you. We may use your information to process your applications or payments, to adjust claims, to provide loss control services, to inform underwriting, and to provide you with information that may be of interest to you. In support of these uses, Physicians Insurance may use Personal Information to provide you with more effective customer service, to improve the Website and any related Physicians Insurance products or services, to enforce our Terms of Use, to meet our legal obligations or to inform a legal proceeding, and to make the Website easier to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same information. In order to offer you a more consistent experience in your interactions with Physicians Insurance, information collected by the Website may be combined with information collected by Physicians Insurance from other sources.
We may use your Personal Information to provide you with important information about the product or service that you have purchased or inquired about. Additionally, we may send you information about other Physicians Insurance products and services, and/or share information with Physicians Insurance partners so they may send you information about their products and services. We may anonymize or aggregate your information for marketing and actuarial purposes. We may merge Website-visitation data with demographic information, and we may use this information to provide more relevant content. We may combine Website-visitation data with your Personal Information in order to provide you with personalized content.
INFORMATION SHARING
Physicians Insurance may hire other companies to provide products or services on our behalf, and we may provide such companies with the Personal Information they need to perform their duties. For example, we may share information with service providers that assist us in our business operations. Physicians Insurance may also disclose Personal Information if required to do so by law; to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, subpoena, government request, or other legal process; or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Physicians Insurance; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Physicians Insurance; or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Physicians Insurance employees or agents, users of Physicians Insurance products or services, or members of the public.
We may also share information with third parties, including law enforcement, to protect this Website and to enforce our Terms of Use. We also reserve the right to share the information that we collect with our subsidiaries and affiliates for marketing and other business purposes, and with any subsequent owner in the event of a merger, consolidation, sale of our assets, or other change in our business, including during the course of any due-diligence process. Personal Information collected on the Website may be stored and processed in the State of Washington or any other state or country in which Physicians Insurance or its agents maintain facilities. By using the Website, you consent to any such transfer of information to another state or country.
Co-Branded Areas.
We may provide certain parts of our Website in association with third parties, such as promotional partners or affiliates. These “co-branded areas” will identify the third party. If you choose to use these co-branded areas, we may share your information with the identified third party, and that third party may also collect information from you, in addition to the information that we collect, as described above. You should review the privacy policies of those identified third parties to understand how they collect and use information.
Links to Third-Party Websites.
Our Website may include links to third-party websites or other online services. We are not responsible for these other sites and services, and they may collect and use information about you. You should review the privacy policies for such third parties before using their sites or services to understand how they collect and use information.
Third-Party Tracking and Do Not Track Technology.
Third parties may use tracking technologies in connection with our Website, which may include the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to these third-party technologies because we may not control them and we are not responsible for them. Do Not Track is a technology that enables users to opt out of tracking by websites they do not visit. Currently, we do not monitor or take any action with respect to Do Not Track technology.
Analytic Services and Targeted Ads
We use third-party analytics services, like Google Analytics, to collect, monitor, and analyze data we collect through our Services to better understand how our Website is used and to improve its functionality. These services may track details about your online activities over time and across different websites. These services may also allow us and others to provide you with targeted advertisements or other content that you may be interested in based on your online activities.
The Google Analytics service tracks and reports website traffic and provides us insight into behavior information relating to visitor age, gender, and interests. Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting give us insight into behavior to help us understand browsing behavior and give you a better experience when you visit our Website. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using the Ads Settings.
These third-party services have their own privacy policies addressing how they use such information. We recommend you review their privacy policies. If you want to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, you may wish to take advantage of Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web.
If you would like to learn more about targeted ads that may be based on your online activities, and the choices that you may exercise for certain websites and advertisers, you may wish to visit the website for the Network Advertising Initiative or the Digital Advertising Alliance.
CONTROL OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Please be aware that this Privacy Policy and any choices you make on the Website will not necessarily apply to Personal Information you may have provided to Physicians Insurance in the context of other Physicians Insurance products or services. If you give us your email address, Physicians Insurance may send out emails to you with information on our products or services.
SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
The protection of your Personal Information is important to us. Physicians Insurance will use commercially reasonable efforts and industry standard security technologies and safeguards to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We also expect our service providers to protect information in the same manner. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission, or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed due to computer hackers, electronic malfunctions, and other cybersecurity events. Physicians Insurance cannot guaranty that such safeguards will always protect such information.
CHANGING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES
You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information you submit to us, such as your contact information provided as part of requests you make for a quote or otherwise.
You can always contact us in order to request that we (i) remove the Personal Information that you have provided to us from our systems, (ii) update the Personal Information that you have provided to us, and (iii) change your preferences with respect to our use of your personal information by emailing us at info@phyins.com. If so, we will make good-faith efforts to make requested changes in our then active databases as soon as reasonably practicable (but we may retain prior information as business records). Please note that it is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases and that residual data may remain on backup media or for other reasons
USERS OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES
If you are from a non-U.S. country, please be aware that the Personal Information you submit, including information provided through our Services, is being sent to a location in the United States. The data protection laws in the United States are likely different from those of the country in which you are located, and your Personal Information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in the United States according to laws of the United States. By providing such Personal Information through the Services, you are consenting to (and represent that you have authority to consent to) the transfer of such information to the United States for the uses and purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Without limiting the above, for the avoidance of doubt we do not have an establishment or target the Services or our marketing to individuals in the European Economic Area (including the EU) or the United Kingdom.
Social Security Protection Policy Statement
Physicians Insurance seeks to protect the confidentiality of social security numbers (SSNs) by maintaining physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards. We limit access to SSNs to help protect against their loss, misuse, or unlawful disclosure. We do not disclose SSNs to third parties except where required or permitted by law.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR PARENTS
The Website is a general audience website and does not knowingly seek or collect any Personal Information from children under the age of eighteen (18). In accordance with the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, in the event that we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age thirteen (13) without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any Personal Information from or about a minor, please contact us at info@phyins.com.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
If you are a resident of California, you have additional rights under California law. Please review our California Consumer Privacy Act Privacy Policy here: [Link to CCPA Privacy Policy] for more information about additional rights under California law.
Residents of California may also, under §1798.83, known as the “Shine the Light” law, request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of Personal Information (if any) that we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes, and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared Personal Information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request clearly in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you should contact Physicians Insurance. Physicians Insurance welcomes your comments regarding this Privacy Policy. If you believe that Physicians Insurance has not adhered to this Privacy Policy, please contact us electronically or via postal mail at the address provided below, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.
Attn: General Counsel
Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company/Physicians Insurance Risk Retention Group, Inc.
601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98101
Ph. (800) 962-1399
Fax: (206) 343-7100
Email: info@phyins.com
Privacy Notice at Collection for California Residents
Last Updated April 18, 2024.
This Privacy Notice at Collection applies to Personal Information of California residents to the extent that the information is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CCPA”). For example, this notice does not apply to Personal Information collected pursuant to (i) the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and its implementing regulations or the California Financial Information Privacy Act; (ii) medical and health information covered by HIPAA; or (iii) de-identified or publicly available information.
Personal Information We Collect
We collect or use information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household (“Personal Information”). The chart below includes information collected for various types of individuals, such as our Members, customers, employees, and others. As a result, all of the categories of collected Personal Information described below may not be applicable to you. We may collect or use the following categories of your Personal Information in the following ways:
We do not sell Personal Information. We do not share Personal Information for the purpose of cross-context behavioral advertising.
We do not sell or share the Personal Information of minors under 16 years of age. We do share cookies with third parties as described in our online privacy policy. To opt out of the sharing of information with third parties in this context, please review our online privacy policy for instructions or adjust your browser settings accordingly.
Further Information
Please visit our website https://www.phyins.com/ and our CCPA privacy policy for further information about Personal Information we collect, and your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.
If you have questions about this notice, please contact us at:
Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company/Physicians Insurance Risk Retention Group, Inc.
601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98101
Ph. (800) 962-1399
Fax: (206) 343-7100
Email: talktous@phyins.com
BUSINESS ASSOCIATES AGREEMENT:
Insureds: PI Insured Business Associate Agreement
Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company eOasis and Percetive Content systems have earned Certified Status for information security by HITRUST®.
HITRUST CSF® Certified status demonstrates that the Physicians Insurance’s eOasis and Perceptive Content systems have met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and is appropriately managing risk. eOasis is a policy and claims management system and Perceptive Content is a content management and workflow system that manages the company’s electronic forms, invoice processing, and other workflows.
This achievement places Physicians Insurance in an elite group of organizations worldwide that have earned this certification. By including federal and state regulations, standards, and frameworks, and incorporating a risk-based approach, Physicians Insurance has addressed complex compliance and privacy requirements through the HITRUST certification process.