Introduction
Thank you for visiting the
New York State Insurance Department Web site. This Web site is designed to make
it easier and more efficient for individuals and businesses to interact with
the Insurance Department. The Insurance Department recognizes that it is critical
for individuals and businesses to be confident that their privacy is protected
when they visit this Web site.
Consistent with the provisions
of the Internet Security and Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Law, and
the Personal Privacy Protection Law, this policy describes the Insurance Department's
privacy practices regarding information collected from visitors of this Web
site. This policy describes what information is collected and how that information
is used. Because this privacy policy only applies to this Web site, you should
examine the privacy policy of any Web site, including other state agency Web
sites, that you access using this Web site.
For purposes of this policy,
"personal information" means any information concerning a natural
person which, because of name, number, symbol, mark, or other identifier, can
be used to identify that natural person. The Insurance Department does not collect
any personal information about you unless you provide that information voluntarily
by sending an e-mail, by initiating an online transaction, such as a survey,
registration or order form, or by using our icontact customer service application.
Information Collected Automatically When You Visit this
Web site
When visiting this Web site
the Insurance Department automatically collects and stores the following information
about your visit:
(i) User client hostname.
The hostname or Internet Protocol address of the user requesting access to a
state agency Web site.
(ii) HTTP header, "user
agent." The user agent information includes the type of browser, its version,
and the operating system on which that the browser is running.
(iii) HTTP header, "referrer."
The referrer specifies the web page from which the user accessed the current
web page.
(iv) System date. The date and time of the user's request.
(v) Full request. The exact request the user made.
(vi) Status. The status code
the server returned to the user.
(vii) Content length. The
content length, in bytes, of any document sent to the user.
(viii) Method. The request
method used.
(ix) Universal Resource Identifier
(URI). The location of a resource on the server.
(x) Query string of the URI.
Anything after the question mark in a URI.
(xi) Protocol. The transport
protocol and the version used.
None of the foregoing information
is deemed to constitute personal information.
The information that is collected
automatically is used to improve this Web site's content and to help the Insurance
Department understand how visitors are interacting with the Web site. This information
is collected for statistical analysis, to determine what information is of most
and least interest to our visitors, and to improve the utility of the material
available on the Web site. The information is not collected for commercial marketing
purposes and the Insurance Department is not authorized to sell or otherwise
disclose the information collected from the Web site for commercial marketing
purposes.
icontact Customer Service Application
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Please Note: This customer service application is currently unavailable.
We apologize for this inconvenience.
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In order to provide assistance
to visitors to our Web site, the Insurance Department employs Agency Service
Representatives called NetReps. The purpose of our NetReps is to direct you
more quickly to the information you may be seeking on our Web site. While visiting
certain pages of our Web site, you may see a message on your monitor asking
if you would like the assistance of one of our NetReps. If you would like assistance,
respond by typing text in the dialog box in the upper right hand corner of the
screen and have a "conversation" with your NetRep. If you do not want
or need to be helped, simply respond by typing "no."
This exclusive service is
provided solely to enhance the value of your visit to our Web site.
Please note that if you choose
to use our icontact customer service application, your "conversation"
with the NetRep will be captured. This information is used solely for internal
quality assurance monitoring. Capturing this data allows the Insurance Department
staff to determine how to make our Web site more useful to our visitors.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece
of information sent by a web server to be stored in a visitor's computer so
that it can be recalled from the browser. Our icontact customer service application
uses cookies to allow us to know if you have previously visited our icontact
engageable pages. This allows us to improve our interaction with you, the customer,
and enhance your satisfaction with your current and future visits to our Web
site.
The software and hardware
you use to access the Web site allows you to refuse new cookies or delete existing
cookies. Refusing or deleting these cookies may limit your ability to take advantage
of some features of this Web site.
Information Collected When You E-mail this Web site
or Complete a Transaction
During your visit to this
Web site you may send an e-mail to the Insurance Department. Your e-mail address
and the contents of your message will be collected. The information collected
is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic
information formats included in the message. Your e-mail address and the information
included in your message will be used to respond to you, to address issues you
identify, to improve this Web site, or to forward your message to another State
agency for appropriate action. Your e-mail address is not collected for commercial
purposes and the Insurance Department is not authorized to sell or otherwise
disclose your e-mail address for commercial purposes.
During your visit to this
Web site you may complete a transaction such as a survey, registration, or order
form. The information, including personal information, volunteered by you in
completing the transaction is used by the Insurance Department to operate its
programs, which include the provision of goods, services, and information. The
information collected by the Insurance Department may be disclosed by the Insurance
Department for those purposes that may be reasonably ascertained from the nature
and terms of the transaction in which the information was submitted.
The Insurance Department does
not knowingly collect personal information from children or create profiles
of children through this Web site. Visitors are cautioned, however, that the
collection of personal information submitted in an e-mail will be treated as
though it was submitted by an adult, and may, unless exempted from access by
federal or State law, be subject to public access. The Agency strongly encourages
parents and teachers to be involved in children's Internet activities and to
provide guidance whenever children are asked to provide personal information
on-line.
Information and Choice
As noted above, the Insurance
Department does not collect any personal information about you unless you provide
that information voluntarily by sending an e-mail or initiating an online transaction
such as a survey, registration or order form. You may choose not to send us
an e-mail, respond to a survey, or complete an order form. While your choice
not to participate in these activities may limit your ability to receive specific
services or products through this Web site, it will not prevent you from requesting
services or products from us by other means and will not normally have an impact
on your ability to take advantage of other features of the Web site, including
browsing or downloading publicly available information.
Disclosure of Information Collected Through This Web
site
The collection of information
through this Web site and the disclosure of that information are subject to
the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act. The Insurance Department
will only collect personal information through this Web site or disclose personal
information collected through this Web site if the visitor has consented to
the collection or disclosure of such personal information. The voluntary disclosure
of personal information to the Insurance Department by the visitor, whether
solicited or unsolicited, constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure
of the information by the Insurance Department for the purposes for which the
visitor disclosed the information to the Insurance Department, as was reasonably
ascertainable from the nature and terms of the disclosure.
However, the Insurance Department
may collect or disclose personal information without consent if the collection
or disclosure is: (1) necessary to perform the statutory duties of the Insurance
Department, or necessary for the Insurance Department to operate a program authorized
by law, or authorized by state or federal statute or regulation; (2) made pursuant
to a court order or by law; (3) for the purpose of validating the identity of
the visitor; or (4) of information to be used solely for statistical purposes
that is in a form that cannot be used to identify any particular person.
Further, the disclosure of
information, including personal information, collected through this Web site
is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law and the Personal
Privacy Protection Law.
The Insurance Department may disclose personal information to federal or state
law enforcement authorities to enforce its rights against unauthorized access
or attempted unauthorized access to the Insurance Department's information technology
assets.
Retention of Information Collected Through this Web
site
The information collected through this Web site is retained by the
Insurance Department in accordance with the records retention and disposition
requirements of the New York State Arts & Cultural Affairs Law.
Information on the requirements of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Law
may be found at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/services/artslaw.html.
In general, the Internet services logs, comprising electronic files
or automated logs created to monitor access and use of Agency services
provided through this Web site, are retained for 6 months and then destroyed.
Information, including personal information, that you submit in an e-mail
or when you initiate an online transaction such as a survey, registration
form, or order form is retained in accordance with the records retention
and disposition schedule established for the records of the program
unit to which you submitted the information. Information concerning
these records retention and disposition schedules may be obtained through
the Internet privacy policy contact listed in this policy.
Access to and Correction of Personal
Information Collected Through this Web site
Any visitor may submit a request
to the Insurance Department Internet privacy compliance officer to determine
whether personal information pertaining to that visitor has been collected through
this Web site. Any such request shall be made in writing and must be accompanied
by reasonable proof of identity of the visitor. Reasonable proof of identity
may include verification of a signature, inclusion of an identifier generally
known only to the visitor, or similar appropriate identification. The address
of the Internet privacy compliance officer is:
New York State Insurance Department
Internet Privacy Compliance Officer
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004
The Internet privacy compliance
officer shall, within five (5) business days of the receipt of a proper request:
(i) provide access to the personal information; (ii) deny access in writing,
explaining the reasons therefore; or (iii) acknowledge the receipt of the request
in writing, stating the approximate date when the request will be granted or
denied, which date shall not be more than thirty (30) days from the date of
the acknowledgment.
In the event that the Insurance
Department has collected personal information pertaining to a visitor through
the state agency Web site and that information is to be provided to the visitor
pursuant to the visitor's request, the Internet privacy compliance officer shall
inform the visitor of his or her right to request that the personal information
be amended or corrected under the procedures set forth in section 95 of the
Public Officers Law.
Confidentiality and Integrity of Personal
Information Collected Through this Web site
The Insurance Department is
strongly committed to protecting personal information collected through this
Web site against unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Consequently, the Insurance
Department limits employee access to personal information collected through
this Web site to only those employees who need access to the information in
the performance of their official duties. Employees who have access to this
information follow appropriate procedures in connection with any disclosures
of personal information.
In addition, the Insurance
Department has implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of its information
technology assets, including, but not limited to, authentication, monitoring,
auditing, and encryption. These security procedures have been integrated into
the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of this Web site as part
of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as
the electronic transmission of information.
For Web site security purposes
and to maintain the availability of the Web site for all visitors, the Insurance
Department employs software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts
to upload or change information or otherwise damage this Web site.
Disclaimer
The information provided in
this privacy policy should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other
advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided through
this Web site.
Contact Information
For questions regarding this
Internet privacy policy, please contact:
via e-mail:
[email protected]
via regular mail:
New York State Insurance Department
Office of General Counsel
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004
Attn: Internet Privacy Policy
