PolicyGem is dedicated to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of personal information in our possession and control. This policy outlines how PolicyGem collects, utilizes, discloses, and manages personal information through our website, which can be accessed at www.policygem.ca, encompassing all subpages and successor pages (collectively referred to as the “website”), as well as through interactions with our clients and potential clients.
Definitions
Website Visitor: Any individual who accesses the PolicyGem website for any purpose.
Prospective Client: Any individual who submits an application for insurance through PolicyGem.
Client: Any individual who purchases insurance through PolicyGem.
Data Collection
PolicyGem collects personal information from our Prospective Clients and Clients to provide services and fulfill legal obligations. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of personal information belonging to our Website Visitors, Prospective Clients, and Clients.
All users must accept PolicyGem’s Privacy Policy before submitting an application for life insurance and/or critical illness insurance.
If you wish to opt out of the use of your personal information by our services, we are happy to assist you. Please email us at info@policygem.ca and specify your preferences. Please be aware that certain uses and sharing of your information may be necessary to continue providing specific services. Additionally, please note that certain regulations may restrict opting out of the use and sharing of personal information in the context of seeking, applying for, or obtaining insurance products or services from us.
The personal information we collect serves the following purposes:
- Assisting us in selecting the life insurance policy that best suits your needs.
- Verifying your identity and other provided information.
- Providing insurance premium quotes.
- Supplying insurers and reinsurers with necessary information for application and underwriting processes.
- Collecting payment for purchased insurance products through our website.
- Communicating with you regarding insurance products you have applied for and/or purchased through our website, as well as other relevant products and services.
- Collecting required information and documents for claim processing and forwarding them to insurers.
- Meeting legal and regulatory requirements.
- Complying with applicable law or as otherwise required or permitted by law.
Additionally, we may aggregate your information with data from other users for benchmarking and analysis purposes. Below, you can find an overview of our data collection methods.
Needs Assessment: Gathering data about a client’s needs, financial situation, and family information ensures that our life insurance recommendations are suitable. This is both a regulatory requirement and a good business practice. Collected information includes ages, health status, financial details (debts, savings, investments, monthly expenses, etc.).
Life Insurance Application: The questions we ask clients when completing life insurance applications only request information necessary for contractual requirements with insurance companies. Information collected includes email address, name, address, phone number, birth date, identification number, driving record, medical history, lifestyle information, residency status, and beneficiary details.
Third-party Data: PolicyGem may use third-party services to supplement or enhance our understanding of customers by cross-referencing information in third-party databases. This helps improve our understanding of you and your business.
Marketing Communications: We may seek your consent to send you email, SMS text messages, and other communications about PolicyGem products, services, or events that may interest you. You can opt out of receiving marketing and promotional email from us by following the unsubscribe instructions in our email communications.
Customer Service/Relationship Manager: When you contact a customer service agent or Relationship Manager with a comment, question, or complaint via email, text message, telephone, or video chat, we may ask for identifying information (such as your name, address, and phone number) along with additional information necessary to assist you and improve our customer service, products, and services.
Testimonials: If you provide a testimonial, we may post it on our Site or in other materials and media, along with your name (with your consent). If you wish to have your testimonial removed, please contact us at info@policygem.ca.
Cookies & Similar Technologies: Cookies are files with a small amount of data, including an anonymous unique identifier. PolicyGem may use “cookies” to collect information and for remarketing purposes. You can configure your browser to reject cookies or notify you when one is being sent. We may use cookies and other tracking technology to remember and process your product choices, store your preferences for future visits, track advertisements, and compile aggregate data on the Site’s traffic and interaction for better future experiences and tools. We may also use these technologies to provide enhanced online display advertising tailored to your interests.
Tracer Tags & Web Beacons: The website may use “tracer tags” or “Web Beacons” to understand the pages you visit on the Website. These tracer tags help us optimize and tailor the Website for you and future visitors.
Website Analytics: We may enlist third parties to help us collect and analyze information about the Website’s visited areas, enhancing the user experience and convenience.
Safeguards
PolicyGem maintains reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information in our custody and control against unauthorized access, use, modification, and disclosure.
Please note that no security system is impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee the security of our databases or the information you transmit to and from us over the Internet.
Overview of Safeguards in Place
We grant employees and service providers access to clients’ personal information only on a “need to know” basis to fulfill their job requirements. We ensure that any third party acting on our behalf maintains reasonable and appropriate safeguards for your Personal Information. Additional information about our third parties’ privacy practices is available upon request.
Safeguards for Minors
We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your minor has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us. If we discover that we have collected Personal Information from minors without verifying parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.
Retention Policy
PolicyGem will retain your Personal Information while you have an active life insurance policy and afterward as needed to meet our legal obligations.
Accuracy
We will make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and completeness of your Personal Information. You can request corrections to your Personal Information in writing, providing sufficient detail to identify your information and the corrections needed.
Disclosure
When you apply for a life insurance policy with one of our partner companies, we provide your account information to the respective life insurance company for application fulfillment. We also inform them of any updates or changes to your account information. We may engage third-party vendors to assist with monitoring, analyzing website activity, operating the website, and maintaining our database. Some of these service providers may be located outside of Canada. We may share your information with these Third-Party Vendors only as necessary for them to perform their functions and as permitted by law. The use of your information by these Third-Party Vendors is governed by their own privacy policies and procedures, not this Privacy Policy. We and our Canadian third-party service providers may disclose your personal information in response to a legally valid inquiry, order, or search warrant or to other organizations for investigating breaches of agreements, contraventions of law, fraud detection, suppression, prevention, or as required or permitted by applicable Canadian or other law. This may include lawful access requests by Canadian or foreign courts, law enforcement, or governmental authorities. Personal information may also be disclosed when necessary for legal claims, investigations, or preventing actual or suspected loss or harm to persons.
By submitting a joint application,
you authorize PolicyGem to disclose or communicate details related to your application with your partner. This allows PolicyGem to share personal information, such as application status, information disclosed in the application, follow-up requirements results, billing details, etc. This authorization does not grant your partner the authority to make changes to your policy, such as altering beneficiaries or canceling the policy.
PolicyGem employs an automated decision-making tool for assessing underwriting risk in insurance applications. Based on Prospective Clients’ application responses, applications may be automatically approved, declined, or referred for manual review by a professional underwriter. Those seeking more information about this tool can contact PolicyGem via phone or email (available on our Contact Us page).
External Sites
Our website may include links to third-party websites, including insurance carriers offering third-party insurance products. However, we do not endorse or take responsibility for the content of external websites or the privacy practices of the third parties operating them. Before using any external website, please review the terms of use and privacy policies of the external sites for more information.
Online Advertising
We may engage third parties such as ad exchanges and data companies to display our advertisements on our Website and other websites. These companies may use cookies, tracer tags, or web beacons to report certain information about your website visits (such as web pages visited and response to ads) to measure the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns and deliver more relevant ads to you, both on and off our Website.
To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt out, visit the Digital Advertising Alliance website at www.aboutads.info/choices/ or the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada website at www.youradchoices.ca/choices.
Questions and Concerns
For questions or concerns regarding our privacy policies and practices, please send a written request to the Privacy Officer at privacy_officer@policygem.ca.
Notification of Changes
We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our information practices. We encourage you to periodically review our Privacy Policy for the latest information on our privacy practices.
Last updated: October 20, 2023
While we have always respected your privacy and safeguarded all Personal Information, we have strengthened our commitment to this goal. This is to continue providing exceptional service to you and to comply with all laws regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information.