NYSID Guide to HMOs

Terms Of Service | Privacy Policy | Tell Us What You Think


Privacy Policy


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

Please Note:  This customer service application is currently unavailable. We apologize for this inconvenience.

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

 

Copyright © 2006 New York State Insurance Department