Thank you for visiting the California Department of Insurance (CDI) website and reviewing our Privacy Notice. CDI wants you to know about the collection, use, security, and access to information that may be obtained through use of CDI’s website. By visiting this website you are accepting the policies and practices described in this Notice. This Notice covers the following topics:

Personal Information and Choice

Information Collected and How it is Used

What Happens to Information You Submit to Us

Use of Internet Request for Assistance Form Information

Surveys

If You Send Us E-mail

Public Disclosure

Access and Correction of Personal Information

Automatic Collection of Information/Cookies

Security

Links to Other Sites

Restriction of Liability

Ownership

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Pursuant to Civil Code 1798.3(a), personal information includes, but is not limited to, such information as an individual’s name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information, however, it is considered "electronically collected personal information".

According to Government Code § 11015.5, "Electronically collected personal information" means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users, serving in a business capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that business.

The only "electronically collected personal information" we automatically collect is your domain name or Internet Protocol address. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e. completing a request for assistance, sending an e-mail or participating in a survey) more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the California Department of Insurance (CDI) website.

If any type of personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 (Civil Code §1798 et seq. Government Code §11015.5(a)(5)) may protect it. However, this information may be a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or state law.

Children are not eligible to use our services and we ask that minors (under the age of 18) do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use these services only if used together with your parents or guardians.

If the state decides to begin collecting personal information from children, it will notify parents that it is being requested, disclose the reasons for collecting it, and disclose our intended use for it. The state will seek parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable information. If it does collect it, parents may request information on the type of data being collected, view their child’s information and, if they choose, prohibit the state from making further use of their child’s information. The state will not provide personal information about children to third parties.

Government Code § 11015.5 (6) prohibits CDI and all state agencies from distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information as defined above, about users to any third party without the permission of the user. CDI does not sell any "electronically collected personal information". Any distribution of "electronically collected personal information" will be solely for the purposes for which it was provided to us.

CDI may sell or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold.

If you do nothing during your visit to the California Department of Insurance’s (CDI) website, but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used but not the e-mail address. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you;

2. The type of browser and operating system you used;

3. The date and time you visited this site;

4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site; and

5. The website you visited prior to coming to this website.

6. If you downloaded a form, the form that was downloaded.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This information is used for gathering website statistics. The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our website to continually improve the value of the materials available. We make no attempt to link other websites with the individuals that browse CDI’s website.

If you choose to submit information to us the information will be transmitted through secure lines to our departmental database. Any private information will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided and will not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law.

Any information you provide to us will be used to resolve your complaint with our licensee. The information will only be shared with entities involved in your case as necessary. Information you provide may be included with other consumers’ information to be used for statistical reporting, trending data, and/or investigative actions taken against our licensee. California Insurance Code § 12921.1 requires the CDI to retain information that becomes part of a consumer complaint case for three years after the closing date of the case.

If you provide us with information regarding an issue that does not fall within our regulatory jurisdiction, we may refer your information to the appropriate state or federal agency on your behalf. You will be advised if we take such action.

If you would like to review the information you provide to us while the department maintains your case, please contact our Consumer Hotline for assistance at 1-800-927-4357 or if you are calling from the Los Angeles area, please call 213-897-8921. You have the right to review, change or withdraw any "electronically collected personal information" you provide to us.

If during your visit to CDI’s website you participate in a survey or send an e-mail, the following additional information will be collected:

1. The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail; and

2. Information volunteered in response to the survey.

The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us.

The information is retained in accordance with Government Code § 11015.5.

You may choose to provide us with personal information, as in e-mail with a comment or question. We use the information to improve our service to you or to respond to your request. Sometimes we forward your e-mail to other CDI employees who may be better able to help you. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, we do not share our e-mail with any other organizations.

We use your e-mail to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action.

In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. Both state and federal laws provide exceptions.

All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other applicable law will control.

You can review any personal information we collect about you. If you have any questions or concerns about the information presented in this Privacy Notice, you may contact:

Who: CDI Privacy Officer, c/o Commissioner’s Correspondence Unit

By Mail: 300 South Spring St. – South Tower, Los Angeles, CA 90013

By Phone: 213/897-8921

You may recommend changes to your personal information you believe in error by submitting a written request that credibly shows the error. Additionally, if you choose you may have any personal information collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution, provided we are contacted in a timely fashion, typically within 30 days from the date you provide the information to us. If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact us. In all cases, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. Unlike the common usage of cookies, CDI only uses cookies during the session in which you access our interactive applications.

Cookies created on your computer by using this website do not contain "personal information" and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature only to store a randomly generated identifying temporary tag on your computer. You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods. However, if you turn your cookie option off you will not be able to access our interactive applications.

CDI, as developer and manager of this website, has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire CDI operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management. This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via CDI’s supported website.

Our website has links to sites we felt might be useful to you. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

This website and the information it contains are provided as a public service by the CDI. This system is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features, and for comparable purposes. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

Restriction of Liability

The CDI attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its website. Any errors, or omissions should be reported to the department for investigation. Please go to our ""Access to and Correction of Personal Information" section of this Notice to locate contact information.

The CDI makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this website and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this website. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this website or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of California or CDI, or their employees or agents.

Information presented on this website, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. In order to use any information on this website not owned or created by CDI you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources. CDI shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted to CDI via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract. CDI shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided to CDI through this site.

To access your personally identifiable information we collect, if any, or request correction of factual errors in your personally identifiable information, please locate contact information in the "Access to and Correction of Personal Information" section of this Notice.