What information do we collect and how do we use it?
When we arrange insurance on your behalf, we ask you for the information we need to advise you about your insurance needs and management of your risks. We provide any information that the insurers or intermediaries who we ask to quote for your insurance and premium funding require, to enable them to decide whether to insure you and on what terms. Insurers may in turn pass on this information to their reinsurers. Some of these companies are located outside Australia.
When you make a claim under your policy, we assist you by collecting information about your claim. Sometimes we also need to collect information about you from others. We provide this information to your insurer or anyone your insurer has appointed to assist them to consider your claim (i.e. loss adjusters, medical advisers). Again, this information may be passed onto reinsurers.
We also use your information to send you requested product and promotional material and to enable us to manage your ongoing requirements (i.e. invoicing, renewals, customer surveys). We may do so by mail or electronically unless you tell us that you do not wish to receive electronic communications.
We may occasionally notify you about new services and special offers, events or articles we think will be of interest to you. We may send you regular updates by email or by post on insurance and financial planning matters. If you would rather not receive this information, please notify us.
We may use your information internally to help us improve our services and help resolve any problems.
What if you do not provide some information to us?
We can only fully advise you if we have all relevant information. The insurance laws also require you to provide your insurers with all the information that they need, in order to be able to decide whether to insure you and on what terms.
How do we hold and protect your information?
We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency of the personal information we hold and to protect its privacy and security. We keep personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or to comply with any applicable legal or ethical reporting or document retention requirements.
We hold the information we collect from you in confidential paper files and secure computer storage falcilities. We keep your information safe by locks and security systems, passwords, antivirus mechanisms, auditing and data integrity checks.
Will we disclose the information we collect to anyone?
We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others.
We may need to provide your information to contractors who supply services to us. This includes our Authorised Representatives, companies who handle mailings on our behalf and other companies in the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganisation, dissolution or similar event. We will do our best to ensure that they protect your information in the same way that we do.
We may provide your information to others if we are required to do so by law or under some other unusual circumstances which the Privacy Act permits.
How can you check, update or change the information we are holding?
Upon receipt of your written request and enough details to allow us to identify the information, we will disclose to you the personal information that we hold about you. We will also correct, amend or delete any personal information that we agree is inaccurate.
If you wish to access or correct your personal information please write to our Privacy Officer. Generally, we do not charge for receiving a request for access to personal information or for complying with a correction request however, we may charge if the time required to do so is significant. This charge will be based on the marginal cost of providing access and may include staff costs of locating and collating information, reproduction costs and the cost of having someone explain the information.
Your consent
By asking us to assist with your financial needs, you consent to the collection and use of the information you have provided to us for the purposes described.
Tell us what you think
We welcome your questions and comments about privacy. If you have any concerns or complaints, our Privacy Officer is contactable during business hours on:
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Telephone: |
07 3237 8666 |
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Facsimile: |
07 3237 8699 |
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Mail: |
Privacy Officer
Austcover Pty Ltd
PO Box 2780
BRISBANE QLD 4001 |