Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner

Privacy Notice

This privacy notice addresses collection, use and security of and access to information that may be obtained through use of our website. This notice covers the following topics:

Information collected and how it's used

When you visit our website and browse, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit. This information doesn't identify you personally. We collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. The domain name used and the Internet Protocol address (a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or your computer.) We use the Internet Protocol address to direct Internet traffic to you. This address can be translated to determine the domain name of your service provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu).
  2. The type of browser and operating system you use.
  3. The date and time you visited our site.
  4. The web pages or services you accessed at our site.
  5. The website you visited prior to coming to our site.

The information we collect or store is used by The Insurance Commissioner's office only to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services.

What we collect if you volunteer information

If during your visit to our website you participate in a survey, send an email, or perform some other transaction, the following additional information will be collected:

  1. The email address and contents of the email.
  2. Information volunteered in response to a survey.
  3. Information volunteered through an online form for any other purpose.

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

We use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you may identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the email to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information is used for policy development or educational purposes. Information from other online forms is used to properly handle your request.

Personal information and choice

You may choose whether to provide personal information online.

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We do not collect personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us through email, a survey, or an online form. You may choose not to contact us in this way. Your choice not to participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse our website and read or download any information provided on the site.

If personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact the Public Records Manager.

Our website is a general audience site and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children. Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children online or by email will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access.

Public access to information

In Washington state, 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 that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

All of the information collected at this site becomes a public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act or other law governing the agency's disclosure of records, the Public Records Act or other applicable law will control.

For more information see our Public Disclosure site.

Nondisclosure of certain personal/private information

We may require you to provide certain personal information in order to assist you. You may choose not to provide this information. If you do we will not be able to properly handle your request. You will have to contact us by mail, in person, or telephone.

Review and correction of personally identifiable information

You can request to view any personally identifiable information we collect through our public disclosure contacts. You may recommend in writing any changes to your personally identifiable information you believe to be inaccurate We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. See RCW 43.105.310.

Cookies and applets

To better serve our users we use "cookies" to customize your browsing experience.

Cookies created on your computer by using this website do not contain personally identifying information and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature only to store a randomly generated identifying tag on your computer.

Applets are tools downloaded to your computer to work with the software you have. Applets are intended to enhance your browsing experience by enabling you to view information in a unique manner or enable access to information that your computer would otherwise be unable to access without the applet.

You are not required to use applets to browse this site. Choosing not to accept applets will not affect your general ability to browse and download information. It may adversely affect how information appears on your computer or your ability to view the information that the applet is intended to support.

Security

We have taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of our data and prevent unauthorized access to information maintained by the Office of Insurance Commissioner.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this website remains available to all users, we use software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage to this website. These measures are designed and intended to prevent corruption of data, block unknown or unauthorized access to our systems and information, and to provide reasonable protection of private information in our possession.

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 The Insurance Commissioner's web site.

Disclaimer

Our web site has links to other websites. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the Insurance Commissioner's website and this Privacy Notice will not apply. You will be subject to the privacy policy of the other linked site.

Any reference on this website to 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. It does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of Washington, the Office of Insurance Commissioner, or its officers, employees or agents.

Neither the State of Washington, nor any agency, officer, or employee of the State of Washington warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system. And shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.

The Office of Insurance Commissioner reserves the right to revise and update this Privacy Notice at any time without notice by posting such revised Privacy Notice at the Office of Insurance Commissioner home page.

Contact information

To request a review or corrections of your personal information, contact:

Eric Mark
Office of Insurance Commissioner
5000 Capitol Blvd.
Tumwater, WA 98501

Phone: 360-725-7003
Fax: 360-664-2782
Email: ericm@oic.wa.gov
Web: Public Disclosure site

To offer comments about our website, or about the information presented in this privacy notice, contact:

Webmaster
Office of Insurance Commissioner
5000 Capitol Blvd.
Tumwater, WA 98501

360-725-7247
Email: webmaster@oic.wa.gov


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