Why we need and how we use your personal information

We will only collect, use, process and store your information where we have lawful grounds and legitimate business reasons to do so. This includes where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract such as fulfilling your requests for quotes, insurance, products and services as part our insurance broking business. Processing may be necessary for compliance with a legal or statutory obligation or to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person. To carry out a task in the public interest, such as enable us to perform anti-money laundering and other financial crime checks, or when necessary for the legitimate purposes of the data controller or of a third party provided this does not override your own interests.

The use of your data is essential for us to check your identity and administer payments to enable you to enter into an insurance contract and for the insurance to operate successfully in the event of a claim. We will use it keep our records up to date, to notify you about changes to our service and to help develop new products and services.

If you pay by instalments your information may also be used to arrange credit.

If you do not provide the information required we are unlikely to be able to satisfactorily arrange your insurance and we may not be able to provide certain services to you.

We may monitor calls, emails, texts and other communications with you. When you contact us we may keep a record of correspondence and information provided to us.

Information we collect about you

When you contact us we will collect the relevant information needed by ourselves in order to understand your needs and conduct business with you as Insurance Brokers. The information will vary dependant on the products and services that you might wish us to arrange or provide advice on.

Personal data may identify a living individual. We collect personal information such as name, contact details, date of birth, gender, marital status, financial details, employment details and other personal details and underwriting factors required, depending on the nature of the insurance and services we are offering. We may collect, use, process and store sensitive personal information such as criminal convictions and medical conditions as necessary with motor, home, travel and health insurances. This information may be shared with insurers, insurance product providers, finance providers and our third party service providers. Where necessary, we shall obtain your consent to the processing of such information. We may need information (including sensitive personal data) about members of your family, staff, clients, third party organisations and others that you have a relationship with, e.g. your solicitor or accountant.

Information about other people

We may collect information from you about others, for example people who may drive your car or be included on a travel or household policy. Where you give us information about another person it is your responsibility to ensure that you have told the individual who we are and how we use personal information and that you have permission from the individual to provide personal information to us and for us to use it, as set out in this Privacy Notice.

How we collect your information

Information is collected during our meetings, telephone conversations, letters and e-mails with you. We may use legal public sources and other third party sources to obtain information about you, for example to verify your identity or check your credit history. Some personal information may be provided to us by third parties such as insurance companies, other insurance intermediaries and motor vehicle licensing authorities. In some cases you will have previously submitted your personal information to them and given them approval to pass this information on for certain purposes. Such information will only be obtained from reputable sources which operate in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

Where we store your personal data

We use several data storage methods to include our specialist insurance software provided by SSP Ltd. This may mean your data is stored in 'the cloud'. We will also keep data about you in our extensive manual filing system, on lap tops and USB sticks. Information held electronically is backed up by our software provider and manual records are stored in secure locked premises. Please note that USB, laptop and manual records are taken off site where required to conduct our business and that we have remote access to our software system.

How long we keep information about you

We will keep your information for as long as it is required to enable us to provide quotations, administer your insurances, offer renewal and respond to any claims or complaints. This will usually be for a period of four years after the insurance has expired or as required by the insurers with whom the contract was placed, or otherwise as determined by law or regulation. Once we decide that we no longer need your information it will be securely and confidentially destroyed.

Sharing information

We will only supply your personal information to other parties where such a transfer of data is necessary to the activities that we undertake, where you give us consent, or where we are required to do so by law or regulation.

As an intermediary we must disclose personal information to insurance companies, underwriting agencies, business partners and other parties and service providers in order to offer our products and services and enable you to enter into insurance contracts. Examples of other parties include insurance intermediaries, regulatory bodies, legal and accountancy firms, loss adjusters, repairers and garages involved in the claims process. We may share your information with fraud prevention agencies. With motor insurance it is provided to the Motor Insurance Database (MID), which may be searched to obtain relevant policy information. You can find out more about the MID at www.mib.org.uk

We may disclose your information to other service providers engaged to perform services on our behalf. They will be restricted from using or disclosing your information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements. We will only share your information where satisfied our partners or suppliers have measures in place to protect your information the way we do.

We never share your information outside our organisation for marketing purposes.

Your data protection rights

You have rights under UK data protection law and regulations, summarised as follows:

• The right to be informed about our data processing activities, including through Privacy Notices such as this.
• The right of access to the personal information we hold about you. To request a copy of this information you must make a subject access request in writing to us.
• The right of rectification. You may ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete data within one month.
• The right to erasure and to restrict processing. You have the right to have your personal data erased and to prevent processing except where we have an obligation to process and retain your personal information. Bear in mind that by exercising this right you may hinder or prevent our ability to provide you with our products and services. Where you wish to withdraw your consent to the use of your personal data you should contact us in writing. We will respond to your request within one month and if we are unable to action a request we will explain why.
• The right to data portability. On your request, we will provide you with your personal data in a structured format where technically feasible to do so.
• The right to object. You have particular rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling. You can object to your personal data being used for profiling, direct marketing or research purposes.

How to make a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint about how we hold or use your data, please contact Mark Jones, Director, at our address below.

If you are dissatisfied with how we deal with your complaint, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office:

The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Phone: 08456 30 60 60
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Transfer of Personal Data

Your personal data is processed by us in the UK. However, for the purposes of IT hosting and maintenance this information may be located on servers within the European Economic Area. By providing us with your information, you consent to the collection and international transfer, storage, and processing of your information. These transfers are governed by European Union (EU) standard contractual clauses or equivalent data transfer agreements to protect the security and confidentiality of personal information.

Marketing

Abergele Insurance Consultants Ltd take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your insurances and to provide you with products and services we feel will be of interest to you.

Whilst you remain a client we will keep you updated about our various products and services by email, text, letter and telephone. Should you no longer remain an active client your consent will be obtained for this. If you have previously consented and wish us to stop using your information then you should contact us.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Notice or if you need any further information please contact us as follows:

Abergele Insurance Consultants Ltd
Abergele
North Wales
LL22 7AW

Email: enquiries@abergeleinsurance.co.uk

Telephone: 01745 825142