Privacy Principles of
AIG Commercial Insurance Company of Canada
Commerce and Industry Insurance Company of Canada
and certain other member companies
of American International Group, Inc.
AIG and Individual Privacy
We at American Home Assurance Company (Canadian Branch) and AIG Commercial Insurance Company of Canada and other member companies of American International Group, Inc. that abide by these Privacy Principles (together referred to as "AIG") want our policyholders, insureds and claimants, to be aware of how and why we handle personal information. We work hard to respect and maintain client privacy. However, the very nature of our business is such that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information is fundamental to the products and services we provide.
These Privacy Principles apply only to the product or service the client has obtained or the insurance policy under which he/she is seeking or receiving benefits. As a large worldwide leader in the delivery of financial products and services, the member companies of American International Group, Inc. offer numerous products and services to many types of consumers and clients in many different countries around the world. Therefore, each of our companies may adopt different privacy practices to fit the specific products and services they offer.
Personal information, for the purposes of these Privacy Principles, means information that identifies an individual. For example: an individual’s name, birth date, address, age, health and financial information is personal information which AIG may collect, use and in certain circumstances, where necessary, disclose, in the course of providing insurance services and carrying on business. Personal information does not include the name, business title, address, phone or fax number of an employee of an organization.
These Privacy Principles may be modified from time to time. An individual may obtain our most up to date version by contacting us at the address set out below in the section called "Contacting the Privacy Officer".
1. Consent and Personal Information
AIG obtains consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate.
In obtaining consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, the purpose for which information is collected, used or disclosed is either obvious by the very nature of the transaction or if not, we state the purpose, either at or before the time the information is collected. When we do collect personal information, we collect only that personal information which is necessary to such obvious or stated purpose.
Personal information is typically collected and used by us for insurance purposes such as, assessing risk, processing applications for insurance coverage, providing and administering insurance products and related services, to determine the status of insurance coverage, investigating and handling claims, administering insurance benefits, and preventing or deterring fraud. Such information will be used solely to facilitate the products and services requested or as provided or permitted by law.
We consult our existing files for these purposes. An individual may decline to consent, or revoke consent, to the collection and use of personal information for these insurance purposes but in that case insurance products and related services and benefits and the assessment of claims may be limited or terminated.
2. Collecting Personal Information.
Whenever practical, we collect information directly from the individual concerned. In some instances and as is common in the underwriting of insurance and the investigation of insurance claims, we verify information and obtain information from independent sources and organizations.
3. Using Personal Information
We use personal information in accordance with the consent provided by the individual to whom the information relates, in accordance with these Privacy Principles, our contractual rights and obligations and the law.
Personal information shall not be used by AIG employees and representatives for purposes other than as required in the performance of their employment duties.
4. Use of Personal information for Marketing Purposes
AIG may also collect and use personal information for marketing purposes, such as identifying and communicating with individuals who are most likely to find AIG products and services of interest. Consent to this collection and use of personal information is voluntary. An individual may opt not to have us collect and use personal information for marketing purposes, in which case we will collect and use personal information for insurance purposes and in accordance with our contractual rights and obligations, but we will not use personal information for marketing purposes. Offers of upgraded or additional coverage, special offers and promotional mailings, will not be sent by us. Please refer to the section of these Privacy Principles called “Contacting the Privacy Officer” for information on how to decline or revoke consent to the use of personal information for marketing purposes.
5. Accuracy of Your Personal Information
AIG maintains procedures to ensure that the information we collect and use is accurate, up-to-date, and as complete as possible. However, we rely on individuals to disclose all material information to us and to inform us of any changes. With proof of entitlement, a request to access and if applicable to correct information in our possession may be made by contacting the Privacy Officer at the address set out below in the section called "Contacting the Privacy Officer".
6. Safeguarding Your Information
We apply appropriate safeguards to our computer networks and physical files and we restrict access to personal information to those AIG employees, authorized administrators, reinsurers, consultants or insurance representatives who need to know that information in order to underwrite or administer insurance products and services.
7. Disclosure of Personal Information
Personal information is sought and exchanged with both affiliated and unaffiliated insurance companies, reinsurers, and insurance industry organizations at the time of assessing an application for insurance and any renewal, extension, variation or cancellation of any issued policy, as well as in the event of any claim, to the extent necessary for industry statistical purposes or to assess and rate a specific risk, determine the status of coverage, and investigate claims. We also share information to combat fraud; where permitted or required by law; or, at the request of government regulators.
AIG sometimes retains an affiliated company or an independent third party or reinsurer (“authorized administrator”) to perform on AIG's behalf, certain functions in support of the products and services AIG provides. Such functions could include the underwriting, offering or administering of AIG's financial products and services or any related claims. Accordingly, in certain instances these affiliates or third parties will be provided with personal information to the extent that it is necessary in the performance of those specific reinsurance, underwriting, marketing, consulting, administrative, rehabilitative, claims, investigation or related services. AIG obligates these affiliates and third parties to use and take steps to protect personal information in accordance with the requirements of these Privacy Principles.
Some authorized administrators may be located in the United States of America or another foreign country other than Canada and in those cases personal information will be subject to disclosure pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is situate. By applying for and/or acquiring the products and services of AIG, you hereby consent to the authorized administrators located outside of Canada accessing, processing or storing your personal information (as the case may be) and disclosing such personal information as required by the governing laws of that jurisdiction.
Consent to the disclosure of personal information to our affiliates for the purpose of offering additional products and services is optional. An individual may decline or revoke consent to this optional disclosure of personal information by contacting the AIG Privacy Officer for Canada, in which case offers of additional products and services, special offers and promotional mailings will not be made by our affiliates.
We do not sell our customer lists or other personal information.
8. Retention and Access to Your Personal Information
We retain personal information only for so long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected and to meet our legal and contractual obligations. If personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed or rendered anonymous. Given the nature of insurance and our on-going exposure to potential claims, where necessary, some of the information we collect for insurance purposes is kept indefinitely.
An individual or a person authorized in writing to act on his/her behalf may, with satisfactory identification and proof of entitlement, request access or, if applicable, request a correction of personal information which AIG has in its possession.
The right to access is not absolute. For example, there is no right to access and we may decline a request for access, if the information requested is subject to a legal privilege.
We do not provide personal health information directly to individuals unless the individual provided it directly to us. Instead we provide access to personal health information through the individual's health care professional.
We may charge a reasonable fee in advance for copying and sending information you have requested and to which you have a right of access.
9. Contacting the Privacy Officer
Contact:
Privacy Officer
AIG Commercial Insurance Company of Canada
145-Wellington-Street-West
Toronto
Ontario
Canada M5J 1H8
Toll Free: 1-800-387-4481 x 3924
Should you have:
• Questions about our privacy practices;
• A request to access or correct your personal information; or
• To decline or revoke consent to the use, collection or disclosure of personal information for marketing purposes.
Include your name, address and, if applicable, your policy number.
10.Website Privacy Practices
Non-personal information is collected to track the total number of guests visiting this site, pages that they visited and time spent on those pages. This information is used in its aggregate form to help us improve our site. This information is used exclusively for our internal purposes.
Personal information that can identify a visitor, such as name, address or policy information, is collected only when voluntarily offered and solely for purposes of transacting an insurance purchase.
We will not share your personal information, except as otherwise required or permitted by law.
AIG may use the information submitted to respond to your inquiry. Also, your inquiry might appropriately be answered by a particular member company of American International Group, Inc., and it may be forwarded to that company. That company will use the information to respond to your inquiry. Neither AIG nor any other AIG member company will use the information submitted to AIG for marketing purposes, nor share it with any third party for marketing purposes, unless you consent to this use.
If you send AIG an e-mail request, we may respond to your request with an e-mail asking for further clarification of your needs, or requesting additional information so that we can best serve you.
AIG (and in the event information has been forwarded to an AIG member company, such company) may store the information you submit for such period of time as may be necessary.
Statistical information derived from the information submitted may be shared with third parties, however, such statistical information is not associated with any individual in a personally identifiable manner.
This Website uses cookies to allow you to select a preferred location view and default home page view, and to let you access recently visited links (such as products, services, and individual pages) more easily. These cookies also permit AIG to store your recently visited pages so we can display information to you more effectively.
If you disable cookies on your browser, the site will not remember certain functional preferences. You will not be able to access a preferred location view, a customized default home page view, or your recently visited links.
We may share cookie information with AIG member companies and third party business partners and service providers so that we can continue improving this site and the services available to you. We collect and share this information only in aggregated, non-personally identifiable format. For example, we may tell the AIG companies how many users viewed a particular product page during a given month.
We may also use a service that collects data remotely by using web beacons or tags embedded in our site's content. The data we collect includes which operating system and browser you use, how you navigate to and through our site, and how long you stay on our web pages. This information is anonymous and does not include your name, e-mail address, or any other contact information. We share this information with other AIG companies and with our third party vendor, Visual Sciences, Inc. ("Visual Sciences"). Visual Sciences gives us reports of this aggregated, anonymous data. We use this data to improve our site by responding to our users' interests and providing more relevant and useful information. To learn more about Visual Sciences’ privacy standards and use of web beacons, please visit: http://www.websidestory.com/privacy/privacy-policy.html.
Individuals who submit personally identifiable information via this website acknowledge and agree that the information submitted may be forwarded to the United States or another jurisdiction for processing or in order to respond to inquiries sent by email.
Please note that when you link to any other website from this website, the operator of such other website (whether AIG, an AIG company or a third party) may collect information about you, including through cookies or other technologies. In addition, your Internet or other service provider(s) may collect information about or submitted by you while you use the website, or any other website. You acknowledge that information collection or privacy practices of any other party, including AIG companies, are not monitored or controlled by AIG and AIG is not responsible for such websites. Links on the website to other websites are provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of such links does not imply endorsement of the linked site. You should review the privacy policies of any other website that you visit to understand how your information is collected and used.
Notwithstanding the information policies stated above, the right to store and disclose to third parties any information under the following circumstances is reserved: when the law permits it (such as, for example, to comply with laws or to respond to governmental authorities); to legal advisors; and to protect the rights, property, safety or security of AIG, AIG companies, website visitors or the public.
This Privacy Statement applies solely to online information collection and use practices in connection with this website; it does not apply to any practices conducted offline or in connection with other websites owned or operated by AIG or any AIG company.