E-mail and Privacy Policy
E-MAIL POLICY
By submitting an
e-mail, you agree to have read and accept the provisions of our privacy
policy. We will make every attempt
to respond by e-mail to inquiries within two business days. Please be
aware that Internet e-mail is not secure, so you may
want to request that a written response be sent to you in lieu of an
e-mail response,
if personal or sensitive information is to be transmitted.
If you send e-mail to us, please do not include any health or claim-related
information in your e-mail correspondence. This includes Medicare numbers,
Social Security
numbers, personal medical information, or other confidential items.
If you have a question about a specific claim, please call or write
to our office.
If we are unable to determine the source of any e-mail, we will send
a return message requesting identification of the sender. Please note
that we cannot accept attachments with e-mail correspondence.
The provisions of the Privacy Act must be followed. Requests for documents
covered by the Freedom of Information Act must be submitted to our office
in writing.
PRIVACY POLICY
As part of the day to day business operations of Group Insurance Services
(GIS), including operation of the GIS Web site, we receive and maintain
certain information regarding our subscribers and members. Information
received from the GIS Web site depends in part on what you do when you
visit or transact business on the GIS Web site. GIS respects the privacy
of every individual who visits our Web site. Therefore, we would like
to define the types of information we receive and describe how it is
maintained in this privacy policy ("Privacy Policy"). This
policy refers only to the information collected and maintained from this
Web site.
USING THIS WEB SITE CONFIRMS YOUR CONSENT AND AGREEMENT TO OUR PRIVACY
POLICY, INCLUDING COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION BY GIS
AS DESCRIBED HEREIN.
- Guests - Browsers of our Web site often visit solely to obtain general
information about GIS’s operations and services. If you visit
our Web site to read or download information, you enter our secured
site
as a guest. As a guest, we collect and store only the following information:
the name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example:
aol.com, if you connect from an America Online account), the date
and time you accessed our site and the Internet address of the Web
site from
which you linked directly to our site. We use this information to
measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our site
and to help
us make our site more useful to visitors.
- Members - Browsers who currently have health insurance coverage
with GIS can access our Web site to conduct transactions such
as submit an
application for coverage; check claim status, referrals and
pre-authorizations; verify benefit information; and pay premiums.
Prior to utilization
of these services, GIS may ask for personal information (such
as date of
birth, social security number, name, address with zip code,
telephone number and e-mail address) to verify appropriate usage.
This information
is collected during registration, and a letter which will have
a PIN number will be generated and mailed to your address on
file. After you
receive your PIN number, you will be able to sign on and create
a user name and password. GIS, its employees or affiliates
will not have access
to your user name and password that you create. If you receive
this notification by mail and did not register to access the
services available on our
Web site, please contact GIS immediately at info@gisbenefits.com or
(423) 755-5911.
- Members Under 13 Years of Age – GIS often covers minor dependents
through their parent or legal guardian’s health
insurance policy. Children under the age of 13 can access
our site
as guests. Should
they wish to use a service or feature available through
the GIS Web site,
we require that they do so with the permission of their
legal guardian (i.e. user name and password of legal
guardian). GIS
will not knowingly
collect or use any personal information regarding a user
under the age of 13 without the consent of a parent or
guardian.
Should you
have any
additional questions, please contact us at info@gisbenefits.com.
- E-Mail (Requests and Submissions) – Please do
not send e-mail to us with personal information.
GIS has no
way to secure
personal
information sent via e-mail because this information
can be accessed by other users
on the Internet. If you send us e-mail to ask a question,
we will only use the information you provide to answer
your request.
Personal
information
will not be provided to a non-affiliated third party
without your prior consent, except as permitted by
federal and
state law. If you
have submitted
information about yourself through our Web site and/or
e-mail message and would like for us to delete that
information from
our records,
please send a e-mail to info@gisbenefits.com. We will make
every effort to delete your
personal information from our files.
- Statistical Data – GIS continually strives to enhance the features
and services that are offered to our Web site browsers. In an effort
to determine the effectiveness and functionality of our Web site, we
monitor aggregated data regarding the use of our Web site. For instance,
we track the number of visits to a certain page; direct links from other
Web sites; and frequency of usage for independent services (i.e. claim
status, application for coverage, etc). Questionnaires or surveys, during
usage, are sometimes utilized to develop and improve the services offered.
Although questionnaires and surveys assist GIS in enhancing the services
offered through our Web site, we understand that not everyone is comfortable
participating. Therefore, questionnaires and surveys are not mandatory
for our users and allow the user to choose not to participate. We may
share statistical data with our affiliates, brokers, and providers for
marketing purposes and the improvement and promotion of our Web site
services. Although we reserve the right to share this information as
indicated above, this statistical data, including questionnaires and
surveys, does not contain any personal information that could disclose
the user’s identity.
Disclosure of Non-Public Personal Information
We restrict access to
nonpublic personal information unless it is needed to complete a transaction
that our member has authorized (i.e. claims
administration, adjustment and management; detection, investigation
or reporting of actual or potential fraud; misrepresentation or criminal
activity; underwriting; policy placement or issuance; loss control;
ratemaking and guaranty fund functions; reinsurance and excess loss
insurance; risk management; case management; disease management;
quality assurance and improvements; utilization review, actuarial,
scientific,
medical or public policy research; grievance procedures, audits,
etc). Information is shared with entities (i.e. providers and vendors)
that
assist GIS in supplying products and services to our members or that
promote products and services on behalf of GIS. Information is provided
to nonaffiliated third parties as required or allowed by federal
and state law. GIS maintains physical, electronic, and procedural
safeguards
that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal
information.
We reserve the right to disclose personal information to entities
that perform marketing services (i.e. brokers) on our behalf or to
other institutions
with which we have joint marketing agreements. GIS requires each entity
to execute a Confidentiality Agreement prior to disclosure. The following
information may be shared:
1. name, address and telephone number;
2. social security number and date of birth;
3. policy coverage, benefits, premiums and payment history; and
4. limited medical information (i.e. provider name, date of service,
referral and authorization information, primary care physician).
Retention of Information Collected
The non-public personal information collected and maintained
from this Web site will be retained for six years from the date
of its
creation
or the date when it was last in effect, whichever is later. Use of Cookies
A “cookie” is a mechanism that permits a Web server to
send small pieces of information or text through your browser to be
stored
on your hard drive. This information or text allows the server to identify
frequent visitors of individual Web sites. GIS may place a cookie on
your computer that will allow us to identify users so that we may enhance
their experience on our Web site. Our cookies are not used to track
your activity on any site other than GIS.com nor will they be utilized
to
send unsolicited e-mail or provide us with the users personally identifiable
information. Direct Access to Other Sites
GIS offers direct links to other separate and individual Web sites
that offer information, which could be beneficial to our members.
Since these
direct links are separate Web sites independent of GIS.com, they
may not follow the same privacy guidelines set forth here. GIS
assumes no responsibility or control over the acts or privacy
policies of
the
third
party Web sites to which GIS provides direct links. We suggest
that you contact the appropriate controlling authorities of these
sites
or review
their privacy policy.
Opt-Out
GIS provides its members and users the opportunity to ''opt-out'' of
having their information used for purposes not related to the GIS
Web site when GIS requests such information. Users who wish to remove
their information collected by the GIS Web site can do so by contacting
us at info@gisbenefits.com.
GIS will not use your information collected by the GIS Web site for
marketing purposes unless allowed by State
and Federal Law.
Correction/Updating Personal Information
If the personally identifiable information of a user of our
services changes or a group’s information changes, or if the user or group
no longer desires to use the services on this Web site, GIS will endeavor
to provide a way to correct, update or remove that user’s personal
data. To correct or update personal information, contact GIS at info@gisbenefits.com or (423) 755-5911.
Security
GIS takes precautions to protect its users’ personal non-public
information. When users submit sensitive information to GIS, the information
is protected both online and off-line. When the registration/login form asks users to enter sensitive
information, that information is encrypted and is protected
with the encryption
software, specifically SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption
(High) which may be
updated from time to time. While on a secure page, such as
the login page, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers
such
as Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked,
as opposed to unlocked,
or open, when you are just ‘‘surfing’’. While GIS uses SSL encryption to protect sensitive information
online, GIS protects user-information off-line. Only employees
who need the
information to perform their jobs are granted access to personally
identifiable information.
GIS employees must use password-protected screen-savers when
they leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter
their password
to
re-gain access to your information. Furthermore, all employees
are kept up-to-date
on GIS security and privacy practices. Finally, the servers
that store personally identifiable information are kept in
a secure
environment. GIS Reserves The Right To Modify Its Privacy Policy
GIS reserves the right to change or update this Privacy Policy
at any time. Any changes made to our privacy policy will
be posted on
this
site in a manner that is easily identifiable. Please review
our privacy policy
on a regular basis to review any changes.
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