with a personal touch
Privacy notice
We take our data protection obligations seriously. We're providing this privacy notice to tell you how we collect and process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please read this notice – it contains important information you need to know.
In short, we collect the minimum amount of personal information necessary for the purpose of your interaction with us. We don't sell it to third parties, and we only use it as this privacy notice states.
Of course, the short version doesn't tell you everything, so please read on for more details.
The purpose of this notice
The purpose of this notice is to explain how we collect, use and disclose personal information about you when you visit our website and when you contact us.
We are a 'data controller'. This means we're responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. We're required under data protection legislation to notify you of the information contained in this privacy notice.
Your information
It applies to information we collect when you:
- Visit our website
- Use our social media (Twitter, Facebook)
- Use our online chat
- Take part in our surveys
- Email, call or text us
- Ask for an insurance quote, or buy an insurance policy from us
We only collect information for stated purposes (see 'Using your information') and we won't keep it for longer than necessary.
Use of cookies
We collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns – essential in helping us provide a fast, bug-free service with relevant information.
If accepted by your browser, some of the cookies will be stored on your hard drive, while other cookies will reside in memory and expire when you close your browser. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
We consider the listed "strictly necessary cookies" essential to our website's smooth running. By using our site, you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device.
We make an effort to keep our use of cookies as non-intrusive and small in number as possible.
Here we chart the identity of each cookie, their individual purpose and their categorisation according to The International Chamber of Commerce UK.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer.
If you choose to decline cookies through your browser settings, you will not be able to fully experience this website and you will not be able to move through the e-commerce quote and buy process.
Web beacons
Web beacons are small, transparent images that we use to help us improve the service we provide to you. We use web beacons to help us understand whether users read and interact with our marketing email so that we can improve our content, and we use the Facebook Pixel to connect your Facebook account with your use of our website to help us optimise our Facebook advertising.
Using your information
Information we may collect from you and process falls into two categories:
Legitimate interests – the processing is necessary to enable us to
- Improve our website (we continually strive to optimise the performance of our website to provide you with a better experience)
- Assist with the security of our infrastructure
- Improve customer service (your information helps us effectively respond to your needs)
- Email you periodically with information on other products that may be important to your business
You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails at any time either by calling us on 0345 561 0320, emailing us at contactus@policybee.co.uk, or using the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our marketing emails.
Contract – the processing is necessary for a contract (insurance policy or employment) between us, or because we are taking specific steps towards entering into a contract
- To process transactions (your information will not be sold, exchanged, transferred or given to any other party, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the purchased product or requested service)
- For insurance administration by us, and may be disclosed to regulatory bodies for monitoring and/or enforcing our compliance with regulatory requirements.
Sharing your information
We share the data you provide with selected insurance providers and Feefo, a customer feedback company. These businesses will not use your personal information except to provide services via us. They're required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
We do not sell, rent or otherwise give customer data to third parties.
Keeping your information
We will keep your personal information for as long as necessary per the relevant purposes detailed under 'Using your information', and in order to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
Generally we keep quote information for 3 years, and policy and claims records for 7 years from the end of our relationship with you. If there is a dispute or a legal action we may need to keep this personal information longer.
Protecting your personal information
All information collected from you during your usage of our website is transmitted to us via Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology. Payment cardholder information is in addition relayed instantly to our payment gateway provider. We do not store any payment cardholder information.
Inbound and outbound email is transmitted via Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology when supported by the endpoint.
We secure all personal information you have provided us on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, and protect that information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure.
Non-digital personal data received is scanned to our network and the originals are confidentially destroyed.
We'll only disclose your personal information, without notice, if we have to by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on us
- Protect and defend our rights or property
- Protect the personal safety of our users or the public
We do not transfer personal information outside of the European Union.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Ask for access to your personal information via a 'subject access request'
- Ask for personal information we hold about you to be corrected
- Ask for your personal information to be deleted. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove your personal information where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it
- Object to the processing of your personal information where we are relying on a legitimate interest, and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing it
- Ask for the processing of your personal information to be restricted. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal information about you
- Ask for your personal information to be transferred to another party
Accessing your information – a subject access request
You can find out if we hold any personal information on you and request that information by making a ‘subject access request’. If we do hold information about you we will:
- Provide you with a description of it
- Tell you why we are holding it and how long for
- Tell you who it could be disclosed to
- Where possible let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form
A subject access request needs to be made in writing (by email or letter).
Changing and removing your information
If you find the information we hold about you is wrong, you can ask for it to be corrected. You can also ask us to delete the information. To do so please call us on 0345 561 0320 or email us at contactus@policybee.co.uk. For record-keeping and compliance purposes, we'll retain certain information collected from you in connection with commercial transactions.
Opting out
If you'd like to opt out of any storage of your personal data or direct marketing, please either call us on 0345 561 0320 or email us at contactus@policybee.co.uk.
External websites
This privacy notice doesn't cover external websites linked to us.
Contacting us
Address: PolicyBee LLP, 14 Brightwell Barns, Waldringfield Road, Brightwell, IP10 0BJ
Twitter: @PolicyBee
Phone: 0345 222 5360
Email: contactus@policybee.co.uk
Making a complaint
You have the right to submit a complaint about our processing of your personal data. Our supervisory authority is the ICO and submitting a concern can be made using its website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling/
Changes to this privacy notice
We keep this policy under regular review. We may change this privacy notice from time to time by updating this page in order to reflect changes in the law and/or our privacy practices.