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Last Reviewed June 1, 2009
Protecting your privacy is an important issue to the A.M. Best Company. This privacy statement is not intended to replace, alter or modify terms in any existing license agreement between A.M. Best Company and/or its subsidiaries (collectively "A.M. Best") and a Licensee of products or services. In the event of an inconsistency between this privacy statement and an existing agreement, the license agreement shall remain in control unless specific written permission is obtained from A.M. Best.
The A.M. Best Web Sites (the "Web Site") also contain links to other sites. Please be aware that A.M. Best is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web Sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave the Web Site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web Site.
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web Site.
Overview
Information Collection
A.M. Best is the sole owner of the information collected on the Web Site and that information is collected from our users at a variety of different locations on the Web Site.
All information collected is kept confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties unless otherwise specified and as may be required by law. You may be required to register to access certain pages of the Web Site, with mandatory completion of fields dependent upon the content being accessed. General contact information and preferences you provide will be retained as part of your customer record.
Registration and Profiles
You may be requested to provide demographic and profile data during your visit to the Web Site. Your compliance with this type of request is voluntarily, however access to certain proprietary information may be restricted if you elect to decline.
While a large portion of the Web Site is accessible to all visitors, others require a user to complete a registration form for access to additional content. During registration a user is required to provide a minimum amount of contact information (such as name and email address) along with unique identifiers (such as, username and password).
This information will be used to tailor your online experience at the Web Site, suggest information that you might be interested in, and display content according to your preferences. We DO NOT share your individual profile with other third parties; however we DO share your information in aggregate form only.
We reserve the right to contact the user about services on the Web Site for which he has expressed interest. It is optional for the user to provide demographic information (such as mailing address or company name).
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user's hard drive for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.
For more information on cookies and how you can manage cookie settings, please consult these sites according to the browser you are using: Microsoft Internet Browser; Mozilla Firefox; Apple Safari; Google Chrome.
Some of A.M. Best's pages use "cookies" to monitor your activity throughout the sites and correlate usage patterns. By setting a cookie on the Web Site, users do not have to log in every time they visit, thereby saving time while on the Web Site. If users reject the cookie, they may still use the Web Site. The only drawback to this is that the user will be limited in some areas of the Web Site.
For example, if a user rejects cookies, they will constantly be asked to verify their access every time they wished to access a Best's Rating. The persistent cookies mentioned earlier enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on the Web Site.
eCommerce
All information is required from the user on order forms provided for on-line purchases. A user must provide contact information (such as name, email, and shipping address) and financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill customer orders. If we have trouble processing an order, the information is used to contact the user.
Use of the Information Provided
Personal information is used to contact you when necessary however you may opt-out of receiving future mailings. If you supply your telephone number on-line, you may receive telephone calls with information regarding orders you have placed on-line, new products and services or upcoming events.
Non-personal information is collected to track the total number of guests visiting the Web Site and to guide efforts to improve the Web Site. The non-personal information includes the browser type and operating system being used by visitors; areas of the sites visited; date and time of access; host or service-provider information, and identification of the referring site. This information is used exclusively for internal purposes and is not disclosed to any third parties.
We share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers on an as needed basis.
Web Server Log Files
Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.
Security
We take every precaution to protect our users' information. When users submit sensitive information via the Web Site, their information is protected both online and off-line. Please review our Security information for more details.
Communications To/From the Web Site
Special Offers and Updates
Established visitors to the Web Site will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, etc. In line with our Privacy Policy, users are presented the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the Opt-out section.
Newsletters and Announcements
If a user wishes to subscribe to any of the A.M. Best e-mail newsletters, we ask for contact information such as name and email address. Additionally, we notify users when new editions of our online publications such as BestWeek or Best Review are posted. In line with our Privacy Policy, users are presented the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the Opt-out section.
Surveys
The Web Site provides a number of areas for providing us with feedback, including an on-line survey. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information typically includes contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code). Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.
Customer Service
We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the user's wishes.
Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to 'opt-out' of having their information used for purposes not directly related to the Web Site at the point where we ask for information. For example, our order form has an 'opt-out' mechanism so users who buy a product from us, but don't want any marketing material, can keep their email address off of our lists.
Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter and promotional communications may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying to unsubscribe in the subject line in the email or email us at webmaster@ambest.com. We also offer an opt-out mechanism in an on-line form
Users of the Web Site are always notified when their information is being collected by, or shared with, any outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether or not they should proceed with services that require an outside party.
Updating Personal Information
If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code, phone, email or postal address), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users' personally identifiable information. This can be done from our Member Center or by emailing customer_service@ambest.com.
Contact Information
If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact us at webmaster@ambest.com.
