Set out below is the privacy statement of the TravellersSOS.co.uk website. We understand that you will have concerns about the collection and distribution of your personal information. We will respect your privacy and are committed to treating your personal information as we would want our own personal information treated.

This policy is based on the following guiding principals:

At any time you can check your personal profile (other than your bank or credit card details, which are held offline for security reasons) at the 'update my details page' within the policy resources section of this web site.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, or you have any other queries regarding privacy, please contact us at privacy@tmcplc.co.uk.

Information Collection and Use

TravellersSOS is a product provided by TMC Limited (TMC). TMC is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We collect information from our users at several points on our website. We will not sell, share, or rent this information to third parties, other than as disclosed in this statement. This website is only for use by UK residents aged 18 years or over.

New Policy Application, Renewals and Other Communication

When you purchase a policy we ask you to provide us with certain information such as your age and gender. You are asked to provide contact information (for example your name and address) and financial information (credit card number, expiration date). This information is used to collect your policy premium. If we have trouble processing your application this contact information may be used to get in touch with you. If you use one of the services (for example you make a card loss report) we will use this information to confirm your identity. On an annual basis we will send you a renewal notice to offer you the opportunity to renew your policy.

We also use this information to customise your regular newsletter to ensure that you only receive information relevant to you

Your Personal Data and Anonymous Data

We define your personal data as any information that can be used to identify you as an individual. This includes your name, address, e-mail address, telephone and mobile telephone numbers. We will treat this data in accordance with current data protection legislation and this policy.

We define anonymous data as any information that cannot be used to identify you as an individual. This includes demographic information that is not unique to you such as postcode, age, gender, preferences, interests and favourites. We will use this to understand which demographic groups are buying and using TravellersSOS, and to ensure that our communication with you remains relevant to you. We may also share this information (but only this non unique information, which cannot be used to identify you as an individual) with third parties, particularly advertisers.

Cookies

A 'cookie' is a small piece of information stored on a user's hard drive containing information about the user. A cookie is used to help a website identify when you visit. We also use cookies to enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance their experience on our site, for example in order to provide information and fresh content specific to a users customer profile each time they visit the website.

The newsletters and e-mails we send you may also contain a cookie, which enables us to check that the information contained within them is relevant to our members. If you are making a purchase we may also use a cookie to keep track of the transaction from one page to the next.

The use of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. Once you close your browser the cookie simply terminates.

Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). We have no access to or control over these cookies.

Log Files

Like all websites we use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site, track user's movements, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. For example we may track entry and exit points of visitors to the website and the number of visitors accessing particular information. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information and cannot be used to track individual users actions.

Subcontractors

We may use third party companies to provide part of the TravellersSOS service. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

We remain fully responsible to you for the use and security of your data, and any third parties to whom your data is provided must maintain the high levels of professional and ethical business standards we have set ourselves, including complying with these privacy guidelines and with the Data Protection Act (1998).

Third Party Offers

We partner with other parties to make products and services available to you. When you sign up for these offers we will only share the information necessary for the third party to provide these services to you. These parties will not use your personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services.

We may supplement the information that you provide to us with information from third parties. You have the right to receive a copy of the personal information we maintain. You can view this data via the 'update my details page' within the policy resources section of the web site.

Links

This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we cannot be responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware of when they leave our site, and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website.

Surveys & Contests

From time-to-time we request information from users via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary. You have a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and address), demographic information (such as number of children) and other information (such as hobbies and interests). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the usability and satisfaction of users of this site.

E-mail-A-Friend

If you elect to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, including sending a friend an article or other information, we ask you for your friend's name and e-mail address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time e-mail inviting them to visit the site and sign up for TravellersSOS. However, we do not store the information you give to us about your friend; we use it for the sole purpose of sending this one-time e-mail.

Security

This website takes every precaution to protect users' information. We follow strict security procedures required by the Data Protection Act (1998) on the storage and disclosure of information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, this information is protected both online and off-line.

When our application form or data update section asks you to enter sensitive information (such as your credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL. While on a secure page, such as the payment card section of our application form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when you are just 'surfing'.

While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect user-information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, a customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Our 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 our security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time new policies are added, our employees are notified and / or reminded about the importance we place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our customers' information is protected. Finally, the servers that we store personally identifiable information on are kept in a secure environment, behind a locked door.

If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an e-mail to security@TravellersSOS.co.uk.

Newsletter

Policyholders receive a regular newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not receive these newsletters within every newsletter. Please see our choice and opt-out below.

Site and Service Updates

We also send you site and service announcement updates. Policyholders are not able to un-subscribe from service announcements (such as loss report and change of address confirmations) as they contain important information about the service. We may also communicate with you in order to provide requested services or on issues relating to your policy via mail, e-mail or phone.

Correction / Updating Personal Information

If you wish to update your personally identifiable information (such as your address) you can do this via the 'update my details' page. After passing the security check you will see you current record, and can update any field.

However, for security reasons, we do not hold your payment card details (the card on which you pay your annual policy premium) on the website. You may enter updated details on the secure (SSL) page, which we will collect and update onto our offline database.

Cancelling your policy

If you choose to cancel or not to renew your policy we will remove your personally identifiable information and your profile data within 28 days of receiving your instruction to cancel. For security reasons you may only cancel your policy by telephoning us on 0870 780 1480.

Choice / Opt-out

Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter may opt-out of receiving these communications by following the instructions in the newsletter or e-mailing us (remembering to include your policy number and full name) at UnsubscribeMe@TravellersSOS.co.uk.

Notification of Changes

We are committed to following the strongest recommendations and industry standards on privacy, and to allowing you to have full access to your information at all times. The information in this policy represents the current privacy policy of TMC but, because we must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted as a final or static document, it is subject to change

Any changes to this policy will be posted on our homepage so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

If at any point we want to use your personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected (for example to sell or share it), we will notify you by way of an e-mail and ask for your permission to do this. We will only use the information in this different manner if you have specifically given us your permission to do so.

Legal Disclaimer

Consistent with the Data Protection Act (1998), we may disclose personal information when required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edict of the law or comply with a legal process served on TMC.