Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 2nd, 2006

MasterQuote seeks to provide you with:

• Effective, convenient comparative shopping for financial services;
• Value, by empowering you to make informed choices including "apples to apples" comparisons; and
• Options in how the services are provided to you.

What information do we collect?

Here are the types of information we gather:

• Information You Give Us: We receive and store any information you enter on our Web site or give us in any other way. When you request a quote for financial services on this site we ask for your personally identifiable information such as your name, phone number, address, and e-mail address.


• Transaction Information: This is information directly relating to the financial services you acquire using our services. It includes services provided to you and associated costs, payment history, insurance claims history, and information necessary for ongoing service, billing and payment.


• Automatic Information: We receive this information from your computer when you visit our Web site, including the Web site you visited before ours, your browser, screen resolution, and operating system. We also collect technical data, such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, operating system, and type of web browser.


• Information from Other Sources: We will receive information from those referring you to us. We will keep and update information necessary to provide comparative quotes and to service financial services. We might receive information about you from other sources and add it to our account information.

We use your personal information to create your quote. We transmit this information to partnering service providers to quote and ultimately provide you with the services you select.

We do not share aggregated statistical information from our database with our partnering service providers or business partners (for example, the percentage of customers who purchased services relative to those who got a quote).

All information you give us on this Web site is stored on our computer servers. This information is unretrieveable from any party outside of MasterQuote, including partnering service providers. Once you close your browser window, any information submitted is only accessible by MasterQuote and it's agents.

Our business changes constantly. This Privacy policy may also change, and use of information that we gather is subject to the Privacy Notice in effect at the time of use. We invite customers to visit this page occasionally to check for changes and the latest Privacy Statement. Please note that this Privacy Policy only governs the data held by MasterQuote and does not apply to partnering service providers once you purchase their services. We encourage you to read their policies.

We do not use your e-mail address without your consent. We have the ability to provide you with newsletters about our products and services. This service is provided on a voluntary, opt-in basis. If you decide you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can opt out of e-mail notices from MasterQuote by selecting the "opt-out" option from the bottom of any email.

• If you do not want to receive e-mail or other mail from us, you may indicate this. You can choose not to receive this information by:
  • Following the instructions in the e-mail message you receive; or
  • Sending an e-mail to MasterQuote; or
  • Calling us at (800) 337-LIFE (5433).

You can always choose not to provide personal information, even though it might be needed to obtain a quote or obtain service.

At any point while completing the comparative rating questionnaire you can navigate to previous pages and make any necessary changes. By using your browser's "Back" button, you can easily change much of the information in your quote and get a revised quote reflecting any changes you have made.

How do we safeguard your information?

Our systems are configured to provide privacy, integrity, and authentication in Internet communications. The security measures we have taken help ensure that your data is secure and encrypted, so that a third party cannot capture, read or access the information while it is in transit between your computer and our system. Some of the key features are outlined below.

• We use a secure server implementing the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol to interact with you when you provide personal information during the quoting processes;
• Your information is encrypted using 128 bit encryption. AOL, Netscape Navigator 4.06 or higher and Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher are capable of 128-bit browsers. You can tell when you are visiting a secure area in our site by looking at the symbol on the bottom of your browser screen. If you are using Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer, you will see either a lock or a key. When the symbol appears unbroken or the padlock is in the locked position, your session connection is taking place via a secure server.
• Every page in the MasterQuote.com Secure Quoting Center has been secured with a digital certificate by Thawte. This is shown via the site certificate that resides on all secure pages. To view this certificate, click on the image of the "closed lock" or the "solid key" on the bottom of your browser window. A small frame displaying site security information will appear. Click on "subject" to verify that you are on MasterQuote.com. Click on "Issuer" to verify the site certification authority; and
• We limit internal access to our servers and require that our people adhere to high standards of ethics and integrity in performing their jobs and conducting business.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, MasterQuote cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or any information provided by our on-line products or services, and you do so at your own risk. MasterQuote will not be liable for disclosures of your personal information due to errors in transmission or unauthorized acts of third parties. However, once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.

It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your personal information and to your computer. Be sure to close all browser applications when finished using a shared computer.

With whom will we share this information?

Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of selling it to others. We disclose information about you to the following people:

• The partnering service providers who may be providing comparative rates to you. They may in turn disclose this information to others to complete a quote, complete a transaction, and service you after that transaction. The information sought may include credit reports, motor vehicle reports, previous claims activity and other relevant information. The parties providing this information include affiliated insurance underwriting companies, claims representatives, independent contractors, insurance support organizations, insurance agents and brokers, and courts and government agencies.
• As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy other companies or assets. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets. Also, in the unlikely event that MasterQuote of America, Inc., or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.
• We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders, delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, and providing customer service. These companies have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.
• Aggregate Information: MasterQuote does not share the information provided in aggregate form. When we say information in "aggregate" form, we mean information that does not include individual names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, or other personally identifiable information.
• We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. We may also share information with other third parties to administer our business, and as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Links to other Web Sites

During your visit to our site, you may come across links that will take you to third-party Web sites. MasterQuote does not control the content of or the information collected from these third-party Web sites. These third-party Web sites are not subject to MasterQuote's Privacy Policy. Links to third-party sites do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement, or approval by MasterQuote of the content, policies, or practices of such sites. Therefore, we encourage you to review the privacy policies of these sites before you disclose your personal information to these other parties.

Conditions of Use, Notices, and Revisions

If you choose to visit MasterQuote.com, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Policy and our Conditions of Use, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of the law of the state of Illinois. If you have any concern about privacy at MasterQuote.com, please send a thorough description to Us, and we will try to resolve it. We do not e-mail periodic reminders of our notices and conditions. It is your responsibility to check our Web site to see recent changes.

Glossary

Browser: The application on your computer that allows you to retrieve and view web pages. Common browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, and Opera.

Digital certificate: A small file that can be transferred to your computer over the Internet and used for authentication. Once installed, a digital certificate can be automatically detected and used as needed.

Internet protocol (IP) address: The numbers that are translated into a domain name (e.g., MasterQuote.com). The address is a string of four numbers separated by periods (such as 111.22.3.244) used to represent a computer or other device on the Internet.

Operating system: The program responsible for overseeing the basic hardware resources of a computer such as disk drives, memory, keyboard, screen, and CPU. Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X are examples of operating systems.

Secure server: A computer and software set up to provide privacy, integrity, and authentication in communications such as a connection on the Internet between a Web browser and a Web server. (See SSL).

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): A protocol that delivers server authentication, data encryption, and message integrity. With SSL implemented, Internet communications are transmitted in a secure, encrypted manner. The information you send is safe, so a third party cannot read or access the information while in transit.

Site certificate: Same as a digital certificate, but used on the server rather than at the browser.

128 bit encryption: A way of making data unreadable to everyone except the receiver. Used by SSL, 128 bit encryption has become an increasingly common way of sending credit card numbers and data over the Internet when conducting commercial transactions.