Privacy Policy for Southwest Health Insurance Experts
We are required by the privacy regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) to maintain the privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI) and to provide individuals covered under our group health plan with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices concerning Protected Health Information. We are required to abide by the terms of this Notice so long as it remains in effect. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices as necessary and to make the new Notice effective for all Protected Health Information maintained by us. As a licensed agent and agency, we have the legal authority to collect PHI on behalf of consumers for the purposes of transacting insurance. If we make material changes to our privacy practices, copies of revised notices will be mailed to all clients of Steffen Financial Inc. You have received this notice in accordance with federal and state laws.
The privacy of the personal information we collect from customers and potential customers, as well as members and potential members is very important to Southwest Health Insurance Experts. One of the ways we provide superior customer care to you, our client, is by fulfilling our obligation to safeguard the personal information you entrust to us, as well as other information we may collect, in order to complete your insurance transaction. The collection of PHI is voluntary, unless required to execute the insurance transaction.
In compliance with Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), this notice describes the privacy practices and standards we have adopted to protect the confidentiality of your nonpublic personal information.
We do not share any nonpublic personal information about you with any nonaffiliated third party unless the institution provides you with a notice of its privacy policies and practices, such as the type of information that it collects about you and the categories of persons or entities to which it may be disclosed.
We do not sell or market your nonpublic personal information. This notice is to provide you with our understanding of types of non-public information about you that we may collect, and how we use it and how we protect that information.
Information We May Collect
We collect non-public personal information about you from various sources, including the following:
- Information we receive from you on applications or other forms
- Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others
- Information we receive from insurance companies, and other government agencies
- Medical or financial information
Information collected (PHI) from the above sources may include your name, address, phone number, social security number, marital status, gender, tax status, health information, prior insurance information, immigration documents, income statements, all for the purpose of underwriting and finding the best insurance solutions for you, your family, and/or your business.
Protected Health Information (“PHI”) means individually identifiable health information, as defined by HIPAA, that is created or received by us and that relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual; the provision of health care to an individual; or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual; and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify the individual. PHI includes information of persons living or deceased.
Information We May Disclose
We may disclose all of the information that we collect, as described above.
We don’t share information about our customers and former customers with non-affiliated third parties other than as permitted or required by law. For example, we may share all nonpublic personal financial information about you for the following reasons and non-affiliated third parties:
- Information that is necessary to service or process the insurance needs of our clients including but not limited to underwriting, plan shopping, rates, placement, and providing quotes.
- Information that is necessary to resolve client disputes or inquiries.
- Information that is required by individuals or entities who are assessing our legal compliance.
- Financial service providers, such as health insurers.
- Third party affiliates to assist in executing the insurance transaction.
- Information that is necessary to protect against fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims, or other liability.
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal financial information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law.
How We Protect Your Information
We restrict access to nonpublic personal financial information about you to those employees who need to know that information in order to provide products or services to you.
We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic personal financial information.
It Is Your Choice To Share Information
If you prefer that we not disclose nonpublic personal financial information about you to nonaffiliated third parties, you may opt out of those disclosures, that is, you may direct us not to make those disclosures (other than disclosures permitted by law).