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Privacy Statement for customers acquired from a Countrywide
affiliated company - All other states
YOUR PRIVACY AT COUNTRYWIDE INSURANCE GROUP
The Opportunities You Deserve, the Privacy You Expect
For more than 50 years, the companies of Countrywide
Insurance Group* (Countrywide), members of the Countrywide family of companies,
have been trusted providers of insurance and other financial products and
services. Our primary focus is on empowering you to meet your financial goals
by offering a wide range of products and services. This notice explains how we
protect and use your information in a safe, secure and responsible manner.
We may offer you products and services at a lower cost or with greater
convenience by sharing limited information within our Countrywide family of
companies and with carefully selected business partners.
Your Protection is Our Priority
We strive to safeguard your data. We do this by:
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setting policies and procedures for carefully handling your information;
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limiting employee access to sensitive information;
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requiring service providers who do business with Countrywide to comply with
privacy laws;
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protecting against unauthorized access to customer data using data encryption,
authentication, and virus detection technology;
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auditing company security practices;
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monitoring our web sites through recognized online privacy and security
organizations; and
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conducting background checks on all employees and providing privacy training.
About Our Websites
We design many features of our website so new visitors may anonymously
learn about our products and services without revealing their identity. For new
visitors, we use "cookies", GIFs or similar devices to collect limited data
(such as the date, time and areas of our website visited and the website the
new visitor came from). When you select one of our products or services or
respond to marketing materials sent to you directly, we will try to identify
your browser and may combine information from "cookies", GIFs or other similar
devices and other information collected online with any other data we maintain
about you. By improving the marketing and content of our website and making
your online experience more convenient, we are able to better serve our
customers financial needs.
How We Obtain Information
To issue and service your policy or other product, comply with government
regulations, improve our products and services, and better understand your
financial needs, we collect and maintain customer and former customer data. We
collect information:
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you provide us on applications and other forms (such as your name and address,
phone, Social Security and account numbers, health history and beneficiary
information);
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about your transactions with us (such as your insurance coverage, and
transaction and claims history);
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about your loss or health history from an insurance support organization or
other consumer reporting agencies; and
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about your property from business partners and service providers (such as
property inspection companies).
Information We Disclose and to Whom We May Disclose Information
We disclose the information that is collected as described above. We may share
information as follows:
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We may disclose all data we collect with companies performing services on our
behalf (such as the vendor who prepares and mails our insurance documents and
data processors). These service providers agree to keep the information
confidential and not use it for any other purpose;
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We may disclose all data to third parties (such as our agents, insurance
support organizations and other consumer reporting agencies, regulators and
insurance carriers). Information disclosed to insurance support organizations
may be retained by such organizations and disclosed to other persons;
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We may disclose health information to determine eligibility for coverage, to
process claims, to prevent fraud, and as authorized by you or as otherwise
authorized or permitted by law; and
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We may disclose all information we collect as permitted or required by law
(such as disclosures to state insurance authorities and law enforcement
agencies).
Additionally, to provide you with valuable products and service offerings, we
may share limited information (such as the expiration date of your policy)
within our Countrywide family of companies and with business partners who are
obligated to maintain the confidentiality of your information.
You Have Choices
You may limit how we share your personal information. This is called a right to
"opt out." You have three options to consider.
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Continue receiving valuable and convenient product and service offers
You can enjoy the benefits of valuable product and service offerings without
taking any action.
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Opt out of information sharing outside the Countrywide family of companies
This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal information with our
carefully screened business partners. This may limit our ability to inform you
of valuable and convenient products and services from partner companies.
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Opt out of information sharing within the Countrywide family of companies
This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal information within
the Countrywide family of companies. This may limit our ability to offer
conveniences such as a custom financial investment plan and other financial
service offers.
We honor our customers privacy choices across the Countrywide family of
companies. For policies or products issued to multiple persons, we will apply
an opt out by any person to all account holders on such product. If you opt
out, we will continue to share non-public personal information with our service
providers (such as the vendor who prepares and mails our insurance documents),
with third parties as required or permitted by law (such as agents, insurance
support organizations or regulators), and share transactions and experience
information (such as the expiration date of your policy) within the Countrywide
family of companies.
If you want to opt out, call us at 1-888-268-2987. Please have your
policy or other financial product information available when you call.
In todays dynamic market, opting out may mean missing timely information about
products and services that help you accomplish your insurance and other
financial goals. Its something to think about carefully. We dont want you to
miss out on any opportunities.
In the states below, we have different information sharing practices.
Notice to CA residents: We will provide a separate notice describing our
practices and your rights under California law. We will only share non-public
personal information as required or permitted by law.
Notice to NM Residents:We will not share nonpublic personal financial
information with anyone except as follows: companies that perform services on
our behalf (such as the mail house that prepares and mails insurance documents)
and with third parties as otherwise required or permitted by law (such as to
consumer reporting agencies or regulators), as well as share transactions and
experience (such as your insurance payment history) within the Countrywide
family of companies. We may also disclose your nonpublic personal financial
information with your authorization.
Notice to ND Residents: We may share information within the Countrywide
family of companies unless you opt out by calling the number above. If you opt
out, we may share only transaction and experience information (such as your
loan balance and payment history) within the Countrywide family of companies.
In addition, we will only share information with our service providers and with
third parties as required or permitted by law. We may also disclose your
non-public personal information with your written consent.
Notice to VT Residents: We will not share non-public personal
information with anyone except our service providers and third parties as
required or permitted by law. We may share transaction and experience
information within the Countrywide family of companies. We may also share
information with your consent or at your direction.
Benefits to Sharing Within the Countrywide Family
To offer and recommend valuable products and services, we may share customer
and former customer information within our Countrywide family. All of these
Countrywide companies follow the same policies and procedures described in this
notice.
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New Home Loans
Countrywide Bank, FSB offers new home loans, home equity loans and
lines of credit and many refinancing options.
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Home Loan Servicing
Countrywide Home Loan Servicing LP provides industry-leading customer service
and easy access to your home loan account information.
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Insurance
Countrywide Insurance Services (or Countrywide Insurance Group of companies*)
offers a wide variety of insurance products and services.
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Loan Closing Services
The LandSafe family of companies offers title and escrow services, title
insurance, credit reporting, property appraisals and flood zone determinations.
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Investments
Countrywide Investment Services, Inc. offers investment planning, mutual
funds, IRAs, Roth IRAs, IRA and 401(k) rollovers, stocks, bonds and fixed and
variable annuities.
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Banking
Countrywide Bank, FSB offers savings, CDs, money market accounts, new
home loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and many refinancing
options.
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New Products and Services We may expand to offer you new products
and services by forming, acquiring or merging with a new company.
As we continue to expand our operations, we are continually looking for ways to
enhance customer service through various efficiencies, which may include the
use of resources overseas. Our mission is to respond to your insurance and
other financial needs as quickly and effectively as possible.
Benefits to Sharing Outside the Countrywide Family
To make products and services available, often at a savings to you, we may
prudently share some customer and former customer non-public personal
information with business partners under an agreement requiring the partner to
keep the information confidential and only use it for those offers.
How to Confirm the Accuracy of Your Information
We are committed to maintaining accurate and up-to-date information on all
of our customers. We provide access to account information in various ways -
including over the phone and through other communications about your insurance.
If you believe that any of your information is incorrect, please notify us
immediately using the customer service number provided on your insurance
documents that you have received. We will respond in a timely manner to
customers' requests to correct account or transaction information. However, in
order to protect the confidentiality of your information, we may ask you to
verify your identity and to provide other details to respond to your request.
Notification of Changes
The policies and practices in this brochure replace all previous notices or
statements about your privacy rights at Countrywide. If we make any significant
changes, we will notify you and only apply those new changes to future use of
your information. If we make such changes, we will also revise the policy
effective date, so that you can keep track of when those changes occur.
Protecting Your Identity
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. We understand
the implications identity theft can have and take very specific steps to reduce
the chance that identity thieves can damage the credit reputations of our
customers. See www.countrywide.com
and click on "privacy and security" for more information on identity theft and
how to protect yourself.
If you think your identity has been stolen, affecting any of your loans or
accounts with any of the companies in the Countrywide family, please contact us
immediately:
Phone: 1-877-CUFRAUD (283-7283)
E-Mail: fraud_hotline@countrywide.com
You should also contact the three major credit bureaus and have them place a
fraud alert on your file.
For additional information, contact the Federal Trade Commission at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call their hotline at 1-877-IDTHEFT.
Corporate Privacy Policy Notice Effective
Date: 12/2004
*For purposes of this statement, Countrywide Insurance Group includes
Balboa Insurance Company, Meritplan Insurance Company, Newport Insurance
Company, Newport E & S Insurance Company, Balboa Life Insurance Company,
Balboa Life Insurance Company of New York, Countrywide Insurance Services,
Inc., Countrywide Insurance Services of Texas, Inc., and Balboa Warranty
Services Corporation.
80 1266 R0108
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