Our Insurance Information Practices in Massachusetts

We collect information from you and from others. The types of information and how we collect information includes:

We may disclose all these types of information to agents, affiliates, insurance support organizations and service providers without your prior authorization to perform insurance functions involved in processing and servicing your existing business, to detect and prevent fraud and to report illegal activities, to perform actuarial and other research studies, to verify medical information with service providers, and to complete reports to regulators, law enforcement, company and affiliate auditors and fraud investigators.

In the event of an adverse underwriting decision, we will either provide the applicant, policyholder or individual proposed for coverage with the specific reason for the adverse underwriting decision in writing or advise such person that upon written request within ninety business days from the date of mailing the communication of an adverse underwriting decision, such person may receive the specific reason in writing.

Upon receipt of a written request, we will furnish to such person within twenty-one business days from the date of receipt of such written request:

  1. the specific reason for the adverse underwriting decision, in writing, and
  2. the specific items of personal and privileged information that support such reason; provided, however, that:

    1. we are not required to furnish specific items of privileged information; and
    2. specific items of medical record information supplied by a medical care institution or medical professional shall be disclosed either directly to the individual about whom the information relates or to a medical professional designated by such individual and licensed to provide medical care with respect to the condition to which the information relates, whichever such individual prefers. Mental health record information shall be supplied directly to such individual only with the approval of the qualified professional person with treatment responsibility for the condition to which the information relates or of another equally qualified mental health professional. Upon release of any medical or mental health record information to a medical professional designated by such individual, we will notify such individual, at the time of the disclosure, that it has provided the information to the medical professional; and
  3. the name and address of the source that supplied the specific items of information; except that a source that is a natural person acting in a personal capacity need not be revealed if confidentiality was specifically promised; provided, however, that the identity of any medical professional or medical-care institution shall be disclosed either directly to the individual or to the designated medical professional other than the one who initially supplied the information, whichever such individual prefers.

You have the right, with proper identification, to see and copy information you can reasonably describe that we have about you that is reasonably retrievable, except that you have no right to request information that is collected in connection with or in reasonable anticipation of a claim or civil or criminal proceeding involving you.

Within 30 business days of our receipt of your written request, we will inform you in writing of the nature and the substance of recorded personal information we have about you. For any information in coded form, an accurate translation in plain language will be provided to you in writing. We will also list the identity (if recorded) of persons to whom we disclosed personal information within two years prior to your request, and if the identity is not recorded, we will tell you the names of persons to whom such information is normally disclosed. You may see and copy, in person, such recorded personal information, or obtain a copy of such recorded personal information by mail, whichever you prefer. Any information provided will include the identity of the source, except that a source that is a natural person acting in a personal capacity need not be revealed if confidentiality was specifically promised.

Medical information requested, together with the identity of the medical professional or medical care institution that provided the information, will be supplied, at your direction, either directly to you or to a medical professional designated by you, which professional is licensed to provide medical care with respect to the condition to which the information relates. If we provide the requested information to a medical professional, we will notify you at the time of the disclosure when it is provided to the medical professional.

Except for information provided in response to your request for the specific reasons for an adverse underwriting decision, we may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in providing a copy of the recorded personal information to you; no other fee will be charged.

An individual to whom personal information refers has a right to have any factual error corrected and any misrepresentations or misleading entry amended or deleted as provided below. Within 30 business days of our receipt of your written request, we will correct, amend or delete the information in dispute or reinvestigate the disputed information and upon completion of such reinvestigation, notify you of our decision.

If the information should be corrected, we will update our files, notify you that we made the update and send the correction to anyone, including any insurance support organization that systematically received information from us within the preceding seven years; except that we won’t notify any insurance support organization that no longer maintains information about you or that has already corrected this information about you; and to any person specifically designated by you who may have within the preceding two years received such information; provided, however, that this shall apply only to personal information which is medical record information or which relates to your character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living.

If we do not agree that the information is incorrect, we will tell you so, along with the reasons. If we do not believe the information is incorrect, you are permitted to give us a concise statement of what you believe to be the correct information and a concise statement about why you disagree with us. We will file your statement with the disputed information and make anyone who received or will receive the original information aware of the statement and give them access to it. In any subsequent disclosure of the information by us, we will clearly identify the matter in dispute and provide your statement along with the information being disclosed. You also have a right to request review by the insurance commissioner.

To request access to or correction of the information in your file or to obtain the specific reasons for an adverse underwriting decision, please write

Privacy Officer
P.O. Box 2318
Duluth, Georgia 30096-0040

Please include your policy number and some personal identification number, such as your driver's license number.

We may disclose your information (except your medical information) to market new products and services to you, unless you indicate to us that you do not want your information disclosed for marketing purposes. You may tell us at any time that you do not want your information disclosed for marketing purposes by going to Opt Out Request Form or call 1-800-770-0673.