10th April 2024

PLATINUM HEALTH INSURANCE SERVICES

PRIVACY POLICY

·         Personal information

In providing you with my services, Platinum Health Insurance Services may handle your personal information, which is information about you from which you can be identified, such as your name and contact details. Depending on what services you receive from me, this may include sensitive personal information such as medical history information.

By providing your data and/or information, or by using my website or other online or digital platforms, you consent to the use of your data and information as described or referred to in this privacy notice and the cookie policy.  If I make a change to any of the ways in which I process personal information, I will update this page with an updated date displayed at the top.

·         Confidential and Medical information Confidential and Medical information

The confidentiality of your personal information is of paramount concern to me and I comply with UK data protection law and all the applicable medical confidentiality guidelines issued by professional bodies.

Your confidential medical information will only be disclosed to those involved with your treatment or care, or in accordance with UK law and guidelines from professional bodies. If you receive services from me and those services transfer to a new provider, we may share your personal and confidential medical information with the new provider.

I am committed to keeping your personal information secure. I have put in place physical, electronic and operational procedures intended to safeguard and secure the information I collect. I have a legal duty to respect the confidentiality of your information, and access to your confidential information is restricted only to those who have a reasonable need to access it to provide you with the best value medical insurance.

When using my website, if the URL of a web page starts with HTTPS, or you see a locked/green padlock symbol, your data should be encrypted when it is sent from your computer to my server. However, I cannot ensure the security of your data when it is being transmitted to my website or other digital sites from other pages. All transmission of personal information and other data is done at your own risk.

Information submitted me through my website is normally unprotected until it reaches me. In addition, users are also requested not to send confidential details or credit card numbers, for example, by email.

·         Information I may hold about you

The information I hold about you may include the following:

• basic details such as name, address, contact details and family details.
• details of contact I have had with you such as referrals and quotes
• details of services you have received, medical treatment, medication and the outcome information you provide
• information about complaints and incidents
• information from customer surveys, competitions and marketing activities
• recordings of calls we receive or make
• other information I receive from other sources, including from your use of my website and other digital platforms I operate or the other services I provide, information from business partners, advertising networks, analytics providers, or information provided by other companies who have obtained your permission to share information about you.
   ·         When I collect your information
  Information about you is collected when:

·        When I collect your information

Information about you is collected when:

• you apply for a quote or policy
• you enter into a contract with me for the provision of services, and when you use those services
• you submit a query to me, for example by email, telephone or social media, including where you reference my business in a public social media post
• you participate in any marketing activity

I may also collect personal information about you from other people when:

• you are named in an application form or as a dependant under an individual or corporate scheme
• I liaise with your family, employer, health professional or other treatment or benefit provider.

I may only share information in this way where you have provided your consent or in circumstances where you are incapable of giving consent, or I am unable or it is not reasonable to seek your permission, or I am required to by law or in accordance with guidance from professional bodies

·         Sharing information

I work with other individuals and organisations to provide my services to you, and this may involve them handling your personal information. This handling of your personal information may be done outside of the European Economic Area in countries with different data protection laws. In that case I ensure that the confidentiality and security of your personal information is protected by contractual restrictions and service monitoring.

I do not share your personal information with anyone other than as shown above other than:

• when I have your permission
• to protect the rights, property, or safety of my company, my customers, or others.
• in order to detect, prevent and help with the prosecution of financial crime. For example I may share information with fraud prevention or law enforcement agencies, and other organisations. If I suspect fraudulent activity I may inform the relevant person or organisation to deal with that.
• if there are other exceptional circumstances, and I am unable or it is not appropriate to seek your permission.

You may receive my private medical insurance services where another member of your family is the main member of the scheme or services. In that case I send all membership documents and confirmation of how I have dealt with any information you may give to the main member.

You may also receive my services where your employer, or the employer of another member of your family, is the policy holder or pays for the scheme or services. In that case, I may share your information, only for the administration of the scheme or services, with the employer of your plan. This will be explained in your policy documents. I won’t share the details of your health condition, illness, injury or treatment with the employer without your permission.

In the event that I sell or buy any business or assets, I may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.

·         Using your information

I use your personal information to provide you with my services, and to improve and extend my services. This may include:

• responding to your queries, including providing quotes
• supporting your medical treatment or care and other benefits
• internal record keeping and administration
• responding to requests where I have a legal or regulatory obligation to do so
• checking the accuracy of information about you, and the quality of your treatment or care, including auditing medical and billing information for insurance claims if you request me to do so.
• assessing the type and quality of care you have received and any concerns or complaints you raise, so that these can be properly investigated
• using your contact information to send you service related information
• using your contact information to send promotional material about new products, special offers or other information we think you may find interesting (see ‘Keeping you informed’ below for more information)
• using your contact information to give you an opportunity to complete a customer satisfaction survey
• using your contact information to conduct and analyse market research

·         Keeping information

I will only keep your personal information for as long as is necessary and in accordance with UK law

·         Keeping you informed

I would like to keep you informed of any products and services that I consider may be of interest to you (via mail, email, phone or SMS). When I collect your information, I will ask you if you would like us to keep you updated in this way. I may use your personal information to decide which services I think are relevant to you.

If you do not wish to receive marketing information about any such products and services, or at any time you change your mind about receiving these messages, please contact me on the details shown below

·         Accessing information

If you have any data protection queries, please contact Me:

Email:  david-burke@btconnect.co.uk

Write to: David Burke, Platinum Health Insurance Services, 20 The Brambles,
               Newcastle, Staffs. ST5 4JJ

Phone:  01782 629767 or Mobile 07885 345628

You can also request a copy of the personal information I hold about you and ask me to correct or remove (where justified) any inaccurate information. I may ask you to provide additional documentation to confirm your identity or, if you are seeking to access personal information of another individual, proof of their consent or your legal right to receive their personal information.

Talking to us about a family member aged 16 or over

If your client needs to chat to us about a family member aged 16 or over, on their membership, then we’ll ask if they have their permission to do this. Where your client has confirmed this they’ll be able to go ahead and share medical details with us.

As now, we won’t be able to share any additional information about a claim back to your client without us having had the family member’s direct permission. However, a family member can call us and let us know they’re happy, or the family member can request and fill in a short ‘delegated authority’ form to allow their nominated person to discuss their claim.

·         What is a cookie? What is a cookie?

A cookie, also known as a browser cookie, is a text file containing small amounts of information which a server may download to your computer hard drive, tablet or mobile device when you visit a website or use an app.

There are different types of cookies which are used to do different things. These include letting you navigate between different pages on a website efficiently, remembering preferences you have given and helping us to identify ways to improve your overall site experience. Others are used to provide you with advertising which is more tailored to your interests, or to measure the number of site visits and the most popular pages users visit.

·         ‘First party’ and ‘third party’ cookies ‘First party’ and ‘third party’ cookies

Cookies can be set and controlled by the operator of the website which the user is browsing such as Bupa for this website (known as a ‘first party cookie’) or a third party such as Facebook, for example to display advertisements and social sharing features, (known as a ‘third party cookie’).

Due to their core role of enhancing and enabling usability or site processes, disabling certain cookies may prevent you from using certain aspects of my website.

Broadly speaking, there are two different types of browser cookie:

(1) Session cookies are stored in the computer's memory during a user's browsing session and are automatically deleted from the user's computer when the browser is closed or the session is deemed to have ended.

These cookies usually store a session ID that is not personally identifiable to users, allowing the user to move from page to page without having to log-in repeatedly. They are widely used by commercial websites; for example to keep track of items that a consumer has added to a shopping basket.

Session cookies do not collect any information from the user's computer and they expire at the end of the user's browser session. They can also become inaccessible after the session has been inactive for a specified length of time, usually 20 or 30 minutes.

(2) Persistent cookies are stored on the user's computer and are not deleted when the browser is closed. Persistent cookies can be used to retain user preferences for a particular website, allowing those preferences to be used in future browsing sessions.

Persistent cookies usually assign a unique ID to the user’s browser and they are usually configured to identify a user for a prolonged period of time, from days to months or even years.