Privacy Policy

At Consolidated Insurance Sunshine Coast Pty Ltd t/a Online Building Insurance Broker, we are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy describes our current policies and practices in relation to the collection, handling, use and disclosure of personal information. It also deals with how you can complain about a breach of the privacy laws and how you can access the personal information we hold and how to have that information corrected.

Collection and Use of Information

When we arrange insurance on your behalf, we request the information we need to advise you on your insurance requirements and risk management strategies. This can include a wide range of personal information, such as your name, address, contact information, and age, as well as information about your assets, personal belongings, financial situation, health, and wellness.

We provide any information that the insurers or intermediaries we request to quote for your insurance and premium funding require to determine whether to insure you and on what terms, or to fund your premium and on what terms. Insurers may then pass on this information to their reinsurers. Some of these companies are based outside of Australia. For example, if we request insurance terms from an overseas insurer (such as Lloyd's of London), your personal information may be disclosed to the insurer. If this is likely to happen, we will inform you of the insurer's location, if possible.

When you file a claim under your policy, we assist you by gathering information about it. Sometimes we need to get information about you from others. We provide this information to your insurer (or anyone your insurer has appointed to assist it in considering your claim, such as loss adjusters, medical brokers, etc.) so that it can consider your claim. Again, this information could be shared with reinsurers.

We will use your contact information from time to time to send you direct marketing communications such as offers, updates, and newsletters related to the services we offer. We always give you the option not to receive these communications in the future. You can unsubscribe by notifying us, and we will stop sending you this information.

What if you don’t provide some information?

We can only fully advise and assist you in arranging your insurance or filing a claim if we have all of the necessary information. The insurance laws also require you to provide your insurers with the information they need to decide whether and under what terms to insure you. You have a duty to disclose any information that is relevant to the insurer's decision to insure you.

When do we disclose your information overseas?

If you ask us to look into insurance terms and we recommend an overseas insurer, we may be required to disclose the information to the insurer based outside Australia. For example, if we recommend a policy provided by Lloyd's of London, your information 140312v3.0 Page 2 of 4 may be shared with the Lloyd's broker and underwriters at Lloyd's of London so that they can decide whether to insure you. When we advise you on your insurance, we will tell you if it is overseas and in which country the insurer is located.

If the insurer is not subject to laws that protect your information in a manner similar to the Privacy Act, we will obtain your consent before disclosing your information to that insurer. Australian and international insurers obtain reinsurance from reinsurance companies located all over the world, so in some cases, your information may be disclosed to them for risk assessment and reinsurance provision to your insurer. We do not make this disclosure; it is made by the insurer (if necessary) during the placement of their reinsurance programme.

How do we hold and protect your information?

We endeavour to keep personal information reliable, accurate, complete, and up to date, as well as to preserve its privacy and security. We maintain personal information only as long as it is reasonably necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was obtained or to comply with any applicable legal or ethical reporting or document retention obligations. We initially save the information we collect from you in a working file, which is electronically imaged and stored once completed, and any paper is safely destroyed. In some situations, your file is archived and moved to an external data storage provider for a set amount of time. We only utilise storage providers based in Australia that are likewise subject to the Privacy Act. We keep your information safe by preventing unauthorised access, modification, and disclosure. We use locks and security measures to provide physical security for our paper and electronic data as well as our buildings. We also manage computer and network security; for example, we employ firewalls (Internet security measures) and other security systems such as user identification and passwords to regulate access to computer systems containing your information.

Will we disclose the information we collect to anyone?

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others.

We may need to disclose your information to contractors who offer services to us, such as those who handle mailings on our behalf, external data storage providers, or other organisations in the case of a corporate sale, merger, reorganisation, dissolution, or similar event. However, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is protected as required by the Privacy Act.

We may disclose your information to others if required by law, if you consent to the disclosure, or under exceptional situations permitted by the Privacy Act.

How can you check, update or change the information we are holding?

Upon receipt of your written request and enough information to allow us to identify the information, we will disclose to you the personal information we hold about you.  We shall also edit, amend, or delete any personal information that we deem erroneous, irrelevant, out of date, or incomplete.

If you want to view or modify your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer at Consolidated Insurances Sunshine Coast Pty Ltd, 109 James Street, New Farm QLD 4005. We do not charge for receiving a request for access to personal information or for responding to a rectification request. If the requested information is complex and will take a significant amount of time to respond to, a fee will be required. In some situations, we may need to deny access to your information or a request for correction.

We will notify you as soon as possible after receiving your request if this is the case, along with the reasons for our refusal.

What happens if you want to make a complaint?

If you have concerns about whether we have complied with the Privacy Act or this privacy Policy when collecting or handling your personal information, please write to our Privacy Officer at Consolidated Insurances Sunshine Coast Pty Ltd, 109 James Street, New Farm QLD 4005. Your complaint will be considered by us through our internal complaints resolution process and we will try to respond with a decision within 45 days of you making the complaint.

Your consent

By asking us to assist with your insurance needs, you consent to the collection and use of the information you have provided to us for the purposes described above.

Website information and content

The information on this website does not cover all aspects of the legislation on the subject issue. Professional counsel should be sought before taking any action based on the information presented on this website. To the extent permissible by law, we make no claims about the fitness of this site's material for any purpose. All content is given with no warranties of any sort. We disclaim all warranties and conditions relating to the content, including but not limited to implied warranties and conditions of fitness for a certain purpose, title, and non-infringement. We will not be liable for any damages or harm caused by, but not limited to, a failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, transmission delay, computer virus, or line failure. To the fullest extent permissible by law, we shall not be liable for any damages or injuries, including special or consequential damages, resulting from the use or inability to use the materials on this website. We believe the content on this website is accurate, comprehensive, and current; but, we make no assurances about its correctness, completeness, or currency. It is your duty to check all information before acting on it. The information on this website may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.

We reserve the right to modify the content of this site from time to time.

Anonymous Data

We use technology to gather anonymous information about how you use our website. For example, when you browse our site, our service provider logs your server address, the date and time of your visit, the pages and links you click on, and the type of browser you use. It does not personally identify you, and we use it solely for statistical purposes, to improve the content and performance of our website, to better understand our clients and markets, and to improve our services.

Cookies

To obtain this anonymous data, we may utilise "cookies". Cookies are little pieces of information delivered to your browser and saved on your computer's hard disc. They sometimes identify visitors in situations where the website requires information to be preserved from one page to the next. This is solely to improve the functionality of the site. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to determine the user's identity.

Cookies do not harm your computer, and you can configure your browser to inform you when you get a cookie so you may decide whether to accept it. Once you leave the site, the cookie is deleted, and no personal or other information about you is saved.

Forms

Visitors to our website can submit information using self-service forms (Quote and Contact requests). The information entered via the Forms is not encrypted; however, quote forms can be sent to you in PDF format for faxing upon request. If you are concerned about the confidentiality of the claim information, this is the preferred method.

Information collected via online forms is delivered to our offices via email (not encrypted) and stored in a database accessible exclusively to Consolidated Insurances staff (password protected).

We also use your information to provide you requested product information and promotional materials, as well as to handle your continuing needs, such as renewals, and our connection with you, such as billing, client surveys, and so on.

We may occasionally tell you via direct marketing about new services, special deals, events, or articles that we believe may be of interest to you. We may send you regular insurance-related updates via email or post. If you do not want to receive this material electronically, please email or write to us. We may use your information internally to improve our services and resolve issues.

Your feedback is valued

We welcome your questions and comments about privacy. If you have any concerns or complaints, please contact our Privacy Officer, Sheryll Todd on telephone 07 3292 1191 or by email contact@buildinginsurancebroker.au

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