Building the trust of our members is a core value of The Insurance Institutes. With this commitment in mind, the Institute has designed the following policy regarding privacy issues.

Accountability

The Institutes collect personal information on its members and accept full responsibility for the information under its control. A Privacy Officer has been designated who is accountable for the organization’s compliance with the Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This person may be contacted at 416-362-8586.

Purpose

There are two primary types of information collected and retained by the Institutes:

Member Information Information that members provide to the Institutes through various methods of communication is stored and managed for The Institute’s internal use and is not distributed externally, except where consent has been granted. This data includes, but is not limited to, name, home and/or business address, employer, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, level of education, job function, income level, other educational degrees or designations, licenses held, highest level of education attained and areas of interest.

The Institutes collect and retain this information about members for the following purposes only:

• To understand member needs;
• To analyze the suitability of our products or services for members;
• To determine members’ eligibility for our products and services;
• To set up, manage and offer products and services that meet members’ needs;
• To provide members with on-going service.
  

Student Information

Information gathered during the registration and academic process – including, but not limited to, name, home and/or business address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, employer, courses taken and grades attained. This information is not distributed to any third party under any circumstance without the student’s consent.

The Insurance Institute collects and retains this personal information to be able to confirm an individual’s graduation status and courses completed within its programs. It also does so to provide counseling to students as to what courses and/or steps remain to complete the program. Lastly, the collection and retention of this information allows The Institutes to determine students’ eligibility for prizes and awards.

Consent

When an individual applies for membership in the Institutes or purchases any products and services, the member consents to our collection and retention of his/her personal information for purposes of communicating with you, maintaining your academic history in our various programs, confirming information provided by you, offering and providing products and services to meet your needs. We do not disclose your personal information to any third party without your express consent.

Accuracy and Access

The Institutes take pride in the accuracy of their database of information. On our Web site under “Students” and “Member Services”, you will find links to “Student History” and “Member Information”. When you key in your surname and your Personal Identification Number, you will be able to view all the information that we retain on you. If you believe that personal factual information in your records is inaccurate, we make it easy for you to access, verify and update it on-line.

All of this information may be accessed by you under the Member Information and Student History (if applicable) sections of our Web site. You are invited to verify the accuracy of this information and edit it where applicable.

The Find a Member feature with the password-protected area of the CIP Society has been designed as an information service, providing business contact information to CIP Society members. If a member of the CIP Society would like his or her name and information removed from this area, the member need only click on “Contact the CIP Society” to obtain our contact details.

Security

The Institutes are committed to safeguarding the personal information that we maintain on members. We follow strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information you have given to us and may, on occasion, request proof of identity before we disclose any professional information to you.

Security regarding on-line purchases

Is it safe to order on-line?

Yes. Our site makes use of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and 128-bit strong encryption to provide the highest level of security available. This system is safer than ordering over a phone, a fax, or even using your card in stores where your credit card information is sent over a phone line without any encryption. When The Insurance Institute employs a SSL certificate, your transactions are coded before being processed. Never order from a merchant who requests your credit card information by e-mail, or through a non-secure form.

How can I tell when it is secure?

To check the security of your connection, look at the lower right or left-hand corner of your browser window when you make an order. If you see a closed lock or unbroken key picture (actual image depends on your browser), then SSL is active and the website is secure.

Web site Security

What information do we gather or track about members via our Web site?
Since Web sites are quite organic in their evolution, the best way to keep them current and vital to members is to find out what parts of a site are popular, and what parts are not. Therefore, we do track where users go on the site, however, we do not gather information on individual users. For example, we can list how many users came to the site from another domain, and what that domain is, but, again, we do not track or gather information on individual users.

What do we do with the information?

We really want to know what members are interested in, so we can provide more of it. We want to know areas that they are not using, so we can either improve them or remove them. We also use some of the more interesting statistics in newsletters, to share popular areas with members, and help increase the efficiency of the site.

With whom do we share the information?

The information is used internally, to review the effectiveness of the site. Some statistics and trends are shared with various Institutes, committees, councils and members through newsletters.

What is our site's opt-out policy?

If a member chooses to give us personal information via the Internet in order for us to correspond with him/her, or process an order, for example, it is our intent to share with you just how we intend to use the information. The Institutes will accept, acknowledge and maintain any customer’s request to opt-out of either future communication from the Institutes regarding the promotion of its seminars and special events via direct marketing.

If you have any questions or concerns about your personal information retained by The Institutes, please contact our Privacy Officer at 416-362-8586.