Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy for Lawyers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of North Carolina (“we” “us” “our”)
Last updated: March 15, 2023
The short and sweet:
We value your privacy. We do not use advertisers, data brokers, fingerprinting, nor sell your information to third parties. There are some instances where we will share or disclose some information to third parties – keep reading to learn more and feel free to use the topic headers to skip around to sections that apply to your situation.
We are a professional liability insurance company domiciled in NC and insuring law firms primarily located in NC along with the attorneys and staff employed or otherwise covered by such firms. We welcome visitors to our site and newsletter subscribers from anywhere that may find our information of interest; however, our intended market is the legal services community in North Carolina.
Visiting our website:
As with most websites on the internet, our website collects certain information automatically, such as your internet protocol (IP) addresses, the region or general location where your computer or device is accessing the internet, your browser type, your operating system, and other usage information about the use of our website including a history of the pages you visit. This information is used to help diagnose problems with and administer our website, analyze trends, track visitor movements, and assist us in identifying visitor preferences.
We utilize Google Analytics on our website and applications to track usage, improve site performance, and diagnose issues with the website and/or applications. Typically, this is accomplished using cookies, and for additional information please see Google’s privacy practices for Google Analytics https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245
We also may have services or features on our website that require logging in for access. Session cookies may be used to authenticate your activity and operate such services or features.
In general, cookies may be managed, deleted, or blocked through the privacy settings on your web browser or add-ins to your web browser. Please refer to the settings of your web browser for additional information. Please note that if you block all cookies or similar technologies, you may be unable to utilize the full functionality of the website and/or applications.
We may also collect information you provide to us utilizing the “Contact Us,” “Lending Library,” and other forms on our website.
Subscribing to our newsletter:
All current policyholders, insureds, and policy contacts are automatically subscribed to our newsletter, informational emails, email alerts, etc. (“email campaigns”). Additionally, you may subscribe to these by signing up for the services at an event where we are present, by contacting us, or by submitting your email address in the subscribe box on our website.
We may use third party services for managing our email campaigns and share your name and email address for completing the processing of these services. You may modify your subscription preferences and/or unsubscribe from such communications by following the links at the bottom of those emails. For additional information on the data privacy and protection practices, please see the links provided at the bottom of those emails.
Attending Continuing Legal Education courses:
When you attend one of our Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses, we collect certain information from you to provide the service and comply with any attendance reporting requirements. This information may include your name, address, email address, phone number, and state bar identification number. We may share this information with speakers at the CLE, as well as exhibitors and/or sponsors, if any. This information is typically already publicly available through online directories such as those maintained by state bars. We may also utilize a third-party service provider for registration and attendance maintenance – please see the relevant privacy policy as is listed on the service provider’s site for additional information.
Accessing Continuing Legal Education courses on demand:
In addition to the information collected and disclosed from attending CLE courses as discussed above, utilizing our on-demand online CLE platform results in the collection of additional information such as a user ID and password. The on-demand CLE platform is hosted by a third-party service provider – please see the relevant privacy policy as is listed on the service provider’s site for additional information and details on the collection and use of such information.
Applying for insurance:
When you apply for insurance coverage with us, you complete an application either electronically, on paper, or through an application. The application for insurance coverage requests information about your law practice and information about additional insureds such as attorneys or other licensed professionals. Much of this information is already publicly available through online directories such as those maintained by state bars. Please see our application and other coverage forms on our website at https://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/apply-for-coverage and https://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/policyholder-formsfor the types of information and data collected. Additionally, we may receive information from other sources such as the law firm’s website or publicly available state bar records. We may also request you provide us with information from prior insurer(s), if any, such as proof of prior coverage and/ or a report of any claims or losses.
Using the insured portal online:
When you utilize our services by logging into an online portal, the practices described in the “Visiting our website” section may also apply. In addition, information for authenticating your login such as user ID, email address, password, phone number, IP address, etc. may be collected. Authentication tokens are also used to maintain your session in the portal while you are logged in. Otherwise, information entered and submitted by you is transmitted to our database and is treated in the same manner as if you submitted it as described in “Applying for insurance” above. Additionally, links to a payment system maintained by a third-party service provider are available for online payments – please see the relevant privacy policy as is listed on the service provider’s site for additional information.
Using the insured mobile application:
When you utilize our services via a mobile application, whether iOS or Android, certain information is stored on your device. This may include user ID, email address, phone number, your name, and the role assigned to your user ID. Authentication tokens are also used to maintain your session in the application while you are logged in. Analytics services are used to track usage, improve site performance, and diagnose issues with the application - typically accomplished using cookies, which record information such as application launches, operating system version, and device model but are not linked to a specific user. Otherwise, information entered and submitted by you is transmitted to our database and is treated in the same manner as if you submitted it as described in “Applying for insurance” above. Additionally, links to a payment system maintained by a third-party service provider are available for online payments – please see the relevant privacy policy as is listed on the service provider’s site for additional information.
Filing a claim:
When submitting a claim, you provide information about yourself (or the person making the claim if you are their representative, counsel, etc.). In some instances, you may provide information that contains additional personal information such as medical records, financial records, other legal records, etc. Personal information may be required to be collected and disclosed through the ordinary course of litigation, mediation, arbitration, etc. If a payment is made on a claim, additional information may be required such as a tax ID number, social security number, address, bank account information, etc. In some situation we are required by law to disclose some identifying information such as to verify whether a Medicare/Medicaid lien exists or if someone is on a restricted list such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals list.
Sharing information with third parties:
We may share or disclosure your information with affiliated companies. For a list of those companies, see https://www.lawyersmutualnc.com/about-us/meet-our-subsidiaries
We may be required to share or disclose your information with government agencies, such as the North Carolina Department of Insurance for compliance and audit purposes. We may also share or disclose your information to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.
We may share or disclose information to other third parties in the ordinary course of our business such as for compliance, reinsurance, actuarial, audit, and accounting purposes.
We also use third-party service providers while providing services or marketing to you. These may include payment processing services, email campaigns, mail processing, account maintenance, surveys, and other typical business processes.
Visiting other websites:
We may provide links to other websites that are not operated by us through our website, an online portal, or a mobile application. Since those other websites are not operated by us, this privacy policy does not apply to them even when those services are branded as or provided on behalf of us, and we encourage you to visit the privacy policy or privacy notice listed on those other websites.
Retention:
We retain your information while your account is active, and for a period of time after your account is inactive, to provide you services, support business processes, and for historic reference and analysis. These may include activities such as quoting, re-quoting, account management, claims processing, and fraud prevention. We also retain your personal information as required or permitted by law, to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Securing your information:
We maintain reasonable physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to secure the information you provide to us. However, no method of transmission or storage of information is 100% secure, and there are inherent risks to the use of online transfer, storage, and processing of information. While we strive to protect your information and take that seriously, neither we nor any other entity can guarantee absolute security.
Children’s online privacy:
Our website, newsletter, and applications are intended to be used by adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you have any questions or concerns about the collection of children’s personal information, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Us” section below.
Updating this policy:
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting those to this site and/or our application(s) (or the site(s) or application(s) that replace these) and updating the date at the top of the policy.
Contact us:
Further questions, comments, concerns, just want to talk privacy, you may reach us by the following methods:
Email: privacy@lawyersmutualnc.com
Call: 919-677-8900
Write to us: Attn: Privacy, PO Box 1929, Cary, NC 27512
