Privacy Notice and Policies

The Ohio Department of Insurance recognizes the importance of privacy to our web site visitors. Therefore, visitors should be aware of the following information:

Public Records

Visitors should be aware that, subject to certain statutory exceptions, most documents and records maintained by the department, including but not limited to electronic data, are public records under Ohio law. Therefore, information submitted through this web site may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Usage Statistics

In order to generate usage statistics to help us improve our web site, we automatically collect information on every visitor to this web site. However, this information does not disclose "personal identifiers" (such as name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.). Each time a request is made to view a page within this web site, our web site creates a log file capturing generic user information. The following information is compiled to produce web usage statistics:

The IP address of the computer accessing our web site
The date and time the computer accesses our web site
The type of internet browser, operating system, and screen resolution of the visitor
The internet address of the site from which the visitor linked to our web site

All information collected by way of server log files is used in aggregate form only and may be analyzed for trends and statistics.

Online Forms and E-mail

This web site will not collect personally identifiable information (such as name, address, telephone number, etc.) unless you provide such information voluntarily and when necessary to provide a service to the public or to other state agencies. Any personal information voluntarily provided by visitors, including personal information from online forms and e-mail, will be used for the purpose stated on the web page and may also be shared with our staff and other agencies as required by law or pursuant to agency authority. Information submitted through this web site also may be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Web Cookies

Cookies are unlikely to be found anywhere on our web site. However, temporary cookies may be used when necessary to complete a specific transaction. If a persistent cookie is required, the web page discloses to visitors that a persistent cookie is being used. Any information collected on our web site that includes information from persistent web cookies may also be subject to disclosure pursuant to a public records request.

Choices Available to Visitors Regarding Collection, Use and Distribution of Information

Visitors will only receive information from us in response to a request. There may be instances where we send ongoing updates or announcements to interested parties. In such cases, visitors will have the choice whether or not to receive these updates or announcements.

Security Measures

The department will follow Ohio laws that require the establishment of reasonable precautions to prevent personal information from unauthorized modification, destruction, use, or disclosure. We take very seriously the integrity of the information and systems we maintain. Therefore, we have instituted security measures for all information systems under our control. These security measures are designed to identify attempts to tamper with this web site. Information collected through these security measures may be used in connection with a criminal prosecution or other legal proceedings.

Access and Dispute of Information Rights

Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code, section 149.43, 1347.08 and 1347.09, users have rights to their information given to this site, in respect to inspecting, correcting and disputing. This is applicable to any information collected, used or maintained on the insurance.ohio.gov web site.

Contact

Any further questions concerning the privacy policy for Insurance.ohio.gov should be forwarded here. public.records.request@insurance.ohio.gov.

Link Policy

The department's website operates as a public service to Ohio residents and visitors. The website provides links to external web sites that are not maintained or controlled by the department. The department is not responsible for the content of external web sites. A link to a non-governmental web site does not constitute endorsement. The decision as to which links will appear on the department's website is within the sole discretion of the department.