CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT DISCLOSURE
Last Updated: June 1, 2023
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (as amended, the “CCPA”) gives certain consumers that reside in the state of California (“Consumers”, “you”, or “your”) the right to know the categories of Personal Information Merchants Bonding Company (Mutual), including our affiliated entities (referred to collectively as “Merchants”, “we”, “our”, or “us”), collects about them, how we collect such data, the purposes for which we use it, and the third parties to which we disclose Personal Information.
This California Consumer Privacy Act Disclosure is applicable to the personal information collected by Merchants about California Consumers to the extent the personal information is subject to the CCPA (“Personal Information.”)
Personal Information We Collect, Use, Disclose, Share, or Sell
We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular California Consumer or household. Depending on the nature of your relationship with Merchants, we may collect, and within the last twelve (12) months we may have collected, the following categories of Personal Information from the sources identified below for the business and commercial purposes indicated, and shared such categories of Personal Information with the specified categories of third parties.
Personal Information We Collect, Use, Disclose, and for What Purposes
Depending on the nature of your relationship with Merchants, we may collect and use the following types of Personal Information, as categorized by the CCPA and described below:
- Identifiers, such as real name, alias, date of birth, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security Number, driver's license number, or other similar identifiers;
- Personal information described in California Civil Code §1798.80(e), such as name(s), signature, physical characteristics or description, telephone number, state identification card number, insurance policy or bond number, education, bank account number, financial information, medical information or health insurance information;
- Characteristics of protected classification under California or federal law, such as age, gender, marital status and sex;
- Commercial information, such as FEIN, records of personal property, transaction information, and purchase history;
- Biometric information, such as fingerprints, for certain employees;
- Internet or other similar electronic network activity information, such as information regarding your use of our websites;
- Geolocation data, such as approximate location based on IP address;
- Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, or similar information, such as call and video recordings and information regarding your use of our websites;
- Professional or employment-related information, such as current or past job history, employment references, benefits and entitlement data, salary/wage, personnel number, position or job title, criminal convictions, and professional memberships, qualifications and certifications;
- Education information, such as educational records and transcripts;
- Transaction information, such as balances, payment histories, parties to transactions, information from consumer reports, and other data collected in relation to our provision of insurance services;
- Inferences drawn from any of the Personal Information listed above to create a profile about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics;
- Sensitive Personal Information, as defined under the California Privacy Rights Act, such as Social Security Number, driver's license number, account log-in, racial or ethnic origin, union membership, and the contents of a consumer’s mail, email and text message unless we are the intended recipient of the communication.
Sources from Which Personal Information is Collected
We collect Personal Information directly from you, and from third parties, including from:
- Our affiliates;
- Agents and brokers;
- Service providers and vendors;
- Other individuals, such as individuals involved in litigation with us;
- Website/Social Media;
- Publicly-available sources;
- Consumer data resellers;
- Consumer reporting agencies and insurance support organizations;
- Your employer or other businesses that you have a relationship with;
- References you provide when you apply for a job with us;
- Other businesses, such as other insurance companies, and businesses involved in litigation with us; and
- Government agencies.
Automated Data Collection
When you use our online resources, we may allow third party service providers to place their own cookies or similar technologies in order to engage in the same type of collection we describe above. For example, we use third party “web analytics” services such as those offered by Google Analytics. We also use AddThis, a technology that allows websites and their users to share contents easily with others by means of exchange icons and social bookmarking sites.
For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Purposes for the Collection, Use and "Sale/Sharing" of Personal Information
The purposes for which we use and disclose this Personal Information depend on our relationship or interaction with a specific California resident. We may use this information in order to operate, manage, and maintain our business, provide our products and services, for our employment and vendor management purposes, and to accomplish our business purposes and objectives, including, for example, providing quotes, underwriting and rating bonds/policies; responding to inquiries, fulfilling requests, completing transactions and otherwise servicing bonds/policies; investigating and processing claims; personalizing or developing products and services; marketing; research and data analysis; risk and security controls; fraud detection and prevention; identity verification; determining eligibility for an employment or other relationship with us; paying compensation and administering benefits; managing performance and other aspects of your relationship with us; accounting, audit, and other internal functions, such as internal investigations; maintaining our facilities and infrastructure; compliance with law, legal process, and internal policies; record keeping; and exercising and defending legal claims.
Sensitive Personal Information
Merchants uses and discloses sensitive personal information for the limited purposes permitted under CCPA and not for the purposes of inferring characteristics about a consumer.
Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose all of the categories of Personal Information, including Sensitive Personal Information, listed above to the following categories of third parties for our operational business purposes, including within the 12 months preceding the date this Disclosure was last updated: service providers and contractors, as well as third parties where required by law, such as disclosures to government agencies who regulate our business, law enforcement, and third parties who are involved in litigation with us. We also may disclose the following categories of Personal Information to authorized agents and brokers for our operational business purposes, including within the 12 months preceding the date this Disclosure was last updated:
- Identifiers
- Personal information, as defined in the California disposal of records law
- Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law
- Commercial information
- Internet or network activity information
- Geolocation Data
- Audio, electronic, visual, and similar information
- Professional or employment-related information
- Education Information
- Inferences
- Sensitive Personal Information
We do not provide your data to third parties in exchange for monetary consideration but during the past 12 months we may have disclosed data to certain third parties that provide us with services such as data analysis, which may fall under the definition of “consideration” and therefore be deemed a “sale” or “share” under the CCPA. We have disclosed the following categories of information to third parties for valuable (but not monetary) consideration:
- Identifiers
- Commercial information
- Internet or network activity information
- Geolocation Data
- Audio, electronic, visual, and similar information
We may also disclose Personal Information to a third party in the event of any reorganization, financing transaction, merger, sale, joint venture, partnership, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
California Consumers Under 16 Years of Age
We do not knowingly sell or “share” (for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising, as defined by the CCPA) the Personal Information of minors under 16 years of age.
How Long We Retain Personal Information
The length of time that we intend to retain each category of Personal Information will depend on a number of criteria, including (i) the length of time we are required to retain Personal Information in order to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, (ii) the length of time we may need to retain Personal Information in order to accomplish the business or commercial purpose(s) for which such Personal Information is collected, used or disclosed (as indicated in this Disclosure), and (iii) whether you choose to exercise your right, subject to certain exceptions, to request deletion of your Personal Information.
Right to Opt-Out of “Sale” or “Sharing” of Personal Information
You have the right to opt out of any future “sale” or “sharing” of your Personal Information for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising.
We process opt out preference signals in a frictionless manner. By “frictionless,” we mean that we will not charge a fee or valuable consideration and we will not change your experience with our service or display a notification, pop-up, text, graphic, animation, sound, video or any interstitial content in response to the opt-our preference signal. Opting-out via a preference signal will fully effectuate your right to opt-out of “sale” or “sharing” as defined by the CCPA.
You can opt out of “sale “or “sharing” in a frictionless manner by broadcasting an Opt-Out Preference Signal, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC), or Do Not Track (on the browsers and browser extensions that support such signals). You can also opt out by clicking the Manage Cookies icon in the bottom left corner of our web pages and following the instructions in the menu to opt out of advertising cookies.
How to Exercise Your Rights
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights:
You may request that we disclose to you:
- The categories of Personal Information we collected about you and the categories of sources from which we collected such Personal Information;
- The business or commercial purpose for collecting or “selling” or “sharing” Personal Information about you;
- The categories of Personal Information about you that we disclosed to third parties for a business purpose and the categories of third parties to whom we disclosed the Personal Information;
- The categories of Personal Information about you that we “sold” or “shared” (for cross-context behavioral advertising, as defined by the CCPA) and the categories of third parties with which we “sold” or “shared” such Personal Information; and
- The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you, including a copy of your Personal Information in a portable format.
You may request that we delete Personal Information we collected from you (if applicable).
You may request that we correct inaccuracies in the Personal Information we maintain about you.
In some instances, we may not be required to honor your request where a CCPA exception applies, such as where the disclosure of Personal Information would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of other individuals.
You have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination for exercising your rights under the CCPA, including, if applicable, your right as an employee, applicant, or independent contractor not to be retaliated against for exercising your CCPA rights.
How to Exercise Your CCPA Rights
If you are a California resident, you may submit a request by:
When making a request, you will need to provide certain identifying information, such as your name, address, and email address to allow us to verify the request and locate your information. We will verify and respond to your request consistent with applicable law, taking into account the type and sensitivity of the Personal Information subject to the request. If an authorized agent submits a request on your behalf, we may request that the agent provide, as applicable, proof concerning their status as an authorized agent. In addition, we may require that you verify your identity or confirm that you provided the agent permission to submit the request.
Changes to This California Consumer Privacy Act Disclosure
We may change or update this Disclosure from time to time. When we do, we will post the revised Disclosure on this page with a new “Last Updated” date.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policies or practices, please write to:
Merchants Bonding Company
Attn: Compliance Officer
PO Box 14498
Des Moines, IA 50306-3498
privacy@merchantsbonding.com