Terms of Service

Because we value your relationship with us, we have detailed below our privacy objectives for our Web site:

We will accept and store any information you enter on the Web site or provide to us in any other way that personally identifies you to enhance your experience on the Web site. Typically, the information you voluntarily provide on the Web site is for the purpose of purchasing health insurance coverage or enrolling for services. The information you provide may include your personally identifiable information, such as your name and e-mail address. You can choose not to provide information (however, this may prevent or delay a response to your request or inquiry). See the Contact Us page for other methods of communicating this information to us.

Security Practices

We recognize and respect your desire for privacy when it comes to your personal and health care affairs. We attempt to protect online information according to established company security standards and practices, and we continually evaluate new technologies for safeguarding information.

Use of Email

Please use your own best judgment when sending information via the Internet to an email address. Email sent via the Internet may pass through private and public networks with varying levels of security. Some networks may have taken steps to secure email transmissions while others have not, thereby compromising the privacy and integrity of an email. An email may be copied, altered or destroyed.

If you have personal or confidential information to relay to our company, please call the appropriate member service phone number that you will find in Contact Us.

We preserve the content of your email, your email address and our response so that we can efficiently respond to questions you might have. We also do this in an effort to meet legal and regulatory requirements. We will respect your request to be, or not to be, contacted by email.

Cookies, Surveys and Forms

You may have the opportunity to provide information to us through online surveys and forms. We use this information to better understand health care needs and to provide quality products, services and other opportunities. We want your visit to our web site to be informative and enjoyable. We plan to use any information we obtain from you to help us continually improve the content, functionality and overall usefulness of our Web site; but in no way we will make specific and individually identifiable information given to us available without your specific consent.

As you browse, we may install cookies (tiny text files stored on your computer which record your preferences) in your browser. Cookies cannot harm your computer and they do not contain any personally identifiable information. We may disclose this non-personally identifiable information to our staff and to trusted third parties involved in the marketing of our products and services. We do not sell or rent this non-personally identifiable information to third parties.

In addition to our use of first party cookies on our website, we allow certain Third Parties to include web beacons within our web pages. Web beacons are image requests which are used by the third party to install their own cookie in your browser. These companies are our vendors who have been hired for marketing or research purposes. Member identifiable data will not be transmitted. The use of these web beacons is subject to the privacy policies of these Third Parties, not our Privacy Policy. At an advertiser's discretion, Google Analytics data may be examined in concert with data about the advertiser's ads that have been shown using the Google Display Network or DoubleClick for Advertisers. Thus, an advertiser can understand how anonymous users interacted with the advertiser's website after seeing the advertiser's ads.

Advertisers may use this data to inform and optimize their ad campaigns.

Users may opt out of the DoubleClick cookie by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page or they may opt out of your use of Analytics by visiting the Google Analytics opt-out page.

Mobile Device Applications ("Apps")

Information that we receive through the use of any of our Apps, including, but not limited to, the number of times that you use the App and information that you submit, is subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy. When you download and install one of our Apps onto your mobile device, certain information may be saved to your device for certain App functionality enhancements. We do not obtain any information about your mobile device, other than the brand, make and model and type of operating software your device uses.

Our Apps obtain your consent (via an opt-in) before using information from pin-pointing technology like GPS or cell tower information. You can withdraw your consent (opt-out) for the use of "location" at any time by changing your location services in the "Settings" function on your mobile device.

Updates to the Statement

Evolving technology will continue to provide us with new and better ways to collect and use information so that we may better serve your health coverage needs. We may revise or update this Privacy Statement in the future to reflect these technological advances, and we encourage you to return to this page from time to time for any updates.

Confidentiality

Again, please use your own best judgment when sending information via the Internet to an email address.

If you have personal or confidential information to relay to our company and have concerns about the security of your email, please call the appropriate member service phone number that you will find in Contact Us. If you do provide personal information, such as an email, telephone or fax number, or other identifying information, we do not plan to disclose it without your consent. We maintain this information, as well as all web based transactions, according to our usual high, government regulated, security and confidentiality standards.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Claims Administrator, its officers, directors, employees, licensors, suppliers and any third-party contractors for this Service, from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorney's fees and expenses, resulting from any violation of the Terms or any activity related to your contract or account (including negligent or wrongful conduct) by you or any other person accessing your contract or account using the Service.

Exclusion of Warranties; Limitation of Liability

WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO YOU REGARDING THE SERVICE, CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR INFORMATION, MATERIALS AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION, YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER (PC) OR RELATED EQUIPMENT, OR ANY SOFTWARE YOU ELECT TO USE IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR INFORMATION, MATERIALS AND SERVICE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS," AND WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST BENEFITS OR REVENUES FROM THE USE OF CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR INFORMATION, SERVICE, MATERIALS OR OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTATION.

Governing Law

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Alabama, without regard to its conflict of law provisions, except as pre-empted or superseded by federal law, which the parties agree governs the requirement to arbitrate all disputes and claims. By using the Service you agree to subject yourself to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts of the State of Alabama.

Uses and Disclosures with Your Permission

We will not use or disclose your medical information for any other purposes unless you give us your written authorization to do so. For example, in general and subject to specific conditions, we will not use or disclose your psychotherapy notes, will not use or disclose your protected health information for marketing, or fundraising, and will not sell your protected health information, unless you give us a written authorization. If you give us written authorization to use or disclose your medical information for a purpose that is not described in this notice, in most cases, you may revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will be effective for all your medical information we maintain, except where we have already taken action in reliance on your prior authorization.

Your Rights

You may make a written request to us to do one or more of the following concerning your medical information that we maintain:

• To place additional restrictions on our use and disclosure of your medical information. We do not have to agree to your request except in case of a disclosure restricted under 45 C.F.R. Section 164.522(a)(1)(vi).
• To communicate with you in confidence about your medical information by a different means or at a different location than we are currently doing. We do not have to agree to your request unless such confidential communications are necessary to avoid endangering you, and your request continues to allow us to collect premiums and pay claims. Your request must specify the alternative means or location.
• Even though you requested that we communicate with you in confidence, we may give subscribers cost information. To see and get copies of your medical information. In limited cases, we do not have to agree to your request.
• To correct your medical information. In some cases, we do not have to agree to your request.
• To receive a list of disclosures of your medical information that we and our business associates made for certain purposes for the last six years (but not for disclosures before April 14, 2003).
• To send you a paper copy of this notice upon request, even if you received this notice by e-mail or on the Internet.

If you want to exercise any of these rights described in this notice, please contact our Privacy Office (below). We will give you the necessary information and forms for you to complete and return to our Privacy Office. In some cases, we may charge you a nominal, cost-based fee to carry out your request. In addition, we are required by law to maintain the privacy of your verbal, electronic, or written protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information.

Links to and from third party sites; framing

This Site may provide links or references to other sites. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama nor any of its agents has any responsibility for the content of these other sites, makes any representations or gives any warranties with respect to any information contained in or at these other sites, or shall be liable for any damages or injury arising from the content of these other sites. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama nor any of its agents endorses companies or products to which it has provided links. Any links to other sites are provided merely as a convenience to the users of this Site and, if you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do so entirely at your own risk. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time.

There may be circumstances where access to this Site is provided by a link located at another website. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama nor any of its agents makes any representations or gives any warranties with respect to any information contained in or at these other sites, and neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama nor any of its agents shall be liable for any damages or injury arising from the content of these other sites. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama nor any of its agents endorses the individuals, companies or other similar entities, or any products, services or materials associated with such individuals, companies, or other similar entities, that provide a link to this Site.