Privacy Policy
To meet the demand of your Canada health insurance needs, the collection of sensitive personal information regarding you, those you may insure, and your beneficiaries is essential. Equally as important is maintaining your right to have that information maintained in the strictest and most confident of manners, to the extent and within the time which is necessitated to offer premium health and medical care insurance.
Personal information entails health, lifestyle and financial, statistical information regarding group and individual policyholders, beneficiaries, employees, brokers and agents. This information can be ascertained via correspondence, memoranda, electronic communications, video and audio recordings, photographs and other documentary material. Personal information does not, however, include details such as name, title, business address, home address, telephone numbers or e-mail address.
Accountability
Acure Health is liable for the personal information we attain, including information transferred for processing to a third party service provider. Such parties are governed by the strict privacy and protection standards we mandate for the handling of such information.
Under no circumstance does Acure Health sell client information or lists to a third party.
We are committed to, and legislated by, a strict code that calls for the safeguarding of your privacy to be held as top priority. Staff conduct is stringently adhered to, implemented and guided by our comprehensive privacy policy, code of business conduct, market conduct standards as well as health insurance industry guidelines and applicable edict.
Purpose
The intent for which we collect personal information will always be identified at, or previous to, the point at which the information is collected. Most often this information is garnered through application forms. Acure Health requests only the information pertinent to 1) providing the service(s) expected of the client and 2) required to satisfy legal requirements. All requested information will be justified where not self evident. In the event that the purpose of information requested is not clear to you, we are much obliged to clarify your inquiry and ask that you contact us.
Consent
Consent will always be sought at the time of, or previous to, collection; use or discloser of any personal information is commenced, most commonly in written form.
Consent may be implied where it can be reasonably inferred from the action or inaction undertaken by the client. These occasions will be recorded. Consent may also be procured by an authorized representative, such as a legal guardian or by power of attorney, though the authority of such a representative may be restricted by law or company policy.
The client may at any time, in general, choose to withdraw their consent, so long as reasonable notice is provided and the withdrawal is within the parameters of legal and contractual restrictions. The implications of such a withdrawal will be made clear to the client.
In the case that information we have attained could be used toward a purpose differing from the purpose explained to you, the client, at the time of retrieval, further consent will be requested. If the client opts not to consent to this new purpose, the information will not be used and the client’s decision will be recorded.
The majority of personal information obtained is done so directly through the client or the individual to be insured. However, in some cases, consent may be sought to retrieve information from other sources.
Use, Disclosure and Exceptions
When there are grounds to collect personal information without the consent of the client, such as when legal, medical or security risks are implied, Acure Health reserves the right to do so. In the event a potential breach of contract, case of fraud, or other legal matter is under investigation, the seeking of consent may not be possible. Likewise, in the event that a matter involve an individual who is acutely ill, incapacitated or under the age of legal consent, consent may not be deemed appropriate to request.
The client maintains the right to have disclosed to them to whom their personal information has been divulged, unless, as rarely occurs, otherwise dictated by law. All transactions of information disclosure are kept in accurate recording.
Security
Numerous security safeguards are in place to ensure that the sensitive health and financial information regarding our clients is kept highly confidential and protected against loss, theft, unauthorized access or use, replication, and alteration. Security is paramount to Acure Health. The methods with which we maintain this security include, but are not limited to:
- Organization: Employees are held to a high security standard befitting the position of trust our company holds; security clearances are enforced and access to information is limited to service essentials.
- Physical measures: Backups and archives are stored securely off-site.
- Technology: Passwords are changed routinely, firewalls are enlisted and operator access is subdivided.
Retention
Acure Health is required to retain client information for the durations stipulated by insurance and taxation laws. If, required by law or an investigation regarding an infringement of privacy or other legal matter is pending, information must be retained for the length of time said cases necessitate. When information is no longer required, and the period of time in which a claim could be made has lapsed, it is destroyed in compliance with the company’s records retention policy.
Access
Clients maintain the right to fully access all records of existing, and use or disclosure of, personal information obtained by, or regarding, their person, so long as no legal or ethical restrictions apply. In the case such records are requested, an appropriate administration fee may be applied.
Restrictions to the right to access records are specific and limited, mandated by law, and will be justified by apt reasoning at the time a request is made. Restrictions may include the prohibitive expense of procuring the request, requesting access to information that contains reference to others, security concerns, limitations stipulated by commercial proprietary, the information requested is being used in an investigation regarding potential breach of contract or fraud, or the information is subject to litigated or solicitor-client privilege.
The request for specific medical information may only be accessible through your designated health professional or general practictioner.
Accuracy
All client information is maintained in as accurate, complete and current of a manner as is required to fulfill the outlined purpose for which the information was garnered. The updating of personal information is not a process routinely completed unless doing so is required in fulfilling the client agreement. If there are changes to the information that you, the client, have provided, or errors in said information have been discovered, please notify us immediately. All changes and requests will be recorded.
Inquiries
Any questions or concerns that you, the client, may have regarding the retrieval, use, disclosure or retaining of your personal information should be addressed as soon as they arise. Acure Health is committed to ensuring your security and the confidence you have in our company. Our customer representatives are trained to assist you in any privacy inquiry you may wish to make and can refer you to the relevant department head or privacy officer should your inquiry require such designation.
Our privacy officer’s chief role is to be accountable for maintaining the privacy of personal information attained and held by our company. They are available to respond to your concerns, toll free, from anywhere in Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Acure Health Corp.
Box 61164, Kensington RPO,
Calgary, AB T2N 4S6
1.866.416.2259