Privacy Policy

Applicability

This Internet Privacy Policy applies to the following Homesite Group Incorporated Subsidiaries and Affiliates:

Homesite Insurance Company of California, Homesite Indemnity Company, Homesite Insurance Company of Illinois, Homesite Insurance Company of New York, Homesite Insurance Company of Georgia, Homesite Insurance Company of the Midwest, Homesite Lloyds of Texas, Homesite Insurance Company of Florida, Homesite Insurance Company, and Midvale Indemnity Company.

Your Rights

Use of Consumer Reports

We use information from consumer reporting agencies such as your credit, claims, and insurance history. This helps us to fairly determine eligibility for our programs and ensure accurate rates for all policies.

Insurance Claims History

We obtain information about insurance claims history from LexisNexis. For information or to dispute any report regarding your insurance claims history, contact the LexisNexis Consumer Center at 1-800-456-6004. Note: to protect your privacy, only you can discuss your claims history with LexisNexis (an agent won’t be able to do this on your behalf).

Insurance Credit Score

All states (excluding California, Maryland, and Massachusetts)
We obtain information from TransUnion Corporation to determine your insurance credit score. This inquiry will not affect your credit score, as it is considered a “soft hit.” TransUnion can provide a free copy of your credit report, and if you believe that report is inaccurate, you can request an investigation of information. Please note that TransUnion cannot comment on your insurance application. You can file a dispute online or by mail or phone:

Trans Union LLC
Consumer Dispute Center
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

1-800-916-8800
https://dispute.transunion.com

Extraordinary Life Circumstances (CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NV, RI, SC, TX, VT) – Applicable to Homeowners policies only:

If your credit information has been adversely impacted by an extraordinary life circumstance, you may request that we provide a reasonable exception to the manner in which we use this information. These extraordinary life circumstances include:

Catastrophic event, as declared by the federal or any state government or the Commissioner of Insurance
Serious or catastrophic illness or injury to the consumer or the consumer’s immediate family
- NM – this includes an acute or chronic medical condition, illness, injury or disease
- LA – this includes a medical crisis
Death of a spouse, child or parent of the consumer
Divorce or dissolution of marriage
Identity theft
Involuntary interruption of legally owed alimony or support payments
Temporary loss of employment for a period of three or more consecutive months
Military deployment overseas
Total or other loss that makes your home uninhabitable (CT & NM ONLY)
The personal guaranty of a business loan (LA ONLY)
Predatory lending resulting in the foreclosure of, or commencement of proceedings or an action to foreclose, a mortgage of real property owned by the insured or insurance applicant (MI ONLY)
Loss of employment for three months or more as a result of involuntary termination (VT ONLY)

If you believe any of these apply to you and has impacted your credit, you may request in writing that this be taken into consideration. We will require you to provide specific documentation of this circumstance and demonstrate how it has negatively affected your credit. The request must be made no more than 60 days from the date of the application for insurance or the policy renewal. Please submit your written request and all supporting documentation to Homesite Group, Inc., ATTN: Underwriting Department, PO Box 5300, Binghamton, NY 13902-9953.

Information We Collect from Third Parties

We collect information from affiliated and nonaffiliated third parties, including but not necessarily limited to insurance support organizations and consumer reporting agencies. It may include information about a home, property or homeowner from third party sources or public information. The information may be used to make underwriting and/or business decisions based on the data collected.

Use of Personal Information

We use information from many sources to fairly determine eligibility for our programs and ensure accurate rates for all policies. How we may collect, use and disclose this information is regulated by law. Following is a description of the kinds of information we may collect, how we may collect it, and what is done with the information once it has been collected. We also describe how you can find out what information we have about you in our records or files, and how you can correct inaccurate information. We follow these practices with your information whether you are a policyholder, claimant, former policyholder, or just an inquiring customer. Note to MN customers: your authorization for the collection, use and/or disclosure of your personal information remains in effect if you are continually insured with us unless revoked by you.

What kind of information do we collect about you?

We collect some information from you when you call us, complete an application, make a policy change or report a claim. This information includes identifying information such as name, address, date of birth, and social security number, as well as information regarding your home, business, and/or claims history.

We may also obtain information such as credit reports, claims history, and investigative reports from other sources including an inspection of your property. The information we obtain about you may come from other insurance companies, insurance support organizations, credit bureaus, property data collection services, or other sources.

What do we do with the information collected about you?

We may, as permitted by law, disclose your identifying information in our records or files such as name, address, type of house, and claims history. Without your prior permission, we may disclose this information to certain persons or organizations including:

Other insurance institutions, financial institutions, agents, or insurance support organizations.
Persons who perform a business, professional, or insurance function for us.
Businesses that conduct actuarial or research studies.
Insurance regulatory authorities.
Law enforcement or other governmental authorities.
Our affiliated companies who assist our insurance business activities.

Your information may be provided to others in the following circumstances, as permitted by law, for them to:

Perform a business, professional, or insurance function for us.
Provide information to us in order to
1. Determine your eligibility for an insurance benefit or payment, or
2. Detect or prevent criminal activity, fraud, material misrepresentation or material nondisclosure in connection with an insurance transaction
Perform a function in connection with an insurance transaction involving you.
Conduct an audit of our operations or services.
Conduct a joint marketing program with us pursuant to a joint marketing agreement.

The information we obtain about you from a report prepared by an insurance support organization may be retained by the insurance support organization and disclosed to other sources.

How confidential and secure is the information we have about you?

We protect the confidentiality of the information that we have about you by restricting access to those employees who need to know that information to provide our products and services to you. We maintain physical electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal and state regulations to guard your information.

How can you find out what information we have about you?

You have the right to know what information we have about you in our insurance records or files. To obtain this information, provide to us in writing an identification of yourself and a reasonable explanation of the information you desire. If the information can be reasonably located and obtained, we will inform you of its nature and substance within 30 business days from the day we receive the request. You may personally see and obtain the information, or if you prefer, we will mail the information to you. We will also inform you who has received the information within the last 2 years, or, if not recorded, to whom such information is normally disclosed.

What can you do if you disagree with the information we have about you?

You have the right to make a written request that we correct, delete, or change any recorded information we have about you in our records or files. Send all written requests to:

Homesite Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 5300
Binghamton, NY 13902-9953

If we agree to comply with your request, we will notify you within 30 business days of receiving your request. We will then furnish the amended information to any person you designate, who may have received the information within the past 2 years, as well as to any person or organization who either supplied us with the information or to whom we disclosed it.

If we are unable to comply with your request, we will notify you within 30 business days of receiving your written request with the reasons for our decision. If you disagree with the reasons for our decision, you have the right to file a concise statement of what you think is correct, relevant or fair information. Your statement will be filed with the disputed information and will be furnished to any person, insurance institution, agent or insurance support organization who either supplied us with information or to whom we disclosed it. Your statement will also be furnished to anyone reviewing the disputed information.

Your California Privacy Rights

Effective January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act grants California residents (consumers) various rights with respect to personal information relating to that consumer that is held by a business. These rights include:

The right to request the deletion of personal information about the consumer that has been collected from the consumer.
The right to request a company’s disclosures about the collection of personal information.
The right to request that a business that collects personal information disclose the following to a consumer:
- The categories of personal information that is has collected about the customer;
- The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected;
- The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information;
- The categories of third parties with whom the business shares personal information; and
- The specific pieces of personal information it has collected about the consumer.
The right not to face discrimination for exercising any rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act
The right to opt out of the sale of personal information.
The right to opt-in to the sale of personal information for consumers under 16 years of age.

We retain personal information for the periods required by applicable laws and/or as specified in our records retention policies and procedures. The period chosen takes account of applicable legal requirements to retain data and specific business use cases. We maintain specific records management and retention policies and procedures so that, where required, personal information is disposed of after a reasonable time in consideration of the following retention criteria:

We retain your personal information for as long as needed to carry out the business purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy, or to support our business functions and operations.
We retain your personal information as long as we have an ongoing relationship with you or for as long as needed to provide products or services to you.
We retain your personal information for as long as needed to comply with our legal and contractual obligations or as necessary to defend our rights.

According to the CPRA, sensitive personal information includes any private information that divulges any of the following:

Personal identification numbers, including social security, driver’s license, passport, or state ID card numbers
Account or debit or credit card numbers combined with passwords or codes that would enable access to the accounts
A consumer’s exact geolocation
A consumer’s racial origin, religious beliefs, or union membership
A consumer’s mail, email, or text message content unless the information was intentionally sent to the business
A consumer’s genetic data, such as DNA samples

Sensitive personal information includes the processing of any biometric data to identify a consumer, as well as personal information concerning a consumer’s health or sexual orientation.

Note that any sensitive personal information that is publicly available is not considered sensitive personal information or personal information under this law.

California consumers may submit a request for disclosure or deletion of personal information by completing the request form found here or by calling us toll-free at 1-800-466-3748. You will be required to verify your identity and status as a California resident. Upon verification, we will process your request within 45 days.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information or Sensitive Personal information (https://go.homesite.com/cpa/)

Categories of Personal Information that we may have collected in the preceding 12 months, as of January 1, 2020:

Identifying Information – name, address, date of birth, email address, phone numbers, bank account number, credit/debit card number
Consumer report information, including claims history
Names of family members or other residents of your household
Information you provide about your dwelling as part of an application for insurance
Information that you may have provided during the resolution of an insurance claim

We do not “sell” the personal information of our applicants, insureds, employees, or other individuals whose personal information we have obtained. We do disclose personal information to third parties and service providers, including:

Other insurance institutions, financial institutions, agents, or insurance support organizations.
Persons who perform a business, professional, or insurance function for us.
Businesses that conduct actuarial or research studies.
Insurance regulatory authorities.
Law enforcement or other governmental authorities.
Our affiliated companies who assist our insurance business activities.

California Civil Code Section §1798.83 permits our website users who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties. To make such a request, please write us at Homesite Group, Inc., P.O. Box 5300, Binghamton, NY 13902-9953.

Notification of Changes

We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time, and such changes will be effective immediately upon posting to this web site. Your continued use of this web site after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the bottom of the document. Under certain circumstances, we may also elect to notify you of changes or updates to our Privacy Policy, or to request your consent for such changes, by additional means, such as posting a notice on the front of our web site and sending you an email.

Non Homesite Web Sites

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of any other websites on the internet that may be linked to our website. Please note that when you click on links to websites outside of www.homesite.com, you are transferred to another website that may not be under our control. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites as their privacy policy may differ from ours.

Web Cookie Policy

We may place an electronic “cookie” in the browser files of a guest’s computer. Cookies are pieces of information that a web site transfers to your browser, which can then be stored on an individual’s computer hard drive for record-keeping purposes or to provide you with tailored information. Cookies do not enable us to access any personal information about our visitors. Cookies allow us to analyze how visitors use our site. This helps us better understand which areas of our site are most useful, so we can plan improvements and updates accordingly.

We do not use cookies to retrieve information from a visitor’s computer that was not originally sent in a cookie. We will never save passwords, credit card or other sensitive information in cookies. You may set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the opportunity to decide whether or not to accept it. For more information on cookies and their use, please refer to the online Help available through your browser.

Fraud Warning

Any person who, with intent to defraud or knowing that he is facilitating a fraud against an insurer, submits an application or files a claim containing a false or deceptive statement is guilty of insurance fraud.

Delaware Only

In connection with this application for insurance, we may obtain or use a credit based insurance score based on the information contained in your credit report. We may use a third party in connection with the development of your insurance score. If we do use a credit based score, you will have the right on an annual basis to request that we obtain your updated insurance score, based on a current credit report, to determine whether use of the new insurance score would result in a decrease in your insurance premium. If the new score would result in a decrease in your premium, we will make that reduction. If the new credit information would not reduce your premium, your credit report will not be used to impact your premium in any way.

Florida Only

Any person who knowingly and with intent to injure, defraud, or deceive any insurer files a statement of claim or an application containing any false, incomplete, or misleading information is guilty of a felony of the third degree.

Washington Only

Your premium and eligibility are based on information provided. It is a crime to knowingly provide false, incomplete or misleading information to an insurance company for the purpose of defrauding the company. Penalties include imprisonment, fines and denial of insurance benefits.

Oregon Only

Marijuana Items and Activities Coverage Notice

Under Section I – Property Coverages, marijuana items are covered under Coverage C – Personal Property, subject to any applicable policy sublimits. Examples of property sublimits that may apply include a limit for business property and limits on Trees, Shrubs and Other plants. Please see your policy contract for more information.

Under Section II –Liability Coverages, Coverage E – Personal Liability and Coverage F do not apply to bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use, sale, manufacture, delivery, transfer or possession by any person of marijuana. The exclusion of these marijuana activities does not apply to the legitimate use of Marijuana by a person following the lawful orders of a licensed health care professional.

Alabama Only

Policyholder Bill Of Rights

The purpose of this Act is to set forth the rights Alabama homeowners have with respect to their insurance policies and with insurance companies. Section 3 of the Act sets out the following minimum standards to be followed by the Alabama Department of Insurance in exercising the Department’s powers and duties in regulating insurance companies pursuant to Title 27, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975. These standards include the following.

Policyholders shall have the right to competitive pricing practices of insurers as prescribed by applicable federal or state insurance law and regulation.
Policyholders shall have the right to insurance advertising and sales approaches that provide representative information on the policy in accordance with Title 27, Chapter 12, Code of Alabama 1975.
Policyholders shall have the right to assurance that the insurance market in general and their insurance company in particular are financially stable as provided in Section 27-12-7, Code of Alabama 1975.
Policyholders shall have the right to receive service from licensed producers in accordance with Title 27, Chapter 7, Code of Alabama 1975, and to request the license status of an insurance company or producer.
Policyholders shall have the right to a policy as prescribed in Title 27, Chapter 14, Code of Alabama 1975, to receive a complete policy, and to request a duplicate or replacement policy, if needed.
Policyholders shall have the right to receive in writing from their insurance company the reason for any cancellation of coverage and a minimum number of days’ notice of cancellation of coverage, subject to applicable federal or state insurance law and regulation.
Policyholders shall have the right to cancel their policy and receive a refund of any unearned premium. If a policy was funded by a premium finance company, the unearned premium will be returned to the premium finance company to pay toward the policyholder’s financing loan.
Policyholders shall have the right to a written notification, at renewal, describing changes in their insurance contract language that are applicable to the renewal period.
Policyholders shall have the right, in the event of a claim, to reject any settlement amount offered by the insurance company.
Policyholders shall have the right to select their licensed contractor or vendor to repair, replace, or rebuild damaged property covered by the insurance policy.
Policyholders shall have the right to file a written complaint against any insurance company with the Department of Insurance and to have that complaint reviewed by the Department of Insurance.
Policyholders shall have the right to file a written complaint against any insurance producer with the Department of Insurance and to have that complaint reviewed by the Department of Insurance

Flood Coverage Disclosure Notice

All homeowner insurance policyholders are cautioned that:

Your policy excludes coverage for damage caused by flooding of all types. This exclusion may exclude any and all damages resulting from storm surge from a hurricane, surface water, flash floods, waves, tidal water, tidal waves, wind driven rain or water, or any other overflow of water, and spray from any of these events. For further details, please see the language of your policy. The language of your policy will control the obligations of the parties.

You are further advised that to be covered for such a loss, you will have to obtain a separate flood insurance policy by applying to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Your need for flood coverage can be confirmed with the NFIP or your mortgage lender. If available in your location, the NFIP can provide both structure and contents coverage. A claim under a flood insurance policy may be adjusted and paid on a different basis than a claim under a homeowners policy.

You can contact the National Flood Insurance Program for information at:

National Flood Insurance Program
P.O. Box 619
Lanham, MD 20706

https://www.floodsmart.gov

Statement of Additional Optional Coverages
Not included in the Standard Homeowners Insurance Policy

Your standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover all risks. You may need to obtain additional insurance to cover loss or damage to your home, property, and the contents of your home to cover the risks related to business or personal activities on your property. We offer the following additional coverages that you may choose to purchase. We urge you to review these optional endorsements and credits.

Extended Replacement Cost on Dwelling This endorsement can be used to increase Coverage A (dwelling) by either 25% or 50% to better accommodate a customer’s needs.

Earthquake This covers against a direct physical loss caused by an earthquake or earth movement. You may add this additional coverage for an additional premium. It is subject to a percentage of Coverage A deductible.

Increase Deductibles By increasing the deductible, the policyholder may lower the cost of annual insurance premium. For instance increasing a $500 deductible to a $1000, 1% or 2% may decrease the annual premium significantly.

Increase Limits on Other Structures Provides additional limits for Coverage B if needed. Only structures on the insured premises apply. You may increase up to double the original Coverage B amount.

Water Back up and Sump Overflow Provides coverage for direct physical loss due to water backing up through sewers or drains and water which overflows from a sump. This is not a flood coverage, which requires a separate policy.

Replacement Cost on Personal Property This endorsement protects the customer from receiving the depreciated value for their personal property. Instead contents will be replaced with new items of like kind and quality.

Increased Limits on Personal Property This endorsement offers the insured the ability to increase certain personal property coverages from the standard homeowners limit. For instance, the basic homeowners policy insures jewelry for up to $1000 for the named perils; a customer may choose to increase that coverage to $5000.

Increased Limits on Business Property For additional premium, this endorsement may increase the coverage for “business” property on the “residence premises”.

Scheduled Personal Property For additional premium, we offer open perils coverage for items such as jewelry, furs, cameras, musical instruments, silverware, fine arts and golfer’s equipment. Not subject to a deductible, these items would be covered for the appraised value.

Special Computer Coverage For additional premium, this would broaden the coverage for your computer due to direct physical loss. For example, if the policyholder drops a glass of water on the computer, this would be covered. This endorsement is subject to the policy deductible.

Identity Theft This endorsement covers up to $15,000 for expenses incurred by the insured as a direct result from identity theft. The deductible would only be $250.

Loss Assessment Coverage Specially designed for condominium owners, this coverage provides protection for assessments made by the condominium association resulting from loss to the property. The policyholder can choose the limit of coverage they wish up to $25,000 if the loss is caused by an insured peril.

Watercraft This endorsement extends the limit of liability on your homeowners policy to your watercraft. This does not cover for the physical loss of the watercraft.

Personal Injury With this endorsement, you can extend the limit of liability on your homeowners policy to cover you against libel, slander, and invasion of privacy.

Home Day Care Coverage Registered family day care providers can purchase liability coverage in the amount of at least $300,000 to protect you against claims of bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury arising out of your activities as a day care provider.

***Additional endorsements and credits are subject to availability and qualification.

California Only

Increased Dwelling Protection is important in the event there is a covered loss to your home that exceeds your dwelling limit. This protection will provide up to an additional 25%, and in some areas 50% of your dwelling limit in coverage. For example, if you have dwelling protection with a dwelling limit of $200,000 on your policy, and you purchase Increased Dwelling Protection of 25%, your home is covered for an additional $50,000 for a total dwelling limit of $250,000. Your coverage limits, deductibles, and certain exclusions may apply. Please read your Homesite insurance policy for details once you receive it after purchasing.

Connecticut Only

Homesite considers lapses in coverage in determining the premium charged for your policy. We may be able to offer you an accommodation if you had a lapse in your previous coverage as the result of active military duty in the armed forces or as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces (including National Guard). Please contact our customer service department for more information.

Minnesota Only

THE INSURER MAY ELECT TO CANCEL COVERAGE AT ANY TIME DURING THE FIRST 59 DAYS FOLLOWING ISSUANCE OF THE COVERAGE FOR ANY REASON WHICH IS NOT SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED BY STATUTE.

North Dakota Only

We will consider the insured’s claims history in determining whether to decline, cancel, nonrenew, or surcharge a policy and claims you incur will be reported to an insurance support organization.

New Mexico Only

We may collect information from sources other than you or someone else named in your application. This information may include confidential abuse information; that is, confidential information regarding acts of domestic abuse; the work, home, school, or other address or telephone number of a victim of domestic abuse; an applicant’s or insured’s status as a victim of domestic abuse; or their status as a family member, employer or associate of a victim of domestic abuse or a person with whom an applicant is known to have a direct, close personal, family, or abuse-related counseling relationship.

Protected Persons
All insurance companies are prohibited by law from using anyone’s confidential abuse status as a basis for denying coverage; refusing to issue, renew, or reissue a policy; canceling or otherwise terminating a policy; restricting or excluding policy coverage or benefits; or charging a higher premium for a policy.

A protected person has a right to request access to any confidential abuse information we have about them in our records or files. A protected person also has a right to request that we correct, amend, or delete any such information we have about them in our records or files. A notice detailing our confidential abuse information practices is available on request.

South Carolina Only

THE INSURER CAN CANCEL THIS POLICY FOR WHICH YOU ARE APPLYING WITHOUT CAUSE DURING THE FIRST 120 DAYS. THAT IS THE INSURER’S CHOICE. AFTER THE FIRST 120 DAYS, THE INSURER CAN ONLY CANCEL THIS POLICY FOR REASONS STATED IN THE POLICY.

Vermont Only
We do not disclose, and do not wish to reserve the right to disclose, nonpublic personal information about customers or former customers to affiliates except as authorized under Sections 15, 16, and 17 of VT ADC 4-3-42.

Virginia Only

In connection with this application for insurance, we shall review your credit report or obtain or use an insurance credit score based on the information contained in that credit report. We may use a third party in connection with the development of your insurance credit score. You may request that your credit information be updated and if you question the accuracy of the credit information, we will, upon your request, reevaluate you based on corrected credit information from a consumer reporting agency.

West Virginia Only

We use your credit information to produce an insurance score. This insurance score has an effect on the premium that you pay for your insurance. We are required by the Insurance Commissioner to recheck your credit information no less than once every 36 months for changes. You have the option to request that we recheck your insurance score more frequently than once every 36 months, but you can only make this request once during any 12-month period. If there has been a change in your insurance score, we will re-underwrite and re-rate the policy based upon the current credit report or insurance score. The change in your insurance score may result in an increase or a decrease in the premium that you pay for your insurance. Any changes in your premium will take place upon renewal if your request is made at least 45 days before your renewal. If the request is made less than 45 days before your renewal date, the insurer shall re-underwrite and re-rate the policy for the following renewal.

Last Modified On: December 16th, 2022