Our Privacy Policy

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in Guardian Select Insurance Center (“Guardian Select” “us” or “we”) and our services made available through the websites on which a link to this Privacy Policy is displayed, including www.guardianselectinsurancecenter.com, www.guardianselectinsurance.com, www.eenrollme.com  (collectively, the “Site”), and the downloadable applications through which this Privacy Policy is made available (collectively, the “Apps,” together with the Site, the “Service”).

This Privacy Policy describes the information that we gather from you, how we use and disclose your information, and the steps we take to protect your information. By using the Service, you consent to the privacy practices described in this policy.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to the Guardian Select Terms of Use. Capitalized terms that are not defined in the Privacy Policy have the meaning given to them in the Guardian Select Terms of Use.

The information that we collect:

• User-provided Personal Information

When you use the Service, you may provide and we may collect what is generally called “personally identifiable” information, such as your name, e-mail address, mailing address, mobile phone number, and demographic information. For example, you may provide us with personally identifiable information when you fill out forms or fields on our website, when you participate in online surveys, when you contact us or request information about us, this Site and our Service (whether by email or other means), when you submit User Content, and when you register for an account.

• User-provided Financial, Professional and Health Information

When you use certain portions of the Service (for example, the consultation services provided through the Financial Advisor Platform and Medical Bill Management and Patient Advocacy Services on our Site), you may be asked to fill in and submit a form that collects, in addition to your personally identifiable information: 

o your personal financial information, such as your current income level, current expenses, investable assets, amount of unpaid medical bills, whether you have health insurance and other financial information; 

o your professional information such as your LinkedIn Profile;

o while we do not specifically request your health or medical information, you may find it useful or necessary to provide such information in the course of using certain portions of the Service, including copies of your medical bills, Explanations of Benefits, insurance ID cards, or other documentation related to your medical expenses. For example, when you use the Medical Bill Management and Patient Advocacy Services to ask a question about or obtain advice or assistance with your medical bill, you may provide us information about your health condition(s), your prescriptions, or medical services you have received; and

o any additional information you choose to provide in the free-text portions of our request forms.

• “Cookies" Information

When you use the Service, we may send one or more cookies – small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters – to your device. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Service. Persistent cookies can be removed. Please review your web browser “Help" file to learn the proper way to modify your cookie settings. Please note that if you delete, or choose not to accept, cookies from the Service, you may not be able to utilize the features of the Service to their fullest potential.

• “Automatically Collected" Information

When you use the Service or open one of our HTML e-mails, we may automatically record certain information from your web browser by using different types of technology, including “clear gifs" or “web beacons.” This “automatically collected" information may include your IP address or other device address or ID, web browser and/or device type, the web pages or sites that you visit just before or just after the Service, the pages you view on the Service, your actions on the Service, and the dates and times that you visit, access, or use the Service. This information is gathered for all users.

• Third Party Web Beacons and Third Party Buttons

We may also implement third party content, or advertising on the Service that may use clear gifs or other forms of web beacons, which allow the third party content provider to read and write cookies to your browser in connection with your viewing of the third party content on the Service. Additionally, we may implement third party buttons (such as Facebook “like” or “share” buttons) that may allow such third party to collect information about you through such third party’s browser cookies, even when you do not interact with the button. Information collected through web beacons and buttons is collected directly by the third party, and Guardian Select does not participate in that data transmission. Information collected by a third party in this manner is subject to that third party’s own data collection, use, and disclosure policies.

• Information from Other Sources

We may also obtain information, including personally identifiable information, from third parties and sources other than the Service, such as our partners or advertisers. We may also, at your direction, receive information from third party services that provide a mechanism to expose information you have provided to such third party through the use of an application program interface (API), such as Facebook Connect or the Twitter API. If we combine or associate information from other sources with personally identifiable information that we collect through the Service, we will treat the combined information as personally identifiable information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

How we use the information we collect: Your information is an integral part of our operations, and we use it in a variety of ways in providing the Service and operating our business. For example:

• We may use the information that you provide or that we collect for purposes about which we notify you.

• We use the information that you provide or that we collect, to operate, maintain, enhance and provide all of the features of the Service.

• We use all of the information that you provide and that we collect to understand and analyze the usages trends and preferences of our users, to improve the Service, and to create new features and functionality.

• We may use your e-mail address or other personal information (a) to contact you for administrative purposes such as customer service, to address intellectual property infringement, right of privacy violations or defamation issues related to your User Content posted on the Service or (b) to send you promotional materials, offers, messages related to the Service and the activities of third parties we work with. Generally, you have the ability to opt-out of receiving any such communications, either through links provided in the messages, by updating your account preferences through the Service, or by contacting us directly at privacy@guardianselectins.com.

• We may use “cookies“ information and “automatically collected“ information to: (a) personalize our services, such as remembering your information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Service; (b) provide customized advertisements, content, and information; (c) monitor and analyze the effectiveness of Service and third party marketing activities; (d) monitor aggregate site usage metrics such as total number of visitors and pages viewed; and (e) track your entries, submissions, and status in any promotions or other activities.

When we disclose information: We disclose your information, including personally identifiable information, in a variety of circumstances in connection with providing the Service and the operation of our business. For example:

• We will share your personal information with our partners and third parties when we have your consent to do so.

• Any information, including personally identifiable information, medical bills, Explanation of Benefits, insurance ID cards, or other documentation related to your medical expenses that you voluntarily choose to post to a publicly accessible area of the Service, such as a public profile page or any section where you can publicly submit questions to us or our third party experts, advocates, and advisors (collectively, “Advisors“) will be available to anyone who has access to that content, including other Site users.

• When you request answers through our Service, such as through our Ask an Advisor or Find Answers services, Guardian Select will provide your information (including personally identifiable information, financial information, health information, and any supporting documentation such as medical bills and Explanations of Benefits) to Advisors. Guardian Select has no control over the means by which these Advisors further use or disclose your information, and such use and disclosure is subject to any privacy policy they may have. By submitting a request through our Services, you are consenting to the disclosure of your personal information to these third parties. Additionally, questions you submit and answers provided by Advisors may be posted on our Site and viewable by other users, Advisors, and the public.

• We work with third party service providers to provide website, application development, hosting, data storage, maintenance, and other services for us. To the extent it is necessary for these third party service providers to complete their contractual obligations to us, these third parties may have access to or process your personally identifiable information. Generally, the recipients are limited to using the information for the purpose for which it was provided.

• We make certain de-identified information available to third parties, to: (i) comply with various reporting obligations; (ii) for business or marketing purposes; or (iii) to assist such parties in understanding our users’ interests, habits, and usage patterns for certain programs, content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality available through the Service.

• We may also disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state and federal laws (such as U.S. Copyright law), in response to a court order, judicial or other government subpoena or warrant, or to otherwise cooperate with law enforcement activity.

• We also reserve the right to disclose your information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to take precautions against liability; to protect Guardian Select, Inc. and others from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses or activity; to investigate and defend ourselves against any third party claims or allegations; to assist government enforcement agencies; to protect the security or integrity of the Service; or to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Guardian Select, Inc. our users, or others.

Requests for Services from Requested Service Providers:

• Certain portions of the Service, for example the Financial Advisor Platform and the Medical Bill Management and Patient Advocacy Services, may allow you to request services or information from one or more third parties, such as financial or medical billing advisors. If you provide your personally identifiable information through the Site and request services or information from Advisors or request that you be contacted by an Advisor (e.g., by filling out and submitting a request form) (a "Request"), we may disclose, loan, rent or sell your personally identifiable information (including any provided financial information, health information, and supporting documentation such as medical bills, Explanations of Benefits, and insurance ID cards) to our affiliates and Advisors that we match with your Request. In most cases, Guardian Select has no control over the means by which these Advisors further use or disclose your information, and such use and disclosure is subject to any privacy policy they may have. By submitting a request through our Services, you are consenting to the disclosure of your personal information to these third parties.

• If you submit a Request, an Advisor may directly contact you with quotes or information via telephone, fax, and email. You may also receive telemarketing calls as a result of submitting the request, even if you are on the National Do No Call Registry or any other similar registry.

• Please note that if you do not want your personally identifiable information shared as described above, then you should not submit a Request. Once your submit a Request on this Site and we share your information as described above in connection with your Request, you will not have the opportunity to opt out of the disclosure of your information in connection with that Request.

Your Choices:

You may, of course, decline to share certain personally identifiable information with us, in which case we may not be able to provide to you some of the features and functionality of the Service. If this Site allows you to create an account with us, you may update, correct, or delete your profile information and preferences at any time by accessing your account preferences page through the Service. If you have not created an account and you would like for us to delete your personally identifiable information, please send us a request at privacy@guardianselectins.com. If you do not wish to receive email offers or newsletters from us, you can opt-out of receiving email information from us (except for emails related to the completion of your registration, correction of user data, change of password and other similar communications essential to your transactions on this Site) by using the unsubscribe process at the bottom of the email. Please note that while your changes are reflected promptly in active user databases, we may retain all information you submit for a variety of purposes, including backups and archiving, prevention of fraud and abuse, and analytics.

You have the option to refuse any free consultations or offers for services provided after you submit a request to an Adviser.

Third Party Services:

The Service may contain features or links to Web sites and services provided by third parties. Any personally identifiable information you provide on third party sites or services is provided directly to that third party and is subject to that third party’s policies, if any, governing privacy and security, even if accessed through the Service. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of third party sites or services to which links or access are provided through the Service. We encourage you to learn about third parties’ privacy and security policies before providing them with personally identifiable information.

Our Commitment to Children’s Privacy:

Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. For that reason, we do not allow children under 13 years of age to use the Service or knowingly collect or maintain personally identifiable information from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of the Service is directed to persons under 13 years of age. If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access the Service at any time or in any manner. If we learn that personal information has been collected on the Service from persons under 13 years of age and without verifiable parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child under 13 years of age has obtained an account on the Service or provided us with personal information, then you may alert us at privacy@guardianselectins.com and request that we delete the personal information from our systems.

Our Commitment to Data Security:

We use certain physical, managerial, and technical safeguards that are designed to improve the integrity and security of your personally identifiable information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or store on the Service and you do so at your own risk. We also cannot guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.

Privacy Settings

Although we may allow you to adjust your privacy settings to limit access to your information, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other users with whom you may choose to share your information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that information you post on the Service will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of information that you have posted may remain view-able in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored such information.

International Visitors:

The Service is hosted in the United States and is intended solely for visitors located within the United States. If you choose to use the Service from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, then please note that you are transferring your personal information outside of those regions to the United States for storage and processing, and by providing your personally identifiable information on the Service you consent to that transfer, storage, and processing.

In the Event of Merger or Sale:

In the event that all or a portion of Guardian Select or its assets are acquired by or merged with a third party entity, we reserve the right, in any of these circumstances, to transfer or assign the information that we have collected from users in connection with such merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control.

Changes and Updates to this Privacy Policy:

Please revisit this page periodically to stay aware of any changes to this Privacy Policy, which may be revised periodically at our sole discretion, as provided in Section 2 of the Guardian Select Terms of Use. In the event that a change to the Privacy Policy materially modifies your rights or obligations, you will be required to accept such modified terms in order to continue to use the Service. Material modifications are effective upon your acceptance of such the modified Terms. Immaterial modifications are effective upon publication. For the avoidance of doubt, disputes arising hereunder will be resolved in accordance with the Privacy Policy in effect that the time the dispute arose.

Do Not Track Disclosures

Third parties such as advertising networks, analytics providers, and widget providers may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites when you access or use our Service.

Our Contact Information:

Please contact us with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, your personally identifiable information, our use and disclosure practices, or your consent choices by e-mail at privacy@guardianselectins.com.

Guardian Select Insurance Center

191 W Shaw Ave Suite 205

Fresno CA 93704