Canada

FM Global is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") and any other documents referred to in it, set out the basis on which FM Global processes and protects the information we collect from you. It applies to any Personal Information you provide to FM Global and, subject to local law, any Personal Information we collect from other sources. Please read this Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding personal data. By using our websites, associated microsites, email exchanges, mobile applications or third-party sites (collectively referred to as “site(s)”) you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Policy now and as subsequently amended by us. This includes placing cookies on your device as described below.

Throughout this Policy, "FM Global" refers to Factory Mutual Insurance Company, including its subsidiaries and affiliates (also referred to as "we", "us", or "our").

Personal Information is defined in Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ('PIPEDA'). Personal Information is information about an identifiable individual such as name, postal address and date of birth.  It does not include, however, the name, postal address, etc. of an employee of an organization.

  1. CONSENT TO USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

Consent may be obtained in various ways. We may obtain your express consent or we may determine that consent has been implied by the circumstances. Express consent can be verbal (in person or over the telephone), written or by electronic application (including email). Implied consent occurs when we can assume you have given consent by some other action you take or decide not to take. For example, if you request a specific product or service and provide us Personal Information in that regard, we infer that you consent to us using that Personal Information to provide this service.

If you need to provide Personal Information about other individuals (such as employees, dependents, etc.), you must obtain their consent for these purposes prior to your disclosure to us.

Providing us with your Personal Information is always your choice. When you request services from us, we ask that you provide information that enables us to respond to your request. In doing so, you consent to our collection, use and disclosure to appropriate third parties of such Personal Information for these purposes. You also authorize us to use and retain this Personal Information for as long as it may be required for the purposes described above. Your consent remains valid even after the termination of our relationship with you, unless you provide us with written notice that such consent is withdrawn. You should note that by withdrawing your consent, or not providing it in the first place, you may limit or even prevent us from being able to provide you or an authorized third party (such as an employer) with the products or services desired.

Where applicable with respect to our insurance business activities and our on-going exposure to potential claims, and where necessary and when legally required, some of the information we collect is kept indefinitely. In certain circumstances, consent cannot be withdrawn, such as where Personal Information is required for policy issuance or renewal, insurance underwriting or claims administration of existing policies. Additionally in certain circumstances, we will not need to obtain consent or explain the purposes for the collection, use or disclosure of Personal Information. For example, this exception would apply if there is an emergency that threatens the life, health or security of an individual, or if we must comply with a court order. 

  1. WHY WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

With regard to each of your visits to our sites, FM Global may automatically collect certain types of information. When you visit our sites and exchange e-mails we may use automated technologies such as web server logs to collect IP addresses, "cookies" and Web beacons. The collection of this information will allow us to improve the effectiveness of FM Global’s sites and our marketing activities.

In general, you are not required to submit Personal Information when you visit our sites. However, we may ask you to provide certain Personal Information if you wish to receive additional information about our products, services and events. If you request electronic communications, such as an e-newsletter, you will be able to unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions included in the communication.

You can learn more about our cookie functionality and how to adjust your settings to accept or refuse cookies by visiting our Cookie Preference Center click here

 

  1. HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

We use your Personal Information to offer and administer our services and products. These may include, but are not limited to, claims management, risk management consulting, loss prevention, including engineering visits, product certification and testing and other forms of insurance services (including underwriting of insurance products and reinsurance). With your consent, we may also use this information for additional purposes, including providing you with information about other similar services and products we offer.

When you request services, we ask that you provide accurate and necessary information that enables us to respond to your request. In doing so, you consent to our collection, use, storage and disclosure of this information to appropriate third parties for the purposes described in this Policy.

While the information we collect may come directly from you, it may also be provided by our affiliates or other third parties (such as employers, insurance companies, insurance brokers or agents, credit organizations, financial institutions, etc.). If you provide Personal Information about other individuals (such as employees, dependents, etc.) you must obtain their consent prior to your disclosure to FM Global.

We will use the Personal Information we collect to:

  1. provide information and services as requested;
  2. determine eligibility and process applications for our products and services;
  3. understand and assess ongoing needs and offer our products and services to meet those needs;
  4. carry out communication, service, billing and administration;
  5. administer claims;
  6. conduct data analysis;
  7. obtain and update credit information with appropriate third parties, such as credit reporting agencies, where transactions are made on credit;
  8. execute monitoring and training;
  9. develop new services;
  10. administer our sites and ensure the contents are presented effectively;
  11. allow you to participate in interactive features;
  12. market products and services;
  13. conduct processing necessary to fulfill other contractual obligations;
  14. exercise our legal rights and protect our interests in the event any of the information you provide is relevant or helpful in connection with insurance claims brought by our customers or legal actions brought by or against us; and
  15. detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of our Terms of Use, violations of law, or other misuse of our sites.
  1.  SHARING PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH OTHERS

We do not sell or rent your Personal Information for any purpose and we do not share or otherwise disclose Personal Information about our site visitors with unaffiliated third parties for their marketing use. We may share Personal Information with third parties including, but not limited to, affiliates and subsidiaries, credit and fraud reporting agencies, debt collection agencies, insurers, reinsurers, insurance brokers, reinsurers, other insurance intermediaries, third parties that provide data analytic services, lawyers and accountants and others involved in the claims handling process, sub-contractors, suppliers and service providers. These third parties may be located in other jurisdictions outside of Canada.  As such, your Person Information may be stored in such other jurisdiction and subject to that jurisdictions’ legal requirements. By consenting to the Policy, you also consent to these third parties storing, disclosing and using your Personal Information in accordance with the laws of their applicable jurisdiction. Note, however, that these third parties will use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements.

Furthermore, we may disclose Personal Information: 

  1. to respond to the courts and/or regulators, governmental agencies or public authorities in connection with enquiries, proceedings, subpoenas or other legal process or investigations by parties anywhere in the world;
  2. in order for FM Global to comply with its regulatory requirements or dialogue with its regulators as applicable;
  3. in the event of a merger/acquisition;
  4. when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary (a) to protect our rights including the rights in our products, the integrity of the sites, or your safety or the safety of others, or (b) to detect, prevent, or respond to fraud, intellectual property infringement, violations of our Terms of Use, violations of law or other misuse of the sites; and
  5. to service providers, advisors, potential transactional partners, or other third parties in connection with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a corporate transaction in which we are acquired by or merged with another company or we sell, liquidate, or transfer all or a portion of our assets.

In addition, we may share de-identified reports on user demographics and traffic patterns, as well as de-identified information, with third parties.

 

  1. SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR MARKETING PURPOSES

We may share Personal Information with our business partners that we or they may deliver marketing communications, promotional materials, or advertisements that may be of interest to you or to assist us in improving the effectiveness or our marketing activities. Should you not wish for us or our business partners to use Personal Information for marketing purposes, please refer to the “CONTACT US” section so that you may contact our Privacy Officer to decline use of Personal Information for marketing purposes.

  1. ACCURACY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

FM Global takes reasonable steps to keep your Personal Information accurate and complete. In order to assist us with this, you should notify us of any changes to your Personal Information by contacting us at CLICK HERE or at the postal address listed in the "Contact Us" section below. Please include your current contact information and your requested changes. We will make every attempt to make your requested changes unless they infringe on the privacy of other individuals. All requested changes are subject to reasonable limitations provided by law. If we do not provide you with the requested changes, we will provide you with the reason for refusal and inform you of any exceptions relied upon.

  1. HOW WE SAFEGUARD PERSONAL INFORMATION

FM Global has implemented reasonable physical, technical and administrative security standards to protect Personal Information under our control from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction.   

  1. PRIVACY AND THE INTERNET

FM Global may collect information during your visit to an FM Global site (through the use of cookie technology, for example). Using cookies allows us to improve our sites, compile aggregate statistics, distinguish you from other users of our sites and helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our sites. A cookie is a piece of programming information contained in a very small text file that is placed in your Internet browser or elsewhere on your hard drive. You can control acceptance of cookies by modifying your Internet browser preferences. You have the ability to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set or to reject all cookies. Please note that, if you choose to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or part of our site and may be unable to use those services or engage in activities that require the placement of cookies.

In addition, on some occasions, FM Global may use tracking technologies such as web beacons, to collect information about your visits to FM Global sites. These are small electronic images embedded in web content or e-mail messages and are ordinarily not visible to users. Like cookies, this tracking technology enables us to track pages and content accessed and viewed by users on FM Global sites. The use of these technologies also helps us to provide you with a positive experience when you browse our sites, and it also helps refine our content and personalize your experience.  You can adjust your browser settings to accept or refuse cookies.

Engaging with FM Global through social media

When you engage with us through social media sites or through features such as plug-ins or applications on FM Global sites that integrate with social media sites, you may choose to link your account with us to third party social media sites. When you link your account or engage with us on or through third party social media sites, plug-ins, or applications, you may allow us to have ongoing access to certain information from your social media account (e.g., name, e-mail address, photo, gender, birthday, the posts or the 'likes' you make).

If you post information when you interact with our sites through social media sites, plug-ins or other applications, depending on your privacy settings, this information may become public on the Internet. You can control what information you share through privacy settings available on some social media sites. In addition, we also give users the option to share our stories on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. To deliver this service we link to a third-party website called AddThis. If you use our share buttons you will be directed to a website controlled by AddThis. We have no control over the additional cookies that AddThis sets when you use its services. You can opt out of such cookies through this external party’s cookie preference center.

You can learn more about our cookie functionality by visiting our Cookie Preference Center [NB2] and reviewing our Cookie Notice[NB3] . 

 

  1. ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION 

FM Global takes reasonable steps to keep your Personal Information accurate and complete. Should you wish to access Personal Information, contact us at CLICK HERE or postal address listed below.  Please include your current contact information and the information you are interested in accessing. We will provide you access to the Personal Information requested, unless it infringes on the privacy of other individuals.  All access is subject to reasonable limitations provided by law. If we do not provide you with access, we will provide you with the reason for refusal and inform you of any exceptions relied upon.

 

  1. CONTACT US 

For changes, such as modifying or withdrawing your consent or modifying your Personal Information, contact us at CLICK HERE or at the postal address listed below. Note that if you do not give us consent or subsequently modify or withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with the products or services you want.

 FM Global Privacy Office

Canada Data Protection Officer – W. Jay Swiatek

Factory Mutual Insurance Company

270 Central Avenue

Johnston, Rhode Island 02919 USA

Email: DataProtection@FMGlobal.com

 

  1. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We reserve the right to update this Policy. Any changes we may make from time to time will be posted on this page. We encourage you to frequently review this Policy to see any updates or changes to our privacy practices.

This Policy was last updated June 2023