Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the California’s Low Cost Automobile Insurance program (CLCA) website and reviewing our Privacy Notice. California Department of Insurance (CDI) wants you to know about the collection, use, security, and access to information that may be obtained through use of the CLCA website.

California Insurance Code Section 11629.87 provides that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) shall, in consultation with the California Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP), establish and maintain a consumer-oriented Internet Web site that provides information and eligibility assessment to consumers wishing to purchase liability insurance protection through California’s Low Cost Automobile (CLCA) Insurance program, as well as referral to certified agents and brokers who may be contacted to purchase a low-cost automobile insurance policy.

CLCA and CDI use personal information provided on this website to determine eligibility for coverage under CLCA, to contact consumers in order to provide information about participation in CLCA, and to connect consumers with agents and brokers who place CLCA policies. In order to determine your eligibility for CLCA and provide information about the program, the California Department of Insurance (CDI) may request personal information from you. Information is collected subject to limitations contained in the Information Practices Act of 1977, SAM 5300, et seq., SIMM 5305, et seq., and other applicable state and federal laws.

By visiting this web page you are accepting the policies and practices described in this Notice.

Personal Information and Choice

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Pursuant to Civil Code 1798.3(a), personal information includes, but is not limited to, such information as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information; however, it is considered "electronically collected personal information".

According to Government Code § 11015.5, "Electronically collected personal information" means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users, serving in a business capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that business.

The only "electronically collected personal information" we automatically collect is your domain name or Internet Protocol address. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information (i.e. requesting a low cost auto insurance quote, sending an e-mail, or participating in a survey) more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the CLCA website.

The personal information collection and management policies, practices and procedures implemented by CDI and CLCA are governed by law; including the California Information Practices Act (Civil Code section 1798 et seq., Government Code § 11015.5(a)(5), and related statutes) and the federal Privacy Act of 1974. If any type of personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, these laws or others may protect the manner in which the information is collected, used, and disclosed. However, this information may be a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or state law.

Government Code § 11015.5 (6) prohibits CDI, CLCA, and all state agencies from distributing or selling, without permission of the user, any electronically collected personal information as defined above, to any third party. Any distribution of "electronically collected personal information" will be solely for the purposes for which it was provided to us.

CDI and CLCA may distribute or provide public access to certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed without the user’s consent. Additionally, CDI and CLCA may impose a charge for access to certain lists and statistical reports when authorized by law to do so.

This website and the information it contains are provided as a public service by the CDI. This system is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features, and for comparable purposes. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

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A Special Note about Minors

CLCA insurance coverage is only available to California drivers over the age of 19. Minors are not eligible to use our services and we ask that persons under the age of 18 not submit any personal information to us.

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Information Collected and How it is Used

If you do nothing during your visit to the California’s Low Cost Auto program (CLCA) website, but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

1. The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used but not the e-mail address. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you.
2. The type of browser and operating system you used,
3. The date and time you visited this site,
4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site, and
5. If you downloaded a form or list, the form or list that was downloaded.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This information is used for gathering website statistics. The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our website to continually improve the value of the materials available. Except for cookies, as described in more detail below, we do not store information on your computer when you visit our website. We make no attempt to link other websites with the individuals that browse the CLCA website.

Apart from the information described above, when other information is collected through the CLCA website for a specific purpose, it will be accompanied by a Privacy Notice on Collection, which will explain the purposes for which the information is being collected.

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What Happens to Information You Submit to Us

If you choose to submit information to us the information will be transmitted through secure lines to our departmental database or databases controlled by the department through our contracted outside vendors, if any. Personal information will not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified at the time of collection in a “Privacy Notice on Collection,” except with the consent of the subject of the data, or as authorized by law.

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Surveys

If, during your visit to the CLCA website, you participate in a survey or send an e-mail, the following additional information will be collected:

1. The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail, and
2. Information volunteered in response to the survey.

The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us.

The information is retained in accordance with Government Code § 11015.5.

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If You Send Us E-mail

You may choose to provide us with personal information, in the form of an e-mail with a comment or question. We use the information provided to improve our service to you or to respond to your request. Sometimes we forward your e-mail to other CDI employees or our contracted vendor who may be better able to help or provide additional service to you. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, or when we forward your e-mail to another agency or contracted entity for appropriate action, we do not share your e-mail with any other organizations.

We use your e-mail to respond appropriately to the issues presented to CLCA and CDI. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action.

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Public Disclosure

In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. Both state and federal laws provide exceptions.

All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. Electronically collected personal information is exempt from requests made under the California Public Records Act. In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other applicable law will control.

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Access and Correction of Personal Information

You can review any personal information we collect about you. If you have any questions or concerns about the information presented in this Privacy Notice, or would like to make a request for personal information access, you may contact:

• CDI Privacy Officer
  Legal Division
• 300 Capitol Mall
• Sacramento, 95814
• 916.492.3800

You may recommend changes to your personal information you believe in error by submitting a written request that credibly shows the error. Additionally, if you choose, you may have any personal information collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution, provided we are contacted in a timely fashion, typically within 30 days from the date you provide the information to us. If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact us. Please contact the CDI Privacy Officer at the address or phone number above for more information about submitting a request to have your information deleted. In all cases, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

Click here to remove your personal information from the CLCA website

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Automatic Collection of Information/Cookies

Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. Unlike the common usage of cookies, CDI only uses cookies during the session in which you access our interactive applications.

Cookies created on your computer by using this website do not contain "personal information" and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature only to store a randomly generated identifying temporary tag on your computer. You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by using any of the widely available methods. However, if you turn your cookie option off you will not be able to access our interactive applications.

Information collected through automatic, electronic means is not subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.

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Security

CLCA and CDI, as developers and managers of this website, has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire CLCA and CDI operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management. This information is not legal, business, or other advice, and does not warrant that information security measures provided via the CLCA website are absolutely secure under all circumstances.

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Links to Other Sites

Our website has links to sites we felt might be useful to you. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. While CLCA and CDI strive to provide high-quality information and services to our users, CLCA and CDI do not guarantee the quality or accuracy of content provided by linked websites.

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Restriction of Liability

CLCA and CDI attempt to maintain the highest accuracy of content on the CLCA website. Any errors or omissions should be reported to the department for investigation. Please go to our "Access to and Correction of Personal Information" section of this Notice to locate contact information.

CLCA and CDI make no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this website and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this website. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this website or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of California, CLCA, or CDI, or their employees or agents.

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Ownership

Information and content found on this website, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. In order to use any information on this website not owned or created by CLCA or CDI, you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources. CLCA and CDI shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted to CLCA and CDI via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract. CLCA and CDI shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided to CLCA and CDI through this site. The use of Department of Insurance logos, emblems and/or seals, or CLCA logos or insignia without prior authorization is prohibited.

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Effective Date: December 29, 2015