This privacy notice will help you understand how we collect, use and protect your personal information. You should also show this notice to any named persons on your policy and anyone else whose details you provide to us. In order to make sure that the data we hold is accurate please tell us if there are any changes or errors in the data that we hold. You have the right to rectify the data we hold under the Data Protection Act 2018.
During the life of your policy, we may need to contact you with important information which we will do using the contact details you have given us.
You can manage your communications preferences when taking out the policy or unsubscribe at any time by contacting our service@travel-insurance.virginmoney.com.
This policy may include links to websites other than ours and these will contain their own privacy and cookie notices.
There are multiple organisations involved in providing you with a travel insurance service. This privacy policy explains how the following organisations process your data:
In this privacy notice, ‘we’, ’us’ and ‘our’ refers to Hood and ERGO unless otherwise stated.
There are other organisations which are also involved, and these have their own separate privacy policies which are included below this one. These are:
If you received a quote for your policy before 29th February 2024, it would include cover for Financial Failure provided by International Passenger Protection Limited which provides the airline and supplier failure cover and handles claims for such cover. Their privacy policy can be found here https://www.ipplondon.co.uk/privacy.asp
The type of personal information we collect
The types of information processed are shown in the table below. The identity of the data controller for each type of information is also shown. Where both parties are data controllers they act independently for that purpose.
| Data | Data Controller |
|---|---|
| Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender. |
ERGO
Hood |
| Contact Data includes billing address, postal address, email address and telephone numbers. |
ERGO
Hood |
| Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details to purchase a policy. Financial data will be encrypted accordingly. | Hood |
| Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us. | Hood |
| Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website. | Hood |
| Profile Data includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses. | Hood |
| Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services. | Hood |
| Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences. | Hood |
| Health and Medical Data includes medical history obtained from you. | ERGO |
How we get the personal information and why we have it
The personal information we process is provided directly by you to Hood Travel Ltd when you are applying for a quote for a travel insurance policy, or when you contact our customer services department (by telephone, email, post or real-time web live chat). This information may be shared with ERGO to fulfil their own purposes.
You may also provide personal information directly to ERGO when making a claim (by telephone, email or post). ERGO may also receive personal information indirectly, from a doctor in the event of a medical emergency for which you are making a claim.
The contact details we process will be shared with Virgin Money who will keep in touch regularly, sending you communications on their products and services.
Each of us use the information that you have given for different purposes which are listed in the table below along with the identity of the company to which the purpose relates.
| Purpose | Company |
|---|---|
| Pricing risk rates | ERGO |
| Operations (assistance/claims validation, fraud investigations) | ERGO |
| Assistance and Claims Complaints | ERGO |
| Pricing retail rates | Hood Travel |
| Amendments to and renewal of a travel insurance policy | Hood Travel |
| Providing you with policy documentation relating to a contract of insurance | Hood Travel |
| Providing a customer services facility via telephone, email and real-time web live chat | Hood Travel |
| Complaint’s handling (non-claims complaints) | Hood Travel |
| Processing premium payments and refunds | Hood Travel |
| Screening against the HM Treasury financial sanctions list | Hood Travel |
| Prevention and detection of financial crime | Hood Travel |
| Marketing | Hood Travel |
| Providing you with information we believe may be of interest to you related to your travel insurance policy | Hood Travel |
| Understanding how people interact with the travel insurance website | Hood Travel |
| Recording phone calls for record keeping, training and monitoring | Hood Travel |
We will only share your information if it is allowed by law, for prevention of fraud or with third parties who perform services to administer your policy. These include our respective group companies, price comparison website providers, third party administrators, other insurance intermediaries, insurance reference bureaus, medical service providers, fraud detection agencies, external law firms, external accountants and auditors, regulatory authorities, and as may be required by law.
Under data protection legislation, the lawful bases each party relies on for processing this information are in the table below.
| Lawful Basis | Hood | ERGO |
|---|---|---|
| Contractual obligation | ||
| Legal obligation | ||
| Legitimate interest |
Automated Decision Making
ERGO and Hood use automated decision making, including profiling to assess insurance risks, detect fraud, and administer your policy. This helps decide as to whether insurance can be offered and determine prices.
An example is that when you buy a travel insurance product, a potential policyholder may be rejected for cover based on their age. ERGO do not offer insurance for customers above a certain age. If accepted, the automated calculation of a person’s age may be used to calculate the premium payable.
If you have any concerns regarding the decision reached, please let Hood know at the contact details set out below and we will arrange for a person to check the accuracy of the result.
How we store your personal information
Your information is securely stored within the United Kingdom.
We keep your personal data for:
We will then dispose of your information by deleting it from our systems.
Your data protection rights
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
Please contact Hood Travel using the details provided under ‘Our contact details’ if you wish to make a request.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us using our contact details in the table below.
You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk
Our contact details
| Company | Hood Travel Ltd | ERGO Travel Insurance Services Ltd |
|---|---|---|
| Address: |
2nd Floor, Dencora Court
Tylers Avenue Southend-on-Sea Essex SS1 2BB |
Afon House
Worthing Road Horsham RH12 1TL |
| E-mail: | dpo@hoodgroup.co.uk | Dataprotectionofficer@ergo-travel.co.uk |