Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Great American process my personal data?

Great American International Insurance (EU) DAC processes the personal data of policyholders and insureds on the basis of legitimate interest whereby the processing of the personal data is necessary for the performance of a contract of insurance and/or for assisting  in the underwriting of a potential risk.

Our data protection practices and data subject’s rights in respect of personal data are detailed in our Data Protection Notice

What personal data does Great American use?

In order to provide Insurance cover (as insurance policy) or to pay a claim we generally need information about:

a) the person and/or property that we are being asked to insure

b) property, for which repair or replacement costs are being sought under our insurance policy

c) medical and/or relevant conviction information where necessary to assess the risk

Who does Great American share data with?

We may share the personal data of policyholders and insureds with other entities within the Great American Insurance Group. Various entities of this group are located outside the European Economic Area (namely the United States of America). The standard provisions on data protection as drawn up by the European Commission are included in agreements in force between the entities of the Great American Insurance Group to ensure adequate safeguarding of information.

We also share data with non-Group entities. Third parties to whom we disclose your Personal Information are required by law and contractual undertakings to keep your Personal Information confidential and secure, and to use and disclose it for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, in compliance with all applicable legislation. The purposes for which we may disclose your Personal information to third parties are as follows:

a) with our appointed agents and intermediaries for insurance administration and claims validation purposes

b) with loss adjusters for claims validation purposes

c) with our reinsurance providers

d) with agents authorised by you to act on your behalf

e) with regulatory bodies

How long do we hold your information?

The personal data of insureds/policyholders are kept no longer than is necessary for the performance of a contract or required by law.

How is my Personal Data protected?

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the personal data of policyholders and insureds against loss or against any forms of unlawful processing.

What are my rights with respect to my data?

You have a number of rights relating to your information. You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a “data subject access request”). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where you believe there is no good reason for  us to continue to process it.

Object to Processing. You can object to any processing of your personal data, however it is important to note that this may result in Great American being unable to provide coverage.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:

a) if you want us to establish the data’s accuracy;

b) where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it;

c) where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as  you need to establish,           exercise or defend legal claims; or

d) you have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

Request details of transfers outside of the EEA of your personal data. You can ask for a copy of, or reference to, the safeguards under which your personal data is transferred outside of the European Economic Area.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data(or to exercise any of the other data protection rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your  request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. We may also need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure  your right to access your personal data. This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We try to respond to all requests within one month. Occasionally  it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Who can I contact if I want more information?

Should there be any queries with respect to how we process and store you r personal data please write to: The Data Protection Officer

Great American International Insurance (EU) DAC

Station Road

Dublin Road

Malahide

Co. Dublin

Ireland

Alternatively, you complete the contact form on the Contact Us section of this website.

For further details of your rights please see our Data Privacy Statement. We would also be happy to post a copy to you.

How do I make a complaint?

If you have a complaint or concern about how we use your personal data, please contact us in the first instance and we will do our utmost to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Data Protection Commission, the Irish supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.dataprotection.ie). We would however appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the Data Protection Commission.