Universal Service Agency

Surety service made simple.

PRIVACY NOTICE

Universal Service Agency – Privacy Notice

Last updated on November 3, 2023

PRIVACY NOTICE

This Privacy Notice describes the information collection, use, and sharing practices of R &P Surety, LLC d/b/a Universal Service Agency (collectively “Universal”, “us”, “we”, “our”) when you interact with us through our website, www.universalbonds.com (the “Website”).

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect personal information, which is information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to you, when you:

  • Apply for a Free Quote. We you fill out the form to apply for a free quote, we collect from you your personal identifiers (first and last name, telephone number, and email address), professional identifier (company name), the type of bond you need, and the bond amount. We use this information to provide you with a free quote and to communicate with your regarding the quote.

  • Apply for a Bond. We provide various different applications for the varying bonds we offer on our Website. We collect from you, your personal identifiers (first and last name, address, telephone number, signature ), sensitive identifiers (Social Security number), professional identifiers (company name, company owners, address of the company, financial and legal information regarding the company), financial information (assets and liabilities, income, shares and bonds, real estate owned, life insurance, and any banks or financial institutions where credit has been obtained), government records (motor carrier number, FEIN number), and project information (owner/oblige name, address, and information regarding the project). We also collect, from you, the same information regarding your spouse, if applicable, and any co-applicants. We use this information to communicate with you, to assess whether we can issue you a bond, to run a background check, to run a credit check, and to validate whether the information you provided is accurate.

  • Contact us via the Website. When you contact us through the Website or via email, for example, to submit questions regarding bonds, we collect, from you, your personal identifiers (first and last name, and email address), your professional identifiers (company name), and any other information you wish to provide us regarding the nature of your inquiry. We use this personal information to respond to your questions or inquiries, troubleshoot where necessary, and address any issues may you have.

  • Make a Payment. When you make a payment through our website, we collect from you, your personal identifiers (first and last name and email address), your professional information (company name on the bond, if applicable), your account information (bond number, invoice number, and amount of the bond), your financial information (credit card number, CVC, expiration, billing zip code, or ACH information), your preferences (option to save card or enroll in reoccurring payments). We also request in the “Notes” portion additional account information (agency identification number, policy number, quote number, or invoice number). We use this information to process your payment and to manage your payment preferences.

  • Aggregate data. We aggregate the data we collect for benchmarking purposes and for internal analytics.

  • Interact with the Website. In addition to the personal information, you provide directly to us, we also collect information from you automatically as you use our Website via “cookies” and similar tracking technologies (including through the use of pixel tags). This includes the following internet or other electronic network activity information.

We use essential, performance, marketing, and analytics cookies to collect your usage, device, and location information when you interact with the Services. We use this information to: (i) track you within the Services; (ii) enhance user experience; (iii) conduct analytics to improve the Services; (iv) prevent fraudulent use of the Services; (v) diagnosis and repair Services errors, and, in cases of abuse, track and mitigate the abuse; and (vi) market to you more effectively across different web pages and social media platforms based on your browsing habits and history.

Particular third-party cookies to note on our Website include: Google Analytics and DoubleClick. In general, you can also disable cookies by setting your browser to refuse cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent. Please note, if you opt out of these targeted advertising cookies, your opt-out will be specific to the web browser, app, or device from which you accessed the opt-out. If you use multiple devices or web browsers, you will need to opt out of each browser or device that you use.

  • Google Analytics and Ads. We use Google Analytics and Google Ads to collect information on your use of the Services for its improvement. To collect this information, Google installs cookies on your browser or reads cookies that are already there. Google also receives information about you from applications you have downloaded that partner with Google. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google with personal information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics and Google Ads about your visits to our Website or to another application which partners with Google is restricted by the Google’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics or Google Ads, you can download the Google’s opt-out browser add-on, which can be accessed here.

  • DoubleClick. We utilize DoubleClick by Google to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to our Website. Each visitor to our Website receives a different cookie, and the information collected by the cookie is used to generate conversion statistics and allows us to see the total number of individuals who clicked on our ads. DoubleClick enables Google and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to our Website in addition to other websites on the Internet. Please review Google’s Privacy Policy for additional information on how Google uses the information collected.

Universal will also use the personal information we collect as described in this section to comply with the law, to efficiently maintain our business, and for other limited circumstances as described in HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. 

HOW WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

  1. General Sharing

Universal shares personal information in the following instances:

  • Within Universal. We share your personal information among our affiliated entities for the legitimate business purposes of efficiently and effectively providing bonds to our customers. Access to your personal information is limited to those on a need-to-know basis.

  • In the event of a corporate reorganization. In the event that we enter into, or intend to enter into, a transaction that alters the structure of our business, such as a reorganization, merger, acquisition, sale, joint venture, assignment, consolidation, transfer, change of control, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets or stock, we would share personal information with third parties, including the buyer or target (and their agents and advisors) for the purpose of facilitating and completing the transaction. We will also share personal information with third parties if we undergo bankruptcy or liquidation, in the course of such proceedings.

  • With Service Providers. We share your personal information with our service providers that help us carry out our business, such as background check provider, credit check provider, third party payment processor, and storage provider. 
  • With Third Parties. We may need to disclose your personal information to third parties, such as legal advisors, law enforcement agencies, or governmental/regulatory bodies to protect our legal interests and other rights, protect against fraud or other illegal activities, prevent harm, for risk management purposes, and to comply with our legal obligations.

  • For legal purposes. We share your personal information where we are legally required to do so, such as in response to court orders, law enforcement or legal process, including for national security purposes; to establish, protect, or exercise our legal rights, as required to enforce our terms of service or other contracts; to defend against legal claims or demands; to detect, investigate, prevent, or take action against illegal activities, fraud, or situations involving potential threats to the rights, property, or personal safety of any person; or to comply with the requirements of any applicable law.

YOUR INFORMATION CHOICES

 You have the following choices with respect to your personal information:

  • Opt Out of Google Analytics. To prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics, you can download the Google Analytics opt-out browser, which can be accessed here.

  • Opt Out of DoubleClick. To opt out of targeted advertising by Google, you can go to Google’s ad settings. You may also install the DoubleClick opt-out add-on.

  • Opt Out of Advertising All session cookies are temporary and expire after you close your web browser. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser’s directions. To find out how to see what cookies have been set on your computer or device, and how to reject and delete the cookies, please visit: https://www.aboutcookies.org/. Please note that each web browser is different. To find information relating to your browser, visit the browser developer’s website and mobile application. If you reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent, some features of our website may not function properly. If you choose to opt out, we will place an “opt-out cookie” on your device. The “opt-out cookie” is browser specific and device specific and only lasts until cookies are cleared from your browser or device. The opt-out cookie will not work for essential cookies. If the cookie is removed or deleted, if you upgrade your browser or if you visit us from a different computer, you will need to return and update your preferences. By clicking on the “Opt-Out” links below, you will be directed to the respective third-party website where your computer will be scanned to determine who maintains cookies on you. At that time, you can either choose to opt out of all targeted advertising or you can choose to opt out of targeted advertising by selecting individual companies who maintain a cookie on your machine.
  • Association of National Advertisers opt-out registration: https://dmachoice.thedma.org/
  • Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) Opt-Out: https://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
  • Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Opt-Out: https://optout.aboutads.info
  • European Union (EU) /European Economic Area (EEA) Opt-Out: http://www.youronlinechoices.eu
  • In general, you can also disable cookies by setting your browser to refuse cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent.

DO NOT TRACK

We do not respond to Do Not Track requests. Do Not Track is a preference you can set in your web browser to inform websites and mobile applications that you do not want to be tracked. You can enable or disable Do Not Track by visiting the Preferences or Settings page of your web browser.


INFORMATION SECURITY

We implement and maintain reasonable security measures, such as access controls and encryption, to protect the personal information that we collect and maintain from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. However, no security measure or modality of data transmission is 100% secure, and we are unable to guarantee the absolute security of the personal information we have collected from you. 

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Our Website is not intended for individuals under the age of thirteen (13) years. If we learn that we have collected or received personal information from individuals under the age of thirteen (13), we will delete the personal information. If you believe we have personal information on individuals under the age of thirteen (13), please contact us at the contact information provided below.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We may amend this Privacy Notice in our sole discretion at any time. If we do, we will post the changes to this page, and will indicate the date the changes go into effect. We encourage you to review our Privacy Notice to stay informed. If we make changes that materially affect your privacy rights, we will notify you by prominent posting on the Website and/or via email, and obtain your consent, if required.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Notice, please contact info@universalbonds.com.