Blue Cross On-line Privacy Statement

The Online Privacy Statement (the “Statement”) applies to websites (the “Websites”) and mobile applications (“Apps”) of Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada (“Blue Cross”), or its third-party administrator, Medavie, Inc. (together with Blue Cross, “we”, “us” or “our”) that link to this Statement, and explains how we collect information automatically when you visit our Websites and Apps, and how that information is used and disclosed. It supplements the Blue Cross Privacy Statement and/or other terms or agreements that may apply to your relationship with us.

We respect your privacy

At Blue Cross, our Mission is to improve the wellbeing of Canadians. This includes the use of technology to help meet the health care needs of our customers. Essential to this approach is our commitment to protecting the privacy of all personal information we receive and placed in our care, including what we collect through digital channels like our Websites and Apps.

The information we collect and how we collect it

We automatically collect information when you visit or use or Websites or Apps including:

• The browser and device you are using, which is provided by your browser and device

• The address of the site you came from, which is provided by your browser

• The date and time of your visit to our Websites and Apps

• The pages you visit within our Websites and Apps

• The number of times you visit our Websites and Apps

• How long you stay on our Websites and Apps and at what point you exit

• Your geolocation and your Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is provided by your device

• Other information collected using cookies, web beacons and similar technologies (by us or by third parties on our behalf) (see how we use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies below).

How we use the information we collect

Depending on your relationship with us, we may use the information we collect automatically through our Websites and Apps to do any of the following:

• Personalize, enhance your experience and make navigation easier while you are visiting or using our Websites and Apps

• Enable you to use our online tools

• Administer our business, including data analysis, audits, developing and improving products and services, and determining the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising campaigns

• Gather statistics on the number of new and repeat visitors to our Websites and evaluate our website effectiveness by tracking your visits to our Websites and recognizing your web browser during future visits

• Protect both you and us from any errors, misrepresentations, fraud and/or contravention of laws or criminal activity through our Websites or Apps

How we use cookies, web beacons and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files that are automatically created by your web browser on your computer when you visit an internet site. Cookies collect and store information about your browsing patterns and information you provide.

In some cases and where permitted by law, we may allow third party cookies to be created when you visit our Websites. These cookies are used to advertise Blue Cross products on other companies’ websites and allow us to track the effectiveness of our advertising.

We use third party web analytics services to analyze the use of our Websites. These tools use cookies and other techniques to collect and generate information about your visits to our sites (including your IP address) that is transmitted to the third party’s analytic servers for processing. We study patterns of website activity so we can improve the experience of visitors to our sites.

Our web pages may also contain electronic images known as web beacons. Web beacons are sometimes referred to as “clear GIF images”, “pixel tags” or “single-pixel GIFs”. Web beacons are usually invisible to a user and are used for many of the same purposes as cookies.

How you can control tracking

Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies and other tracking technologies (referred to herein collectively as “cookies”). However, you can control cookies using our consent management tool. You can also set your browser to disable cookies or to inform you when they are set. You also have the ability to delete cookies that you have accepted.

You can control web analytics activity through the consent management tool or by setting your browser to notify you when a cookie is sent and block analytics cookies if desired. Please consult your browser's Help Menu for instructions.

Please note that, if you delete or disable cookies, you may not be able to take full advantage of features within our website or be able to access some apps or portals.

How we safeguard your personal information

To help protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use a combination of security measures and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards designed to keep it safe. For example, we employ encryption techniques and authentication technologies intended to safeguard the transmission of information over the internet. Some of our Websites utilize a timeout feature that will automatically log you out of your account after a period of inactivity.

Links to other websites

Some of our Websites may contain links to other websites that are not affiliated with us. We do not monitor or maintain the privacy practices of those external websites and do not have authority over them. We do not assume any responsibility for their privacy policies and procedures.