Special Districts Association of Oregon Web Site Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the SDAO web site and reviewing our privacy policy. SDAO recognizes that your privacy is important. Any information you give to employees, staff, and other personnel of SDAO or provide to us online at www.sdao.com will be handled with the utmost care.
This privacy policy document describes how SDAO treats personal information that SDAO collects and receives. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, e-mail address, or phone number, and that is not otherwise publicly available.
This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that SDAO does not own or control, or to people who SDAO does not employ or manage. In addition, some companies for which SDAO is the administrator of services have their own privacy policies.
Information We Collect and How We Use It
Collection
If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the web site, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:
- The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our web site;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site, including its version (HTTP header, “user-agent”);
- The date and time of the user accesses our site;
- The pages the user visits; and
- If you linked to the SDAO web site from another web site, the address of that web site (HTTP header, “referrer”).
Cookies are small files of information that save specific information about your visit to a website on your computer. There are two types of cookies, persistent and session-based. Only persistent cookies remain on your computer after you've closed your browser or turned off your computer. The SDAO Member Site uses persistent cookies maintain your "User ID". The cookies we use identify you merely as a number and are used only to assist in Logging into the SDAO member site and expire after 30 days. Cookies, by themselves, cannot be used to find out the identity of any user. As a client of SDAO, we are especially careful about the security and confidentiality of the information we send through persistent cookies.
Session cookies and remain in your computer's memory only until your browser session has ended and is completely closed. Session cookies disappear from your computer when you close your browser software or turn off your computer. They contain encrypted or encoded information about your account(s), and/or identifying information that you have previously provided to us. This information allows SDAO to process your online transactions and requests. Session cookies help us make sure you are who you say you are after you've logged in. If you are uncomfortable regarding the use of cookies, you can disable cookies on your computer by changing the settings in the preferences or options menu in your browser. However, limiting or disabling cookies on your computer may limit the availability of some of the SDAO website offerings.
SDAO may show advertisements for approved vendors, partners, advertisers and other service providers on some of our pages. They do not have access to SDAO’s cookies.
Some areas of our web site are password protected and require that you register for online access. We may request that you provide us with basic information before proceeding. If you choose not to register and provide this information you can still access some of the web site www.sdao.com. However, you will not be able to use the portions of the site which require registration.
When you register to use the SDAO web site, www.sdao.com, we request information such as your organization, first and last name, position/job title, phone number, e-mail address, and a password. For some products and services we might also ask for your physical and/or mailing address and additional information about your organization.
SDAO may combine information you have given us upon registering for online access with information we obtain through your membership renewals, property/casualty renewals, workers’ compensation renewals or other types of paperwork submitted to SDAO by your special district, school district, community college, ESD, or charter school, or insurance agent. This may be in the form of written or electronic records or spoken words.
Information about your transactions with us and transactions your insurance agent(s) or SDAO staff makes on behalf of your organization, including information about your use of products and services that we offer, may be collected. This information is used to customize the content you see on our web site, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct auditing, perform research and analysis to operate and improve SDAO technologies and services, and provide reporting internally as well as externally at your request.
Requests from you for additional information of any type may be shared with another agency only if your inquiry related to that agency or if we were required to do so by law. In addition, we would release documents, including e-mails, if required to do so by a congressional or judicial subpoena.
Use
We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors by learning about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use.
SDAO does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies except to provide products or services you have requested or under the following circumstances:
- When trusted partners (third parties) assist SDAO under confidentiality agreements provide technical assistance. We require they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. These companies do not have any independent right to share this information.
- When we respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or must establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.
- When we believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person (imminent harm), violations of SDAO’s terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.
- In the event that SDAO is acquired by or merges with another association. In this event SDAO will notify you and your insurance agent before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
SDAO approved third parties (vendors, partners, advertisers and other service providers) that pay the association a fee to become Subscribers may request member mailing labels. The information on the labels includes the name and title of the key contact, the name of your organization (special district, school district, community college, ESD, or charter school), and your mailing address. This information may be contained in documents filed with the State of Oregon and may already be accessible to the public through the State of Oregon’s Municipal Records Audits Division. SDAO only allows third parties to become Subscribers if they are identified as providing information deemed likely to be of interest to the SDAO membership. SDAO does not collect or store your information with the intent of commercial marketing.
Links to Other Sites
In order to provide you with a wide variety of information about SDAO and our programs and services, our web site has links to other web sites. SDAO provides external links as an information service only. Each of these agencies, associations, entities, non-profit organizations, other organizations and private businesses has the responsibility of setting their own privacy policy and posting it on their web site. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. SDAO is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such web sites.
Accessing Your Account Information and Preferences
Whenever reasonably possible we offer you choices when we ask for personal information. Registered users may edit their SDAO account information at any time. Your insurance agent(s) may edit your SDAO account information for you at any time. SDAO staff may update your record based on information we have received in the form of written or electronic records or spoken words.
You may decline to provide personal information to us and/or refuse cookies in your browser. In doing so some of our features or services may not function correctly as a result.
We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the numerous services SDAO provides, such as service announcements, administrative messages, and the SDAO News and Risk Management Review newsletter, that are considered part of your SDAO account, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.
Although extensive precautions have been taken and procedures are in place to prevent the transmission of viruses via e-mail messages, the recipient should check all e-mails and any attachments for the presence of viruses. SDAO accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by e-mail. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. SDAO therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of e-mail messages, which arise as a result of e-mail transmissions.
You can delete your personal record, but not that of the special district, school district, community college, ESD, or charter school with which you are affiliated. Your information, or some of your information, may remain in our archived records after your account has been deleted.
Confidentiality and Security
Security Technology
SDAO currently uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates issued by Network Solutions to offer secure communications by encrypting all data to and from the web site. The SSL Web Server Certificate offers comprehensive authentication procedures (domain name and identity verification). It also employs 128-bit encryption ensuring that information is kept private while in transit between the web server and your client web browsers.
Security Visual Reminder
There are two visual reminders of the security status of your connection at any given time. When you are in a secure state, the URL (web address) showing in your browser will begin with https (the "s" stands for "secure"). Normal unsecured transmissions show a URL beginning with http.
Individual browsers also give a second indication that secured transmissions are being sent and received. Typically, a solid key or a locked padlock icon in the lower left-hand corner of your browser window indicates a secured session is in progress, while an icon showing a broken key, an open lock, or no icon at all, indicates an unsecured mode.
For site security purposes this computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.
SDAO, as developer and manager of the SDAO web site, has taken steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, and auditing. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day practices of the entire operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management.
We limit access to personal information about you to SDAO employees who we believe need to come into contact with that information to provide products or services to you or in order to do their jobs. We use strict measures to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of data on our web site.
Your User ID and Passwords
SDAO provides each user who registers for online access to www.sdao.com a unique user ID number. Each registrant assigns their own password. Keep your password private (just as you protect PINs you use for other transactions, such as ATM withdrawals). You may change your password as often as you want and it is recommended that you change your password frequently. After you have successfully registered for the SDAO Member site, your registration is reviewed and activated by SDAO personnel. An account activation confirmation is then e-mailed to you at the address submitted during registration.
Disclaimer
Neither the SDAO web site, nor any employee of SDAO warrants the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
SDAO will update this policy as needed. Users will not be notified of changes but may review our privacy policy at any time. The date changes were last made is shown at the bottom of this privacy policy.
Questions
The SDAO web site is operated and maintained by SDAO employees. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints please contact us at 800.285.5461 or send an e-mail to sdao@sdao.com. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.
Due to our concern about computer viruses and the damage they cause, e-mail messages containing attachments or messages without a clear and appropriate subject line describing the contents of the contents of the e-mail may be deleted without opening.
If you believe your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed you should contact Network Solutions. Network Solutions serves as a liaison with SDAO to resolve your concern.
Effective Date: 05/19/2008
Last Updated: 04/19/2010
