This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is handled when you visit Professional Insurance UK, contact us or exercise a data-protection right.
Professional Insurance UK is an educational publication published by Zenith Star Media, an independent, unincorporated publishing project and network. For personal information processed in connection with this website and its editorial contact route, Zenith Star Media determines why and how that information is used and acts as the data controller.
Contact: zenithstarmediagroup@gmail.com
Please do not send policy numbers, claim files, payment information, identity documents, medical information or other sensitive personal information through the general contact inbox.
Information we may collect
Information you send to us
When you email us, we may receive:
- your name and email address;
- the organisation you represent, where you choose to provide it;
- the contents of your message;
- documents, links or other information you voluntarily include;
- information needed to investigate a correction, accessibility report, privacy concern or editorial complaint.
Please provide only the information necessary for us to understand and deal with your enquiry.
Technical and security information
Our hosting, network and security services may process technical information needed to deliver and protect the website. Depending on the service and event, this may include:
- an internet protocol address;
- the date and time of a request;
- the page or resource requested;
- browser, device and operating-system information;
- referral information;
- diagnostic, error, security or abuse-prevention records.
This information may be generated automatically when a browser or device communicates with the website.
Cookie and preference information
The website may process information stored on or accessed from your device where this is needed for site delivery, security, authorised WordPress administration or a preference that you have selected.
Our Cookie Policy explains the current position and how storage and access technologies are managed.
Editorial and compliance records
We may retain records showing how we considered:
- a correction request;
- a complaint about our content or conduct;
- an accessibility report;
- a privacy complaint;
- a request to exercise a data-protection right;
- a suspected security or misuse incident.
These records may include our correspondence, evidence considered, decisions and actions taken.
Information we do not ask you to send
Professional Insurance UK does not sell insurance, arrange cover, provide quotations or handle insurance claims. We do not need your policy schedules, claim forms, payment-card information, identity documents or medical records to operate our publication.
If you send sensitive or irrelevant information without being asked, we may restrict access to it, delete it where appropriate or retain only the minimum record needed to explain how it was handled.
How and why we use personal information
Responding to enquiries
We use contact information to read, assess and respond to editorial, correction, accessibility, privacy, contributor and commercial enquiries.
Our usual lawful basis is our legitimate interest in operating an accountable publication, maintaining accurate content and communicating with people who contact us.
Handling data-protection rights and complaints
We may need to process information to comply with data-protection law, verify a request where proportionate, investigate a complaint, keep the complainant informed and record the outcome.
For a qualifying complaint that our processing infringes data-protection law, we will provide a route for making the complaint, acknowledge it within 30 days and take appropriate steps to respond and communicate the outcome without undue delay.
Our lawful basis for this processing may be compliance with a legal obligation and, where relevant, our legitimate interest in resolving complaints and demonstrating accountability.
Protecting the website
We may process technical information to:
- deliver website pages and resources;
- protect the site and authorised accounts;
- detect or investigate malicious activity, fraud, spam, technical faults or misuse;
- maintain backups, logs and operational records;
- diagnose faults and preserve the integrity of the service.
Our lawful basis is normally our legitimate interest in operating a secure and reliable publication. Where a specific legal duty applies, processing may also be necessary to comply with that duty.
Establishing or responding to legal matters
We may retain or disclose relevant information where reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights, respond to a lawful demand or protect the rights and safety of the publication or others.
Consent-based processing
Where consent is legally required—for example, for a future non-exempt storage or access technology—we will ask for that consent before the relevant processing begins. You may withdraw consent through the available control or by contacting us, without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.
Our legitimate interests
Where we rely on legitimate interests, the relevant interests may include:
- operating and protecting the website;
- responding to a message initiated by you;
- maintaining editorial accuracy and accountability;
- investigating misuse, security events or complaints;
- keeping proportionate records of editorial and compliance decisions;
- establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.
We must consider whether those interests are outweighed by your interests, rights or freedoms.
Who may receive personal information
Information may be made available only where needed to:
- hosting, network, backup or security providers;
- the provider of the approved public email inbox;
- website-maintenance or technical-support providers;
- people involved in investigating an editorial, accessibility, privacy or security issue;
- professional advisers where advice is genuinely required;
- courts, regulators, law-enforcement bodies or public authorities where disclosure is lawful and necessary;
- another party where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.
We do not sell or rent personal information.
A service provider acting on our behalf should receive only the information necessary for its task and should be subject to appropriate confidentiality, security and data-protection arrangements.
International processing and transfers
Some technology or communications providers may process information in more than one country.
Where processing involves a restricted transfer of personal information outside the United Kingdom, the transfer must be covered by an applicable UK adequacy regulation, an appropriate safeguard under the UK GDPR or another lawful transfer mechanism.
How long we keep information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any applicable legal, security or accountability requirement.
The criteria we use include:
- whether an enquiry remains open;
- whether follow-up action is reasonably expected;
- the seriousness and subject matter of a complaint or correction;
- whether the record is needed to show how a decision was reached;
- applicable legal limitation, compliance or record-keeping requirements;
- the security value and proportionality of retaining a technical log;
- whether information can be deleted, anonymised or reduced.
Routine correspondence may be deleted once it is no longer needed. Records relating to significant corrections, legal matters, data-protection complaints or security incidents may need to be retained for longer.
UK data-protection law does not prescribe one universal retention period; organisations must select periods or criteria appropriate to the purpose.
Security
We use organisational and technical measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, unlawful use, accidental loss, destruction or damage.
No email or internet service can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should therefore avoid including unnecessary confidential or sensitive information in an ordinary email.
The UK GDPR requires security measures to be appropriate to the processing and its risks rather than applying one identical measure in every situation.
Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis used, you may have the right to:
- be informed about how your personal information is used;
- ask whether we hold personal information about you and request access to it;
- ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
- ask for information to be erased in circumstances where the right applies;
- ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive or transfer information where the right to data portability applies;
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
- challenge certain solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
These rights are not absolute and exemptions or limitations may apply. We do not currently use personal information submitted through the public contact route to make solely automated decisions about individuals.
Making a request or privacy complaint
Email zenithstarmediagroup@gmail.com and use a clear subject line such as:
- “Data protection request”;
- “Privacy complaint”;
- “Correction of personal information”.
Explain what you are asking us to review. Do not send identity documents unless we have specifically requested proportionate evidence and explained why it is needed.
For a data-protection complaint, we will:
- facilitate submission of the complaint;
- acknowledge receipt within 30 days;
- make appropriate enquiries without undue delay;
- keep you informed where appropriate;
- explain the outcome without undue delay.
You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO normally encourages people to raise the issue with the organisation first.
Children’s information
The publication is written for businesses, professionals, freelancers, contractors and employers. It is not designed to collect personal information from children.
If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us so that we can consider appropriate action.
Links to other websites
Our pages may link to regulators, government bodies, professional organisations and other external websites. Those organisations control their own websites and privacy practices. You should read their privacy information when using their services.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when our website, suppliers, legal obligations or processing activities change.
A material new use of personal information should be explained before it begins. The current editorial review date appears at the top of this page.