MBF Alliances Pty Ltd (the “Fund”), directly and through its agent Insurance Australia Limited (the ”Agent”) and the Agent’s related entities, asks for information when you complete a membership application form or accompanying documents, provide details over the phone and/or over the internet if you transact with the Fund or the Agent on-line. The Fund collects personal information from you so that the Fund can provide you with health insurance and related products and services. The Fund and the Agent may retain your personal information as a record of your policy. When you make a claim for benefits, the Fund will collect information from you and/or your provider about your Hospital or Extras services or treatment to enable the Fund to process your claim.
Why does the Fund collect personal information?
The Fund collects your personal information (personal information is as defined in the Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) and includes sensitive information, eg health information) so that the Fund can provide you with health insurance and related services, and so that it can continue to operate an efficient and sustainable business. This information is collected and used only in accordance with the National Privacy Principles, other applicable privacy laws, this Privacy Statement and the MBF Group’s Information Handling Policy.
In some circumstances, the collection, use, disclosure and access of personal information is governed by specific legislation. Where there is a specific legislation, this will generally govern how the Fund uses the information despite the provisions of the Privacy Act. For example, legislation such as the National Health Act 1953 and the Private Health Insurance Incentives Act 1998 require the Fund to collect certain information about you.
How does the Fund collect personal information?
To provide the best products and services to suit your needs, the Fund collects information from you when you:
- complete an application form for one of its products
- contact the Fund in person, by phone or online
- lodge a claim.
Though the Fund tries to collect information about you directly from you, sometimes it might also collect information about you from another person or entity. For example, if the Fund wishes to perform risk assessment on our membership base, census, survey and statistical type data may be sourced from external providers. Further examples include when:
- you are covered by Couple or Family cover and the Fund collects information from another person on the policy
- you go to hospital and the Fund collects information directly from the hospital
- you go to a Recognised Provider and the Fund collects information from the provider
- you are a corporate customer and the Fund collects information from your employer and/or a broker. This information may include details such as your payroll number
- information collected about you from a Recognised Provider or other medical providers or professional experts in order to assess your claim and conduct investigations in relation to potential fraudulent activity.
Couple, Single Parent Family and Family health insurance policies
Information about spouses, partners, Dependant Children or Dependant Children registered under Family 25 on health insurance policies is collected from the Primary Policy Holder or with the authorisation of the Primary Policy Holder. For example, the Fund collects this information when the Primary Policy Holder completes an application form or when a claim is made.
The Fund collects information on spouses, partners, Dependant Children or Dependant Children registered under Family 25 on the policy with the consent of the Primary Policy Holder. If you are over 16 years of age when the Primary Policy Holder lodges a claim on your behalf, the Fund assumes they have your consent to give the Fund all the information necessary to process the claim. The reverse of this is that, if you are the Primary Policy Holder and you provide the Fund with information about a spouse, partner, Dependant Child or Dependant Child registered under Family 25 on the policy, the Fund expects that you have that person’s permission to give the Fund the information and that you have told them you have given the information to the Fund. Information collected during the course of the policy is also available to the Primary Policy Holder.
The Primary Policy Holder is responsible for maintaining the policy and paying premiums. So, the Fund will disclose information to them about benefit Limits and treatment for all persons covered by the policy. If you are over 18 years old and you do not wish your personal or treatment information to be disclosed to the Primary Policy Holder or any other authorised person, you should take out your own health insurance policy with the Fund.
How does the Fund use and disclose my information?
The Fund uses your personal information to provide, manage and administer your health policy and related services to you, to evaluate and pay claims and to operate an efficient and sustainable business.
As part of these processes, the Fund may collect, use and disclose your information to:
- process your application
- process payments, withdrawals and redemptions
- investigate and assess any claim
- contact you about matters relating to you, your health insurance or our other services (these services may change from time to time)
- answer your enquiries
- meet internal functions such as administration, accounting and information technology systems
- practice effective risk management and prevent fraud
- monitor, price and evaluate products and services
- conduct marketing, research and statistical analysis
- resolve complaints
- report to and obtain information from regulatory authorities
- auditors and other service providers the Fund may appoint to ensure the integrity of our operations
- any person acting on your behalf, including your financial adviser, executor, trustee and attorney
- help you improve your health and wellbeing and advise you of programs available to assist you
- conduct customer surveys
- design and conduct health management programs.
The Fund may need to disclose your information to others to provide you with health insurance and related services and to operate an efficient and sustainable business. Some circumstances where this may occur include:
- where another organisation helps process transactions, store data, access data or provide services to you in order for them to perform their role
- where a hospital or provider is helping administer a claim for you
- where the Fund is required under law to disclose your information to someone else or to a government authority.
The Fund, the Agent and the Agent’s related entities may collect and use your information, and disclose your information to each other, to:
- enable the Agent to carry out its obligations to the Fund in providing health insurance to you
- enable the Fund to carry out its obligations to the Agent
- enable the Agent to confirm services, benefits and discounts to be provided to you by the Agent, and/or
- resolve complaints.
It is our policy that, where customer information is disclosed to contractors and service providers, they must agree to be bound by the Privacy Act. The Fund does not sell personal information to anyone.
The Fund may share your personal information on a confidential basis to MBF’s related entities so that they can offer you products and services, for example ClearView Financial Management Limited, MBF Life Limited, ClearView Life Nominees Pty Limited and MBF in2life Pty Ltd. You have a right to ask these organisations for access to information they hold about you.
In the course of providing you with our products and services, some of the organisations to which the Fund may disclose your personal information (including companies in the MBF Group and state and government agencies) are located in other states or territories in Australia. The Fund may send your personal information to them, including electronically transmitted data. When the Fund does so, it requires them to handle your personal information in the same way it does. The Fund will do everything reasonable to ensure your personal information is kept secure from unauthorised access or disclosure.
Receiving marketing material
From time to time, the MBF Group will provide you with information about products and services from the group of companies or other affiliate organisations that the Fund considers of potential benefit to you and your family.
If the Fund or the MBF Group uses your personal information for direct marketing of products and services from other members of its group of companies or other affiliate organisations, the Fund will give you the opportunity to “opt-out” of receiving any further marketing correspondence.
If you do not wish the Fund to use your personal information for direct marketing of products and services from other members of its group of companies or other affiliated organisations you can opt-out at any time by calling the Fund
on 133 234.
The Fund may also disclose personal information to the Agent so that the Agent and its group of companies can contact you about products or services offered by them, and to provide you discounts on your insurance products or services held with them.
If you do not wish to be contacted by the Agent or its group of companies, please contact the Agent on 133 233.
Want more information?
If you would like to know more about the MBF Group’s information handling practices, visit the MBF Information Handling Policy at mbf.com.au.
For more information about the Agent’s information handling practices, please see the Privacy Charter.
Insurance Australia Limited ABN 11 000 016 722 trading as SGIO distributes SGIO Health Insurance. SGIO Health Insurance is provided to you by the insurer MBF Alliances Pty Ltd ABN 89 075 799 236. As the insurer, MBF Alliances Pty Ltd is referred to as the ‘Fund’.