Privacy Policy

Introduction

Anne Scharp Insurance Agency, the trading name of Scharp Insurance Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our”), runs this website. This policy covers this website only: the pages you are reading and the quote form on them.

It does not cover what happens when you call the office or come in, and it does not cover GEICO. GEICO runs its own website and its own quote flow under its own privacy policy. Most of our “Get a quote” buttons take you there; see How we share information.

Information we collect

What you type into the quote form. The form asks for four things and offers two more:

• your name;
• your phone number;
• your email address;
• the type of coverage you picked from the list;
• anything you write in the optional “Anything else we should know?” box; and
• whether you ticked the optional box agreeing to text messages. If you did, we also keep the date and time you agreed and the exact wording you agreed to, so there is a record of your consent.

Along with that information, we record which link brought you to the form, the date and time you sent it, and, if you arrived from one of our Google ads, the ad click details described under Cookies and tracking. That is the whole of it. This website never asks for a date of birth, a driver’s license, a vehicle identification number, a Social Security number, or any card or bank details. There is no field for any of them.

What arrives on its own. Like every website, ours receives the connection details your browser sends when you visit, such as your IP address, and so do our website hosting, maps and image hosting providers. We keep a scrambled record based on your connection for up to two days to protect the form from abuse.

Visits are also counted in aggregate; see Cookies and tracking.

How we use information

• to prepare and discuss the quote you asked for;
• to reply to you and follow up;
• to keep the quote form working and free of automated abuse; and
• to see, in aggregate, which pages and which buttons people use, so the site can be improved.

We do not run a marketing mailing list from this website and sending the quote form does not add you to one. We do not use what you send for anything unrelated to your inquiry.

How we share information

We do not sell, rent or trade your information. It reaches exactly these places:

• The agency. Your inquiry is saved to our database and emailed to the office so that a person sees it.
• You. We send you a confirmation email at the address you gave us.
• Service providers. Service providers that host our website, store inquiries and send email and text messages for us, in the United States, and providers of maps and image hosting. They receive basic technical data, such as your IP address, when your browser loads our pages.
• Google, for ad measurement. If you arrived from one of our Google ads, the ad click details may be shared with Google so we can measure which ads lead to quote requests. Your name, email, phone and form answers are never shared with Google. None of this happens if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal.
• If the law requires it. We may disclose information where we are required to by law, by a subpoena or court order, or by a government authority.
• If the agency changes hands. In a merger, acquisition or transfer of the business, information may pass to whoever takes it on, still subject to this policy.

None of the sharing above includes your text messaging consent or your phone number for text messaging purposes. Those are never shared with third parties for their marketing, as described under Text messaging.

What we do not do is send your form answers to GEICO from this website. When you submit the quote form, we save and email your inquiry and you stay on this website. Our other “Get a quote” buttons open GEICO’s own quote page, and nothing you typed here travels with you. Anything you enter on GEICO’s site is collected by GEICO, under GEICO’s privacy policy, not this one.

Text messaging

If you tick the optional text-message box on the quote form, we may send you informational texts about the inquiry you sent — a reply, or follow-up about a quote or coverage you asked about. We do not send promotional or marketing texts. If you leave the box empty, we do not text you, and giving us your number does not add you to a marketing list.

Messaging frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out at any time by texting STOP. For assistance, text HELP or visit our website at https://annescharpinsurance.com. Stopping texts does not stop us replying by phone or email.

SMS consent is not shared with third parties or affiliates. We do not share or sell SMS opt-in data, or phone numbers collected for the purpose of SMS, to any third party. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Your number and your agreement to be texted are never sold, rented or traded. The full terms are at https://annescharpinsurance.com/sms-terms, and this policy is at https://annescharpinsurance.com/privacy-policy.

Cookies and tracking

This website does not track you across other websites. It sets no advertising or analytics cookies. Any cookie we set ourselves is strictly necessary for the site to work and is never used to track visitors.

We count visits and a few actions, like opening the quote form, sending a quote request, pressing a “Get a quote” button and tapping our phone number, with a privacy-friendly statistics service that sets no cookies and never receives anything you type into a form. Ad and tracker blockers will stop it, and the site works the same.

Google ads. If you come from one of our Google ads, we keep the ad details (like the campaign and search term) with your quote request to see which ads work. They stay in your browser until you close the tab. We may share the ad click details with Google, but never your name, email, phone or form answers. We don’t keep them if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal.

No Google advertising tag or cookie is loaded on this site.

We don’t use social media trackers or session recording.

Data retention

Security records are deleted after two days. Quote inquiries are kept so the office can follow up and retain a record of what was requested. There is no automatic deletion schedule for them: they are kept until they are deleted. If you want yours removed, ask us and we will delete it; see Your rights and choices.

Security

Information you send is encrypted in transit and stored in systems only authorized agency staff can access.

No method of sending information over the internet, and no way of storing it, is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, contact us using the details below.

Children’s privacy

This website is meant for adults arranging insurance and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect information from a child. If you believe a child has sent us something through this site, contact us and we will delete it.

Third-party links

This site links to other websites, including GEICO’s. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices. Read their policy before giving them personal information.

Your rights and choices

You can contact us to:

• ask what you sent us through this website;
• ask us to correct anything that is wrong; and
• ask us to delete your inquiry.

There is no marketing list to unsubscribe from because this website does not create one. The emails you receive after sending the form are a confirmation and any replies about your inquiry. Use any of the contact details below. Depending on where you live, you may have further rights under local law; ask us and we will help.

Changes to this policy

If we change how this website handles information, we change this page in the same breath and revise the “Last updated” date at the top of it. Using the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, or a request about your information: