Data protection

Privacy

We attach much importance to your privacy and to the security of your personal data.
Our applications fulfil the requirements of the German Privacy Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) and of other regulations referring to the protection of data on the Internet (such as the Telecommunication Act and the Telemedia Act). Our staff are committed to observing the rules of the Privacy Act.

Without your explicit agreement no data are gather, handled or used automatically when you visit our website.

You can surf anonymously on our public websites.

Your personal data, which we obtain by your making use of our Internet services, are gathered and used with your explicit agreement only. The data gathered are submitted to comprehensive security measures which prevent access by unauthorized persons, avoid abuse and provide protection against the destruction or loss of data.

From the protocol data we only gather statistical information in order to improve our websites. We do not establish user profiles. If we wish to make further use of your personal data you will be informed and your explicit agreement will be requested.

We respect your privacy rights, in particular your right to obtain information on your personal data stored.

In case your personal data were stored as a result of your making use of our Internet services, you have the right to receive information on these data free of charge upon request. In addition you have the right to demand the correction of incorrect data as well as the blocking and deletion of data.

According to the Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz – TMG) you have the right to verify any time what data are used for you and to revoke any authorization given with regard to the gathering, handling and use of the data obtained by the use of Internet services any time without indication of reasons.

These privacy principles are being adapted to the developments of privacy regulations and security technology and further enhanced.

For further information please consult our Informationsseite zur Datensicherheit (information page on privacy).

If you have any further questions, please contact the privacy official: datenschutzbeauftragter@generali.de

The current status is dated August 26, 2008 and has the version no. 2.0.4a.


Data security

Our security measures are state-of-the-art

Protected access
As an Internet user you have free access to all public websites of Generali Deutschland. Apart from these public areas there are also protected areas which are reserved for specific user groups. These areas require user registration. Since the data accessible in these areas may be data that have to be protected, the information necessary for registration (passwords in particular) has to be handled with care.

Handling of passwords
A good password should consist of eight characters at least, not include any names or words and, apart from letters, it should also include numbers and special characters. The password should be changed at regular intervals and not be stored in your PC or browser. The Bundesamt für Sicherheit (BSI - German Security Office) gives more detailed information on the handling of passwords here.

Transfer of sensitive data
If within our website you access a page providing the possibility of entering data and you are asked to enter and send personal data, we use the encryption technology SSL (Secure Socket Layer) with an encryption length of at least 128 bit. Today there are no possibilities known for an analytical decryption of such 128-bit encryptions. You can see that SSL is used when looking, among others, at the address (which in such a case starts with HTTPS) or the lock shown in the status bar of your web browser.

E-mails
We do not send information including personal data by unencrypted e-mail.

In case you send unencrypted e-mails to us, please be aware that in Internet transmission these are not protected against unauthorized third parties reading or manipulating them.

Phishing
We do not send e-mail messages asking you to indicate the passwords necessary for registration at our websites. Neither do we send e-mail messages asking you to indicate sensitive personal data and giving reasons that might appear bizarre (e.g. end of insurance cover). You will not receive any e-mail messages without request. We only send e-mails as a reply to enquiries or if you have registered for one of our newsletters or have agreed to our sending e-mails. If this is not the case and you receive an e-mail allegedly written by us, this e-mail is a fake and should be deleted unread. In particular, e-mail messages containing a link will most probably be fake messages written in our name with dishonest motives. You should immediately delete these e-mails without clicking on the links they include.

Use of cookies
A cookie is a data element which can send a website to your browser in order to store it in your system for later use. We make use of cookies in order to make our website more comfortable for our users (e.g. in order to avoid that users have to repeat the same entries). The cookies are automatically cancelled when the user leaves our website.

You have the possibility of setting up you browser in such a way that either cookies are not received or the reception of cookies is notified to you. In that latter case you can decide whether or not you wish to accept the cookie. Your privacy will thus remain protected. Of course, our information and services are also available to you without the use of cookies.

Application of JavaScript
JavaScript programmes are simple programmes downloaded in the browser which allow us to make the handling of our sites easier. We use JavaScript, for instance, in order to improve the visual presentation of our website, for navigation between individual pages and in order to simplify the handling of the form by which you can contact us.

In the set-up of your browser you can prevent the application of JavaScript. In that case, however, only a limited range of our Internet offer will be available to you.

Other active contents (Java applets and ActiveX controls) are not used on our website.

Measures of protection against access
Our data processing systems are protected against the outside by firewalls. Registration procedures and authorization systems ensure that only authorized persons have access to internal applications.

Further information
Reference is made to the following links for more detailed information on Internet security: