How we use your information

Who we are

Understanding Bereavement (https://understandingbereavement.org) publishes research and general information about bereavement in the United Kingdom, publishes general guides to UK life insurance, and operates a commercial lead-generation service for readers who ask to be put in touch with a life insurance broker. We are the data controller for the information described in this notice. You can contact us through the contact page.

What we collect and why

When you make a life insurance enquiry

If you complete our enquiry form we collect your first name, telephone number, age band, who the cover would be for and, if you choose to give them, your postcode and email address. We also record the page you were on, the time, your IP address and browser type, and the wording of the consent you gave. Please do not enter medical history, or details about anyone who has died, in this form.

We commercially share the completed enquiry with one selected FCA-authorised UK life insurance broker so it can handle your enquiry and contact you by telephone and, if provided, email. We may be paid for providing that lead. The broker becomes an independent data controller when it receives the enquiry and is responsible for its own privacy information and subsequent use.

Lawful basis: your consent, which you give on the final step of the form. You can withdraw it at any time. The broker must not use your information for unrelated marketing unless it has another valid basis or obtains any further consent required.

When you browse the site

Our hosting and security providers process IP addresses and request data to deliver the site and protect it from abuse. The site does not currently set analytics cookies.

When you email us

If you write to us, we keep your message and our reply so we can deal with your question, and for no other purpose.

Who we share it with

• One selected FCA-authorised UK life insurance broker, so it can handle the life insurance enquiry you made.
• Service providers who process data on our behalf (hosting, email delivery), under contract and only for those purposes.
• Anyone we are legally required to share it with.

The commercial transfer described above is the only sale or sharing of enquiry-form information we intend. We do not provide it to unrelated list buyers or use it for marketing unrelated to your enquiry.

How long we keep it

Enquiries are kept for up to 12 months so we can answer queries about the introduction and demonstrate the consent given, then deleted unless a longer period is legally required. The receiving broker applies its own disclosed retention period.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask us to: tell you what information we hold about you; correct it; delete it; restrict how we use it; or send it to you in a portable format. You can withdraw consent at any time — if you no longer want the broker to contact you, tell us via the contact page and we will ask them to stop, or tell the broker directly. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Security and transfers

Enquiries are sent over an encrypted connection and passed to the broker by secure means. Our servers are located in the United States (Google Cloud) with appropriate safeguards in place for that transfer; the broker we introduce you to is based in the UK.

Changes

If we change how we use your information we will update this page and the date at the top.