Privacy Notice

Effective: May, 2025

Ascendex Underwriters, LLC, including all subsidiaries (“Ascendex”), is committed to protecting your privacy and the privacy of its partners and clients. This Privacy Notice describes how Ascendex collects, uses, and discloses personal information. This Notice applies to any personal information you provide and any personal information we collect from other parties.

When do we collect your information?

Ascendex collects personal information when:

  • you contact us or we perform services for you whether as an individual customer, a policyholder, a claimant, an employee, service provider or any person who we do business with
  • we obtain information from an insurance agent or broker, insurance company, or other third party, such as a financial institution or governmental agency
  • we provide services for our clients, retail partners, policyholders, or consumers
  • you register on our website or email distribution lists
  • you RSVP to or attend our events
  • you interact with us through social media
  • you apply for a job at Ascendex

What information do we collect?

In the course of interacting with you or providing our products and services, Ascendex may collect information directly from you or indirectly through other sources, which may include the following:

  • Name and contact information (email address, mailing address, phone number, mobile number, etc.)
  • Insurance policy and claim information
  • Banking information
  • Government-issued identification and record details (Social Security number, driver’s license number, motor vehicle records, passport information, tax ID number, unemployment number, etc.)
  • Information you provide on a job application or that is obtained under a position-related background check
  • Demographic information (date of birth, gender, employment status, benefit coverages, marital status)
  • Physical or mental health information
  • Criminal record information

How do we use your personal information?

We process personal information that is provided by you or our clients, our retail partners, or other third parties to perform services. The processing of your personal information depends on the type of services we provide, applicable laws, regulatory guidance, and professional standards. Where Ascendex processes your personal information on behalf of a client, retail partner, or third party, it is that entity’s obligation to ensure that you understand that your personal information will be disclosed to Ascendex.

All processing of your personal information is justified under a “lawful basis” for processing, including the following: your consent

  • processing is necessary in order to enter into or perform a contract for you or on your behalf
  • processing is necessary for us to comply with legal obligations
  • processing is in our legitimate commercial interest, except that our interest may not override your fundamental rights or freedoms
  • In limited circumstances, we will use your consent as the basis for processing your personal information, for example, where we are required to obtain your prior consent in order to send you marketing communications.

Do we collect information from children?

Ascendex does not knowingly collect information from children who have not reached the age of consent under relevant data privacy laws. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child who has not reached the age of consent, we will delete it immediately.

What Information Do We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies?

As you navigate through and interact with Ascendex’s website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

  • Details of your visits to Ascendex’s website, including traffic data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the websites.
  • Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.

The information Ascendex collects automatically is only statistical data that helps Ascendex improve its websites and deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling Ascendex to:

  • Estimate audience size and usage patterns.
  • Store information about your preferences, allowing Ascendex to customize its websites according to your individual interests.
  • Speed up your searches.
  • Recognize you when you return to Ascendex’s website.

The technologies Ascendex uses for this automatic data collection may include:

  • Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of Ascendex websites. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, Ascendex’s system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to Ascendex’s website.
  • Web Beacons.Pages of Ascendex’s website may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit Ascendex, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).

Ascendex does not collect personal information automatically, but it may tie this information to personal information about you that it collects from other sources or that you provide to Ascendex.

How long do we retain your personal information?

Ascendex collects and processes personal information in connection with providing its clients or retail partners with various services, each of which may be subject to minimum or maximum retention periods, as required by law or Ascendex’s record retention policy. Ascendex also maintains personal information supplied by former clients and retail partners, and Ascendex also manages this information in accordance with its record retention policy.

We retain each category of your personal information for no longer than is reasonably necessary for one or more business purposes. Due to the nature of the services, it is not possible to predict the length of time that we intend to retain your personal information. Instead, we use the following criteria to determine whether it remains reasonably necessary to retain your personal information for one or more business purpose(s): the initial business purposes for which the personal information was collected or a subsequent business purpose;

  • whether there is a retention period required by applicable contracts with third parties, professional rules of conduct, or applicable law or regulation;
  • the existence of threatened or actual litigation for which Ascendex is required to preserve personal information; or
  • generally accepted best practices in the risk management and insurance brokerage industries, and/or in the industries of the applicable affiliate(s) of Ascendex receiving personal information.
  • When we determine that it is no longer reasonably necessary to retain your personal information for one or more disclosed business purpose(s) based on the above criteria, we will delete your personal information.

Do we disclose your personal information?

We will share your personal information with insurance companies, underwriters, and retail brokers as necessary to procure insurance products requested by you or on your behalf. We may share your personal information with Ascendex’s subsidiaries and affiliates as part of the process of providing services to you or to fulfill the purpose for which you provided it. We may also share your personal information with contractors, service providers, and other third parties, including claims administrators, that you or Ascendex has engaged to perform services for you or to otherwise support Ascendex’s business operations. These third parties are contractually bound to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which Ascendex discloses it to them.

Ascendex may also disclose your personal information to a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Ascendex’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by Ascendex is among the assets transferred.

Ascendex may also disclose your personal information to comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request, to enforce or apply our Terms of Use, or if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of Ascendex or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection.

Do we transfer your personal information across geographies?

For certain services offered by Ascendex, personal information may be transferred outside of Ascendex or to third parties that may operate outside of the United States. Personal information may be transferred, processed, or stored in countries that are not regarded as ensuring an adequate level of protection for personal information under European law. When personal information is transferred to those countries, we put in place standard contractual clauses and other safeguards to ensure your personal information is protected. For more information about the safeguards we have put in place, please contact us using the information found in “Questions and Complaints” below.

How do we protect your information?

Ascendex protects personal information using physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that are specifically designed to meet or exceed the requirements of applicable laws. Ascendex employees receive training on the importance of protecting personal information, and only authorized employees have access to personal information. Subcontractors and agents are contractually bound to maintain protection of personal information and are not permitted to use the information for any unauthorized purpose.

What choices do you have about your personal information or our communications?
You have certain rights related to the processing of your personal information, including:

  • You have the right to unsubscribe from our communications by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in our marketing emails or by contacting us.
  • You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

Individuals within the European Union and California residents may have additional personal information rights and choices, and Ascendex will adhere to those rights as published by each domicile.

Career Search

Ascendexuw.com may include a page dedicated to careers at Ascendex, which is available for those who wish to search and apply for open job positions at Ascendex. By applying, you consent to this processing of your personal information.

Website and External Links

This Privacy Notice describes the data privacy and protection policies of Ascendex. In addition, Ascendexuw.com may contain links to other websites. This Privacy Notice only addresses your information that is received by Ascendex. You are encouraged to review the privacy policies of each website you visit.

Changes to this Statement

This Notice may be changed at any time. Unless stated otherwise, all changes that occur will become effective immediately. The date this Privacy Notice was last revised is identified at the top of the page. By continuing to access Ascendex website, you agree to accept all terms and conditions outlined in this Notice.

Questions, Complaints, or to Exercise Your Rights

If you have any questions or complaints about this Notice, or about our data privacy or security policies in general, or if you want to exercise your rights under the CCPA, you may contact us via the Contact Us link on Ascendexunderwriters.com.

Your Rights under GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) affords certain rights to individuals in the European Union. Specifically, individuals in the European Union are entitled to the following:

  • The right to be informed – You have the right to know what personal information Ascendex processes, how it processes that personal information, and who else may have access to your personal information.
  • The right to access – You have the right to request that Ascendex provide you with a copy of your personal information held by Ascendex. Ascendex may charge you a small fee for this service.
  • The right to rectification – You have the right to request that Ascendex correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request that Ascendex complete any information you believe is incomplete.
  • The right to erasure – You have the right to request that Ascendex erase your personal information, under certain conditions.
  • The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that Ascendex restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
  • The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to Ascendex’s processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
  • The right to data portability – You have the right to request that Ascendex transfer the personal information that it has collected about you to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you make any such request, Ascendex has one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Ascendex by email at Ascendexuw.com or by mail at 400 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 230 Palo Alto, CA 94301.

International Data Transfers – Ascendex may transfer personal information it has collected from you or about you outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA”). Please be aware that countries outside of the EEA may not have the same level of data protection as your country.

Additional Information for California Residents

Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, you have the right to request and obtain from us once a year an account of your Personal Information (as defined below) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes. You will receive a notice that will include the categories of Personal Information that was shared (if any) and the names and addresses of all third parties with which the information was shared (if any). Ascendexuw.com does not use technology that accommodates do-not-track signals from your browser. If you are a California Resident and would like to make a request, please contact us using the information found in the “Questions or Complaints” section below.

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, and their implementing regulations (the “CCPA”) provides California residents with rights to receive certain disclosures regarding the collection, use, and sharing of “Personal Information,” as well as rights to access, correct, delete, and restrict the sale and sharing of Personal Information that Ascendex may collect about its clients, retail partners, customers, or visitors to its websites. If you are a California resident, you have a right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by the CCPA.

The CCPA defines “Personal Information” as “information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.”

We also may collect “Sensitive Personal Information,” which the CCPA defines as: Personal Information that is not publicly available and reveals one or more of the following:

  • Social Security, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number;
  • racial or ethnic origin; and
  • the contents of mail, email, and text messages unless Ascendex is the intended recipient of the communication.
  • Personal Information does not include:
  • publicly available information from government records;
  • information that we have a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public by You or from widely distributed media;
  • information made available by a person to whom You disclosed such information without restriction;
  • de-identified or aggregated information; and
  • information excluded from the CCPA’s scope, such as:
    • health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
    • Personal Information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California financial Information Privacy Act (fiPA), and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

1. Collection and Use of Personal Information

In the 12-months preceding the date the information in this section was last updated, Ascendex may have collected the following categories of Personal Information about consumers, as defined by the CCPA: Identifiers (such as name, postal address, and Internet Protocol (IP) address); Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)); Customer Records Information (such as name, address, and credit card or debit card number); Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law; Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information (such as information regarding a consumer’s interaction with our website); and Professional or Employment-Related Information. Ascendex also collects Sensitive Personal Information, as detailed above.

Ascendex obtains these categories of information from you and from our clients and retail partners to whom we provide services.

2. Disclosures to Third Parties for a Business Purpose

In the 12-months preceding the date the information in this section was last updated, Ascendex has disclosed the following categories of Personal Information about consumers for a business purpose, as defined by the CCPA: Identifiers (such as name, postal address, and Internet Protocol (IP) address); Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)); Customer Records Information (such as name, address, and credit card or debit card number); Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law; Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information (such as information regarding a consumer’s interaction with our website); Professional or Employment-Related Information; and Sensitive Personal Information.

We disclose the categories of Personal Information listed above to our service providers in connection with the products and services we provide to our customers.  We also disclose the categories of Personal Information listed above to obtain quotes or proposals or to underwrite insurance, and as otherwise set forth above in this Notice.

Ascendex may disclose Personal Information to our “service providers”, to our “contractors”, and to “third parties” (each as defined by the CCPA) for business purposes. When we disclose Personal Information for business purposes, we enter into an agreement with the receiving party that describes the purpose for sharing the Personal Information, and that requires the receiving party to keep that Personal Information confidential. In the case of disclosures to our service providers, our service providers are obligated not to use the Personal Information for any purpose other than performing the services according to their agreement with us. In the case of our contractors, our contractors are obligated not to use the Personal Information for any purpose unrelated to the business purpose for which we’ve engaged them.

3.Use of Personal Information

  • We may use or disclose the Personal Information we collect to:
  • To provide products or services requested by you or by our clients or retail partners.
  • To provide, support, personalize, and develop our websites, products, and services.
  • To personalize your website experience.
  • To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our websites, products and services, databases and other technology assets, and business.
  • For testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our websites, products, and services.
  • To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
  • As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.
  • To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Ascendex’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by Ascendex is among the assets transferred.

4.Sale and Sharing of Personal Information and Right to Opt Out

Under the CCPA, “Sell,” “Selling,” or “Sold” means selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, Personal Information to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.

Under the CCPA, “Share,” “Sharing,” or “Shared” means sharing, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, Personal Information to a third party for Cross-context Behavioral Advertising, whether or not for monetary or other valuable consideration. “Cross-context Behavioral Advertising” means the targeting of advertising to an individual based on that individual’s Personal Information obtained from activity across businesses or distinctly-branded websites, applications, or services, other than the business or distinctly-branded website, application, or service with which the individual intentionally interacts.

We do not Sell or Share, and have not Sold or Shared, your Personal Information. We will not Sell or Share your Personal Information without providing notice to you and getting your consent.

5.Right to Know and Right to Request Correction or Deletion of Personal Information

California residents have the right to request that Ascendex disclose what Personal Information it collects, uses, and sells, as well as the right to request that Ascendex correct or delete certain Personal Information that it has collected from you. “Verifiable request” means that the identifying information you provide in connection with a request matches the Personal Information Ascendex already maintains. Once Ascendex receives and confirms your verifiable request, it will disclose to you, based on the nature of your request: the categories of Personal Information it has collected about you; the categories of sources for the Personal Information it has collected about you; Ascendex’s business or commercial purpose for collecting that information; the categories of third parties with whom it shares that information; and/or, at your request, the specific pieces of Personal Information Ascendex collected about you.

You also have the right to request a copy of your Personal Information, and/or to request that we transmit your Personal Information to another entity.  To the extent technically feasible, we will comply with your request and provide and/or transmit your Personal Information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

You have the right to request that we delete your Personal Information. Ascendex may deny your request to delete your Personal Information if retaining the information is necessary for Ascendex or its service provider(s) to:

  1. Complete the transaction for which Ascendex collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of Ascendex’s ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform a contract with you.
  2. Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
  3. Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
  4. Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
  5. Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 seq.).
  6. Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information’s deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research’s achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
  7. Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with Ascendex.
  8. Comply with a legal obligation.
  9. Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

If Ascendex denies your request, it will provide you with an explanation of our reason(s) for doing so.

You further have the right to request that we correct any of your Personal Information that is inaccurate by submitting a verifiable request. We will correct any inaccurate Personal Information pursuant to your request to the extent possible using commercially reasonable efforts. We may deny your correction request if the Personal Information is accurate. We may also delete your Personal Information instead of correcting it to the extent such deletion would not negatively impact you.

You also have the right to request that we limit the use and disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information by submitting a verifiable request. If you submit such a verifiable request, we may continue to use or disclose your Sensitive Personal Information to:

  • complete a transaction for which we collected your Sensitive Personal Information, provide goods or services that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you;
  • detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities;
  • use in a short-term and transient manner, including, but not limited to, to facilitate non-personalized advertising shown as part of your current interaction with the technologies used by Ascendex, but not including disclosure to third parties or use outside your current interaction with such technologies;
  • enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with your expectations based on your relationship with us; or
  • make any other uses of that information that are permitted by the CCPA and its implementing regulations.

You may contact Ascendex using the contact information in the Questions and Complaints section above. An agent may submit a request on your behalf, but you must verify that your agent is authorized to do so.

After we receive your verifiable request, we will provide to you, in writing and free of charge (unless your request is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded), the requested information. Unless you specify a shorter period for the request and processing your request does not require disproportionate effort, we will process your request with respect to Personal Information we have collected from November 1, 2024 to the time of processing your request. You can choose to have this information delivered to you by postal mail or electronically. We will try to respond to your verified request within forty-five (45) days of receipt, but if we require more time (up to another forty-five (45) days) we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. Please note that we are not required to comply with your request for information more than twice in any 12-month period. If applicable, our response will explain the reasons why we cannot comply with your request.