Privacy Policy

AFC wants to assure that visitors and users of AFC sites, including http://www.AFCrisk.com/, are provided with appropriate information and choice mechanisms to make and implement informed decisions on providing Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). We want you to know that AFC is committed to safeguarding your privacy online. As AFC expands its offerings, we will update our privacy practices to address these. Please check this page for updates to this Privacy Statement. THIS SITE, AND THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH THIS SITE, ARE NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY CHILDREN.

  1. What We Collect About You. AFC collects information on this site during the registration process for business purposes that will allow us to better and more efficiently serve you. Our personalization, interactive communications, online commerce and other types of services, allow us to deliver better service and content that is relevant to our Subscriber base. Some uses AFC makes of this information are processing and verifying subscriptions, billing, and providing you with up-to-date information on the newest AFC Products.You will be asked to provide information that personally identifies you or allows AFC or its Providers to contact you. Generally this information is requested when you are asked to first register for either free or fee-based Products and services. When required, you will be asked to provide your name, address, zip/postal code, email address, and country of origin (collectively “Personally Identifiable Information” or “PII”), as well as select a username and password (if one is not selected for you by AFC). As a registered Subscriber, you may also be able to download software, enter contests, order e-mail newsletters or participate in additional services. In addition to the PII obtained at registration, you may be asked for information at other times, such as when you make a purchase or register for a service on or through AFCrisk.com, when you submit a listing for a web site, or when you report a problem with one of our sites or services, or when you sign-up for the blog. However, whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online – for example on message boards, through email, or in weather chat / blog areas – that information can be collected and used by others.

    If you contact AFC we may keep a record of that correspondence, and may further prompt you for further information, depending on the nature of the contact. We may also occasionally ask that you voluntarily participate in certain promotions, surveys or contests (“Special Programs”), or enable automatic entry into such Special Programs via log-on entries. At such times, AFC may disclose your PII to sponsors of the Special Program, but this will be specifically described to you prior to transferring the data. Special Programs may also be subject to additional or different terms, or may be shared or used in a slightly different way. If different terms do apply, details of the specific terms and conditions or rules for these Special Programs will be provided by posting to the AFC site or upon registration for the Special Program, on a case-by-case basis, subject to AFC’s Terms For Sharing PII.

    To the extent unique information, which is not in itself PII, such as personal profile, anonymous identifier(s), demographic information, behavioral information, IP address and traffic data, is associated with PII, then such unique information shall also be considered PII. PII does NOT include information that is collected anonymously (i.e. without identification of the individual user) or demographic or behavioral information that is not connected to or correlated with an identified individual.

  2. Why We Want To Know. It’s important for us to know our customers. We deliver valuable Products and services, and in the free areas of the Site, it’s without asking for anything in return from our visitors. Do know that AFC does not use advertisers to produce any income to operate the AFCrisk.com Site.
  3. Vendors and Third Party Providers. To make our Site more valuable to our customers and our visitors, we may offer some Products, services or features in conjunction with Providers. Different products may be made available through cooperative arrangements with Providers who offer specialized products, information or services that work well with AFC Products. In some instances, our Providers will have the same access to your PII as we do. Their use of the information will be subject to the terms of their respective privacy policies or statements, which you can find on their websites.
  4. Links to Possible Other Provider Sites. Occasionally, you may seek access to certain products and/or services on AFCrisk.com that is only available through third parties, either through their own web sites or on web sites hosted by or linked to AFC. When ordering, registering for or purchasing products or services from these Providers, you may at times be entering into an agreement with that Provider, and not with AFC, and supplemental Provider Terms may apply. You should read and understand the Providers’ terms of use and policies before using their site or entering into agreements with them, since they may differ substantially from this Privacy Statement and other applicable AFC Terms and Conditions. AFC is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility over the contents or use of the Provider sites, and is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any linked or hosted site. You should contact our Providers directly should you have any questions or concerns relating to the terms of use and privacy policies of our Providers’ web sites.
  5. Cookies. AFCrisk.com was designed to utilize cookies for optimal Subscriber performance. For example, cookie preferences can be found under “Tools/Internet options/Security/Custom Level” (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 PC). Generally speaking, you can modify browser preferences to accept all cookies, be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject all cookies, you may be unable to use many of AFC’s Products and services. Some sections of the Site will require that you log on in order continue to use specific goods or services offered through our network, because we do not want cookies to replace security measures that you would otherwise take for yourself and your data. Some of these services include certain software applications and fee-based services, and some Internet activities that require more than an IP Address to continue.
  6. Web Beacons. Web beacons may also be found on the AFCrisk.com website. Web beacons are used to monitor user navigation to tailor the Site to our Subscribers’ preferences and enhance the site’s offerings.
  7. Security. Anytime a credit card is requested for processing orders through the Site, the user transaction containing the credit card information is encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology both into and at the PayPal site. SSL provides strong encryption to all digital information as it crosses the Internet. While on a secure page, such as on order forms, the lock button on the bottom of Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked or open when you are just surfing or in other areas of the Site.
  8. Age/Use by Minor. AFC does not intend to collect any personally identifiable information from children through our websites. Please do not allow children under the age of 18 to provide any personally identifiable information, ask questions or participate in weather chat / blog rooms related to our websites. If we are notified that a child under 18 has provided personal information, we will delete that information as soon as reasonably possible. If you become aware that a child under 18 has provided such information, please send us a detailed email at support@advancedforecasting.com so we can delete this information.
  9. Password Security Access. Access to certain portions of the Site located on AFCrisk.com is password-protected so that you and only you will have access to the Site as a Subscriber. It may be necessary for AFC, its employees, contractors or Providers working on behalf of AFC to access the Site using your Subscriber information to provide you with support or to perform certain maintenance tasks. This access happens on an as-needed basis only.
  10. Electronic Product Registration. When you access or install a new product, you may be asked to register electronically. Your registration information will be merged with any information you’ve already provided (“Profile”). If you haven’t previously registered within the AFCrisk.com site, a Profile may be created for you from your product registration information. If you haven’t already registered by giving us your PII, you will be asked to do so to ensure that only you can access the product or services. Upon satisfactory completion of your registration information, AFC authorizes Subscriber to access and use AFCrisk.com and its Products and services subject to the Terms and Conditions and this Privacy Statement. Subscriber shall maintain the confidentiality of any user name and password. If there is a breach of the confidentiality of a password or user name assigned to Subscriber, or any breach of security through Subscriber’s account, then Subscriber shall so notify AFC’s customer assistance center immediately by contacting AFC at support@advancedforecasting.com.
  11. TERMS FOR SHARING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION. In special circumstances, AFC may opt to access or disclose PII when there is reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating AFC’s Terms and Conditions, this Privacy Statement, any applicable End User License Agreement, Provider or Subscription Terms, or when there is reason to believe an individual may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) AFC’s rights or property, other AFCrisk.com users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. AFC may then opt to disclose or access PII in good faith in circumstances where the law requires it, and for administrative and other purposes that we deem necessary to maintain, service, and improve our Products and services. AFC may also be requested to disclose PII to law enforcement authorities or as may be required by court-ordered subpoena.From time to time, we may share data regarding the Subscribers and use of our services (for example, 15% of our users are within a certain specialty industry, or Subscribers who choose one type of service request a related or similar service 44% of the time, etc.), and we may also combine a Subscriber’s use and purchasing habits through AFCrisk.com and our Providers’ sites to create a personalized user profile so we can tailor the site to our Subscribers’ preferences and enhance the site’s offerings (hereinafter “User Data”). There may also be other instances where AFC has determined sharing User Data with third parties would maximize AFC’s ability to better serve Subscribers. Should this occur, no PII will be included in these types of statistics.

    Since we use outside vendors to ship Products or perform customized products and/or services offered or accessed through AFCrisk.com or our Providers’ sites, and a credit card relationship with PayPal to bill some Subscribers for goods and services, we may need to disclose PII to complete certain business transactions. Subscribers may also require that we bill for services via invoicing, purchase order, or through Providers, such as mobile/wireless carriers or internet storefronts. Under these circumstances, we may be required to share the Subscriber’s PII to obtain a credit report with a reporting agency or to complete the order processing to serve the Subscriber. We have asked that these companies do not retain, share, store or use PII for any secondary purposes.

    AFC is in the business of providing and hosting weather, earthquake and other risk information products, services, and other related products and services as a service to our Subscribers, customers and clients. As such, Subscriber information is also considered a “customer list”, and as such, is a valuable asset to any company subject to legal protection and regulation under federal and state laws as a property interest. Accordingly, Subscriber information will be subject to all customary rights and protections afforded to property owners under these laws. Such rights customarily include the right to transfer the information during the sale of assets to or merger with third parties, and to routinely share such information with affiliates of AFC.

    Accepting PII collected during the purchasing or registration process, information and data you provide may be used by AFC or Providers to, among other things, retrieve or create the product or service that you have requested. Please be advised that this information may be stored by AFC or its Providers as “preferences” or otherwise and used without restriction. Further, all information submitted is and becomes the exclusive property of AFC and by submitting material to AFC, you accept responsibility for its accuracy, appropriateness and legality. Other than as set out above you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.

    If for some reason you believe that AFC has not adhered to these stated principles, please notify us at corporate_us@advancedforecastig.com, and we will do our best to determine and correct the problem promptly. Your concerns should be detailed in a communication including enough identifying information to permit someone to contact you, in case further information is required to troubleshoot your concerns. Be certain the words “AFC Privacy Statement” are included in the Subject line. Further resolution of your concerns will be governed by the Terms and Conditions applicable to this site.

PROVIDER TERMS

Standards for Content Inclusion

Materials provided to AFC for inclusion on any website hosted or managed by AFC may not and shall not violate any of the General Terms and Conditions of the agreement(s) with AFC or any terms in any supplemental written terms and conditions, as well as any applicable website Terms and Conditions, Privacy Statement, or End User License Agreement. Please pay close attention to the Acceptable Use Policy and the Notice Specific To Documents Available On This Website in the Terms and Conditions, because those sections outline specific behaviors that should be avoided when considering content for inclusion with AFC products and service. Although the AFC websites, products and services are not intended for use by children, these Standards for Content Inclusion are provided to ensure that materials accessible through the various AFC websites, products and services are not objectionable to a broad spectrum of individuals, including the occasional end user under the age of 13. These Standards are also designed to optimally ensure that the AFC websites, products and services do not (i) incorporate images or content that is in any way unlawful, harmful, threatening, defamatory, libelous, obscene, or harassing; (ii) promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age; (iii) promote illegal activity or incorporate any materials which infringe or assist others to infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or other legal rights; (iv) present materials unsuitable for viewing by children under the age of 13; or (v) display content featuring competitors of AFC.

Guidelines have been constructed to ensure that the above objectives are met, with little further involvement by AFC. We ask that you use common sense as a rule of thumb: our target audiences are information end users, from Fortune 100 companies, to the single individual / personal-use end user who benefits from the free services offered through our non-advertising website. Some examples of Inappropriate Content include content related to the following subjects:

  • Alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, liquor, etc.).
  • Tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, etc.).
  • Guns/weapons (firearms, bullets, etc.).
  • Illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, etc.).
  • Sexual (adult themes, sexual activities, pornography, etc.).
  • Crime and criminal conduct in general (organized crime, notorious characters, etc.).
  • Violence/Mayhem (physical harm or pain, torture, riots, etc.).
  • Dehumanizing (degrading, abuse, humiliating, etc.).
  • Death (funeral homes, mortuaries, etc.).
  • Hate (racial, religious, ethnic, etc.).
  • Gambling (casinos, lotteries, etc.).
  • Politics (lobbyists, political campaigns, etc.).
  • Illegal acts (violates, or promotes the violation of, any criminal law, etc.).
  • Controversial topics (social issues, abortion, etc.).
  • Unauthorized or unapproved use of any third party’s intellectual property.
  • Copy or parody of current or past third party products or services.
  • Implied affiliation, association or endorsement by, or favored status with AFC, mobile carriers, or media companies.

There may be other types of content not specifically outline above that would be considered “Potentially Inappropriate Content.” We ask you use a general rule of thumb using common sense, and err on the side of caution. When in doubt, ask your AFC representative for assistance in interpreting these guidelines, and make sure you get written consent from AFC if you intend to include items which may be considered Potentially Inappropriate Content.

Last updated: January 05, 2009 11:50pm UTC