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Mercury Insurance

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Mercury Insurance
Basic information
Founded 1960
Type Public
Industry Insurance
Official website http://www.mercuryinsurance.com/

Mercury General Corporation is a multiple-line insurance organization that offers personal automobiles, homeowners, renters, and business insurance. Mercury's primary focus is automobiles and homeowners' insurance.

It is necessary and appropriate for an insurance business to have knowledge about the people and property they insure. Cell phone photos can serve as a convenient and effective method to facilitate this process.

Mercury Insurance requires customers to provide photos through a dedicated app that must be installed on their phones. However, to gain access to the app, users must agree to the terms of service.

Virtual Home Inspection app[edit | edit source]

The app, called Property Assistant, is marketed as a handy tool to help your insurance provider collect information about the status and condition of your home—presumably for insurance purposes. However, to use the app, you are required to consent to a license agreement that grants LexisNexis (its parent company) and its affiliates the right to use your data for any reason whatsoever and share it with anyone, anywhere, in perpetuity.[citation needed - link to license agreement]

Consent to Use of Data: You agree that Application Provider may collect use, reproduce, distribute, publish, export, transmit, create derivative works from, adapt, modify, make copies and retain, edit and translate, in perpetuity:  (i) technical data and related information, including but not limited to technical information about Your device, system and application software, and peripherals, that are gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, product support and other services to You (if any) related to the Licensed Product; (ii) any and all information You, directly or indirectly, submit, post, transmit or upload to the Licensed Product ("User Data"), which may include, without limitation, Your address, name, email address, photographs, text, images, graphics, photos, comments, suggestions, and communications with Application Provider; and (iii) location based and geographical information. Application Provider may provide Your User Data and information to third parties including: Application Provider"s parent company and/or group affiliates; the company whose mobile application you utilized to provide the User Data and information, Your insurance carrier, a potential insurance carrier, or insurance carrier you file a claim with; individuals to which You consent or provide access to your information or device; or to other relevant third-party service providers, parent companies and/or group affiliates to those entities listed above or others that are assisting in the provision of this Licensed Product (collectively, "Other Parties").  Additionally, Application Provider and Other Parties may use Your User Data, to improve its products or to provide services or technologies to You and for other products and services to which You consent; for commercial purposes; claims authentication and investigations; underwriting of insurance; risk mitigation; and fraud prevention  However, Application Provider will not make any of Your User Data that is personal information public. You understand that by using the Licensed Product, You consent to the Application Provider using Your User Data and information previously provided in the Licensed Product prior to the last modified date of this Agreement in the manner set forth herein.  You also understand that Application Provider and Other Parties may be required by law to disclose Your User Data or information regarding Your use of the Licensed Product and if required by law, Application Provider and Other Parties will comply with such requests.


References[edit | edit source]