Privacy Policy

Update: July 14, 2023

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) is provided to inform you of our website policies and practices and of the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and how that information is used. This policy does not apply to outside websites, mobile apps, or other online products and services that have their own privacy policy or otherwise do not display or link to this policy. In addition, this policy does not apply to information collected offline. Please see the Notification of Changes to this Privacy Policy section below for information regarding changes to this Privacy Policy. If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact TheGuarantors by e-mail at privacy@theguarantors.com. This Privacy Policy also covers and provides the rights California residents may have regarding their personal data. In California, the Company d/b/a The Guarantors Agency.

GuarantR, Inc. (“Company” or “we”) is committed to protecting the privacy of the users of the Company’s website, located at www.theguarantors.com (the “Site”). We collect information about you when you sign-up for newsletters, special promotions, purchase products or services, or initiate requests for information regarding the Company’s services (“Service(s)”).

Notice of rights pursuant to California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020

California affords its residents certain rights concerning personal information and data collected and retained by the Company.  To learn more about California residents’ privacy rights, visit: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

• With certain restrictions, a consumer has the right to request a business to delete any personal information collected by the business from the consumer (Cal Civ Code 1798.105);

• A consumer has the right to correct inaccurate personal information collected and retained (Cal Civ Code 1798.106);

• With certain restrictions, a consumer has the right to know what personal information is being collected and a right to access the personal information (Cal Civ Code 1798.110);

• With certain restrictions, a consumer has the right to know what personal information is sold or shared and to whom (Cal Civ Code 1798.115);

• With certain exceptions, a consumer has the right to opt-out of sale or sharing of personal information (Cal Civ Code 1798.120);

• With certain restrictions, a consumer has the right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information (Cal Civ Code 1798.121)

• Consumers have the right to no retaliation following opt-out or exercise of the rights (Cal Civ Code 1798.125).

Those individuals afforded the rights under California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, may make certain requests in furtherance of these rights by emailing Company at privacy@theguarantors.com or calling us at 1 (800) 790-9763.

Data-related Request Directions & Verification Process

When submitting certain types of the above requests, the Company will require necessary information for verification and processing, which may included:

1. Full Name;

2. Email Address used in association with the interaction with Company;

3. Residential Address used in association with the interaction with Company;

4. Dates of interaction with Company, if known;

5. State of Residence;

6. Content of Request.

Upon receipt of the request, if verification efforts cannot be performed with the information submitted in the first instance, Company shall request necessary information to process and verify the data-related request. Failure to provide the information upon request may result in the inability of the Company to process and verify the request, resulting in the request being deemed incomplete.

Prior to undertaking any action regarding a request, Company shall first perform appropriate verification efforts in context of the request to ensure that the requester is the appropriate individual to submit such a request. Company’s inability to verify the requester may result in denial of the request or require additional information for further verification efforts. 

Where an authorized agent is acting on behalf of requester, the authorized agent must present documentary support evidencing such agency status to the satisfaction of Company, in addition to providing the aforementioned information identified above.

To make requests, please email Company at privacy@theguarantors.com or call us at 1 (800) 790-9763.

Other States’ Privacy Rights

Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and Utah each provide their state residents with rights to:

• Confirm whether we process their personal information.

• Access and delete certain personal information.

• Data portability.

• Opt-out of personal data processing for targeted advertising and sales.

Colorado, Connecticut, and Virginia also provide their state residents with rights to:

• Correct inaccuracies in their personal information, taking into account the information's nature processing purpose.

• Opt-out of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

Nevada provides its residents with a limited right to opt-out of certain personal information sales. Residents who wish to exercise this sale opt-out rights may submit a request to: 1 (800) 790-9763 or privacy@theguarantors.com. However, please know we do not currently sell data triggering that statute's opt-out requirements.

Children Under the Age of 16

Our Website is not intended for children under 16 years of age. No one under age 16 may provide any personal information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are under 16, do not use or provide any information on this Website. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 16, please contact us at 1 (800) 790-9763 or privacy@theguarantors.com.

California residents under 16 years of age may have additional rights regarding the collection and sale of their personal information. 

Use of My Sensitive Personal Information

Residents of California: Company does not sell or share personal information to any third-parties.  Company does disclose minimal and necessary personal information and sensitive personal information to service providers and contractors for limited business purposes in furtherance of the Services and to other third-parties upon your consent. While you have the right to limit the disclosure and use of your sensitive personal information: a) to those disclosures and uses that are necessary to perform the Services reasonably expected by an average consumer who requested the Services, b) to (w) helping to ensure security and integrity to the extent the use of the consumer’s personal information is reasonably necessary and proportionate for these purposes; (x) short-term, transient use, including, but not limited to, non-personalized advertising shown as part of a consumer’s current interaction with the business, provided that the consumer’s personal information is not disclosed to another third party and is not used to build a profile about the consumer or otherwise alter the consumer’s experience outside the current interaction with the business; (y) performing services on behalf of the business, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, providing financing, providing analytic services, providing storage, or providing similar services on behalf of the business; (z) undertaking activities to verify or maintain the quality or safety of a service or device that is owned, manufactured, manufactured for, or controlled by the business, and to improve, upgrade, or enhance the service or device that is owned, manufactured, manufactured for, or controlled by the business; and c) as authorized by regulations adopted pursuant to Cal Civ Code 1798.185, Company does not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes not authorized by Cal Consumer Privacy Act Regulations § 7027 (m). 

The Information We Collect and Use

As discussed in this Privacy Policy, “information” means information about you collected through our website(s), including your email address and other information you provide to us by registering for our Services or making requests for information about our Services. Any information provided to us will be retained and used solely for the purposes of fulfilling your request for information, fulfilling a request through a Site feature, providing you with a product or service through website use, carrying out obligations and enforcement of rights arising from contracts entered into between you and us, performing and carrying out the terms of the Service, or communicating with you as a client or subscriber of Company Services. We will rely on the personal information that you give us, so it is important that all of the details that you provide are accurate and up-to-date.

Methods & Categories of Collection

We may collect personally identifiable information from you when you access the Site or use or access the Services as follows.  Further, we may be shared personally identifiable information from third-parties or have personally identifiable information disclosed to us as contractor or service provider for property owners, property managers, or other real estate professionals. 

Company collects and receives information as follows:

• Information Provided By You: Directly from our clients or their agents. For example, from documents that our clients provide to us related to the services for which they engage us. Indirectly from our clients or their agents. For example, through information we collect from our clients in the course of providing services to them. This information may include, depending on the user, name, date of birth, residential address, email, telephone number and social security number or equivalent.  Additionally, financial information may be provided, including income level, employment status and history, and bank information. Finally, we may collect information concerning business structure, business name, residential property information, and lease terms.

• Information Provided by and through Use of our Websites: Directly and indirectly from activity on our website. For example, from submissions through our website portal or website usage details collected automatically.  Further, through application of traditional technology, device information, geographic location, and other technologically related information may be gathered.

• Information Provided By Third Parties: From third-parties that interact with us in connection with the services we perform. For example, from state agencies when we respond to requests for information and from credit bureaus and financial institutions when authorized to perform credit checks and verification of financial information.

  • Information Provided by Property Owners, Property Managers, and Real Estate Professionals: Property owners, property managers, and other real estate professionals who maintain personal information of prospective tenants and current tenant may, pursuant to contract, share and/or disclose certain information to the Company for certain commercial purposes and business purposes. 

The personally identifiable information we may collect from you may include, by way of example:

Personal information does not include:

• Publicly available information from lawfully available federal, state, or local government records.

• De-identified or aggregated consumer information.

• Information excluded from the CCPA's scope, like:

  • 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 (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

Company’s Use of Information Provided:

Company may utilize the collected information provided by you or the information shared in furtherance of one or more of the following:

• Providing products and services, pricing information, performing underwriting obligations, account services and security, investigating, analyzing, resolving and/or paying claims or related disputes;

• Processing payments, billing, collections, and related transactions;

• Improving and developing new offerings on our Website, products, and services;

• Verification and fraud prevention;

• Improving and providing customer service, responding to claims, responding to concerns, responding to questions, and account services;

• Obtaining third-party data from necessary entities in the furtherance of the services and products provided to you, such as credit bureaus or the custodian of government records;

• Enforcement of applicable agreements between you and Company;

• Disclosing necessary and limited information to service provider and/or contractor to perform a business purposes pursuant to contract;

• Responding to governmental requests and as required by applicable law, court order, and governmental regulations;

• Sending and delivering communications, via email, text, and other communication means, pertaining to Company services and products, updates, and news;

• Marketing, offers and advertising, and personalizing website experience;

• Fulfilling any other requests and services directed by you or with your consent;

The use of sensitive personal information is limited to that which is necessary to perform the services or provide goods reasonably expected by an average consumer for business purposes relating to a) security and integrity; B) short-term, transient use for non-personalized ads shown as part of consumer’s current interaction with the business; c) performing services; d) undertaking activities to verify and maintain quality of services.

Company also collects other information you volunteer to the Site, through the Services or through other means of communication, such as responses, registrations, surveys, reviews, comments, confirmations, emails, postings, messages, telephone calls, written correspondence or other electronic submissions and communications sent by you to the Site or through the Services. In addition, we may collect User-specific and aggregate information on areas of the Site accessed and the Services used.

Disclosure of Information

We do not sell, share, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personal Information unless we provide you with advance notice, you consent to the disclosure, or as otherwise described in this policy. This does not include disclosure for specific business purposes to our financial partners, affiliates, insurance carriers, website hosting partners, service providers, including debt collectors, and contractors who assist us in operating our Website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential and comply with certain contractual provisions dictated by applicable local, state, and/or federal laws. These business purposes include: providing the services to you, processing payments, improving and developing new offerings, enforcement of the applicable agreement, and fulfilling any other requests and services directed by you. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our Site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.

In furtherance of the services and products procured by you from Company, Company may also disclose information to the property owner and/or property manager of the residential unit you occupy regarding surety and insurance products provided to you by Company. 

How we respond to Do Not Track Signals. We do not track our customers over time and across third party websites for the purpose of providing targeted advertising. We do not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals. However, some third party sites do keep track of your browsing activities when they serve you content, which enables them to tailor what they present to you. If you are visiting such sites, some browsers allow you to set the DNT signal so that third parties know you do not want to be tracked. If you would like any more information regarding our DNT policy, please contact privacy@theguarantors.com.

General, Non-Personal Information. From time to time, we may collect general, non-personal, statistical information about the use of the Site and the Service, such as how many visitors visit a specific page on the Site, how long they stay on that page, and which hyperlinks, if any, they “click” on. We collect this information through the use of technologies such as “cookies” and “IP addresses”, which are discussed in greater detail below. We may also group this information into aggregate visitor data in order to describe the use of the Site and Service to our existing or potential business partners or other third parties, or in response to a government request. However, this aggregate data will in no way personally identify you or any other visitors to the Site.

Retention of Personal Information. Company will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, to effectuate the provision of services, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law, and to ensure compliance with relevant federal, state, and local laws, including insurance regulations. We will make good faith efforts to delete the data if you contact us by following the instructions contained in this Privacy Policy, provided the Company is not required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes (where applicable). We may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or for which access is not otherwise required by local law.  Additionally, upon receipt of a deletion request, Company shall undertake appropriate efforts to notify any service providers or contractors to delete the personal information from their records, unless this proves impossible or involves a disproportionate effort.

IP Addresses. An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you surf the web. Web servers, the computers and software that store, process and deliver web pages, automatically identify your computer by its IP address. We collect IP addresses for the purpose of system administration, to report aggregate information to third parties, and to track the use of the Site. When visitors request pages from the Site or click on a link in a mailing sent through the Service, our servers log the visitors’ IP addresses. We reserve the right to use IP addresses to identify a visitor or list member when it will enhance the users experience or if we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with the Site’s policies or to protect Company, the Site, its visitors, the Service, our Internet Service Provider partners, the list members or others.

Cookies. Cookies are pieces of information that websites transfer to an individual’s hard drive for record-keeping purposes, and to save website preferences. Cookies are commonly used by businesses with an internet presence.

Cookies are not used to store personal information, or to retain historical or transactional subscriber data. By showing how and when visitors use the Site, cookies help us see which areas are popular and which are not. Information such as the total number of visitors and pages viewed is most easily tracked with cookies. We may use the information from cookies to make improvements and updates to the Site and to tailor our services to our visitors’ needs. You always have the option of disabling cookies using your web browser preferences. Most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, please be aware that some features of the Site will not function properly or may be slower if you refuse cookies.

Cookies and similar technologies used on our site(including the information obtained through their use) fall into four categories:

Essential

Our Website utilizes first- and third-party cookies and similar technologies that are necessary in order to operate our business and maintain our Site, including verifying and authenticating Site users; preventing fraud and securing our Site; payment processing; enabling users to move around our Website and use its features; and complying with applicable laws and industry standards. These essential cookies and similar technologies don't gather information about you that could be used for marketing or tracking your browsing activity. This category of cookies generally cannot be disabled.

Performance

Our Website utilizes first- and third-party cookies and similar technologies to provide enhanced features and remember user preferences, including identifying return users when visiting our Site (for example, to remember your login credentials); keeping track of user preferences, interests, and past items viewed or utilized (for example, preferred language or past purchases); and providing social features that allow users to interact with social media services through our Site (for example, Facebook or Twitter). 

If our Website allows users to interact with social media services (for example, the Facebook "Like" button or "Share to Twitter" button), the operators of those services can place a cookie on your device enabling them to recognize users who have previously visited our Site. If you are logged into these social media services while visiting our Site, these cookies allow the social media services to receive information that you have visited our Website or other information. These cookies also allow the social media services to share information about your activities on our Site with other users of the social media services.

Analytics

Our Website may utilize first- and third-party cookies and similar technologies for analytics, product development and market research purposes, including analyzing how users arrive at and engage with our site or ads; tracking and measuring the performance and effectiveness of our Site and ads; optimizing the location of ads, features, and other content on our Site; statistical reporting in connection with website activity; analyzing user preferences and behaviors and market characteristics and trends in order to develop and improve our products, Site, and ads; segmenting audiences to test features of Site and ads; and conducting research about our consumers, products, and online services.

Advertising

Our Website may utilize, and reserves the right to utilize, first- and third-party cookies and similar technologies to deliver, track, and measure ads both on and off our Site, including ads relevant to your interests (for example, ads based on your past interaction with our Site or based on predictions about your interests derived from your activities on different websites over time); and ads based on your location, demographics, or device characteristics. Cookies are also used for tracking and measuring the reach and frequency of ads and regulating the delivery of such ads (for example, capping the number of times you see a particular ad). 

Clear Gifs (Web Beacons / Web Bugs). A Clear GIF is a tiny line of code, only 1 by 1 pixel in size, that is programmed to collect certain information about a visit to a particular website. We may use clear GIFs to gather non- personal, aggregate information on visits to our Sites, track usage of website links and email delivery. We do not disclose personal information that may be linked to our clear GIF collection practices to third parties. The Sites are not responsible for the use of clear GIFs by other website operators.

Profile. We store information that we collect through cookies and clear gifs to create a “profile” of your preferences. We tie your personal information to information in the profile to provide tailored promotions and marketing offers or to improve the content of the Site for you. We do not share your profile with third parties.

Information Sharing and Disclosure. Except for the limited situations listed here in this Privacy Policy, we will not share your personal information with third parties. To the extent we are legally permitted to do so, we will take reasonable steps to notify you in the event that we are required to provide your personal information to third parties as part of legal process.

Agents and Third Party Service Providers. To provide the Company’s Services to you, we may sometimes use other businesses to perform certain specialized services such as data processing or other technology services. In such instances, we may provide your personal information to those businesses but they are not permitted to retain or use your information for any other purpose.

Change of Control / Asset Transfer. As the Company develops, we may buy other businesses or their assets or sell all or parts of our business assets. Customer information is generally one of the business assets involved in such transactions. Thus, in the event that the assets of the Company in whole or in parts are acquired by a third-party, customer information, including any visitor information collected through the Site or the Service, would be one of the transferred assets. In the event of a corporate change in control or sale of all or parts of our business assets, the buyer or transferee will have to honor the commitments we have made in this Privacy Policy.

Communication From the Company

Customer Service. Based upon the information you provide to us, we will communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to provide the Services you request, and to manage your account relating to Company Services. We may communicate with you by email or telephone.

Newsletters and Promotions. We may provide you the opportunity to opt-in to additional newsletters or promotional communications sent by email. If you have opted in or otherwise qualify to receive these forms of communication, we will use your name and email address to communicate with you. Out of respect for your privacy, we provide you a way to unsubscribe, as established in the “Choice and Opt-out” section.

Choice/Opt-out. We may provide you the opportunity to opt-in to additional newsletters or promotional communications sent by email. If you have opted in or otherwise qualify to receive these forms of communication, and no longer wish to receive our newsletter or other promotional communications by email, you may opt-out of receiving them by following the instructions included in each communication.

You may always limit the amount and type of information that we collect from you by choosing not to enter or provide any information requested from you on our Site. However, some of our products and services can only be provided to you if you provide us with the requested information. Some of the products and services offered through our Site may ask whether you wish to opt out or opt into our contact lists for offers, promotions, and additional products and services that may be of interest to you.

You can opt out of marketing emails we may send to you by following the "unsubscribe" instructions provided in such emails. If you opt out of our marketing emails, we may still send you transactional and relationship emails, such as emails about your policy and account.

You may also exercise your ability to opt-out from the use of cookies and similar technologies as described herein (where available).

If you have an account with us online, you may also be able to update your account information by accessing your account through the Site. For record keeping and compliance purposes, we will retain certain information collected from you in conjunction with commercial transactions, even if amended or updated.

We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service providers to:

1. Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our 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. Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.

7. Comply with a legal obligation, including record retention obligations.

8. Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

Security and Information Protection

The security of your information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as a credit card number) on our payment forms, we encrypt that information using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. Further, we follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. That said, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. Firewalls. When we store information that you have provided to us when registering for the Service, that information is protected by security measures that include “firewalls” (a combination of computer hardware and software that helps keep unauthorized visitors from accessing information within our computer network) and other tools such as data encryption and physical security, where appropriate. No data transmission over the Internet or data repository can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while Company strives to protect your personal information and privacy, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to us online and cannot be responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your personal information.Links to Other Sites. Please be aware that when you are on the Site, or when you receive an email message from us through the Service, you could be directed to other sites that are beyond our control. There may be links to other sites from the Site’s pages or from the email message we send to you that take you outside our Site. These other sites may send their own cookies to visitors, collect data, or solicit personal information. The privacy policies of these other sites may be significantly different from this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other sites and cannot guarantee the security of any of your personal information collected there. Note that when you link to a third party site from the Site, you may see pre-populated data fields with your personal information; however, that information is not available to the third party unless you take certain actions on the third party’s site, such as submitting a form.

Legal Compliance

Company reserves the right to disclose member information in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) Company’s rights or property, other visitors, list members, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. Company also reserves the right to disclose visitor or list member information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.

Notification of Changes to this Privacy Policy

The terms of this Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes to this Privacy Policy by posting a notice on the homepage of the Site for a reasonable period of time after such changes are made, that this Privacy Policy has been updated, and by changing the Effective Date at the top of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to check this page periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the Site and participation in following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

Contact us. We value your opinions. If you have comments or questions about our Privacy Policy, you may contact the Company.