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Privacy Policy

The Society of Actuaries knows that you care about how your information is used and shared. We appreciate your trust that we will use your information carefully and sensibly. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) is meant to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how you can update and manage your information. Our privacy practices reflect current global principles and standards for processing personal data.

 

By using www.SOA.org, you accept the practices described in this Policy.

 

The Society of Actuaries ("SOA", “we” or “us”) may amend this Policy at any time; we will provide you with notice when the changes are material. Changes to this Policy may affect the way we use the information collected about you, including personal data provided by or collected from you.  Please visit our website to obtain current information about our Policy.  If you do not agree with the practices described in this Policy, you must discontinue using www.SOA.org, any SOA web presences, mobile applications and web applications operated by SOA. Our  Terms of Use (“Terms”), which are a part of this Policy, further describe the terms governing your use of this website.

WHAT WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

The SOA collects information to provide you with the best products, services and experiences we can, and to ensure our website is operating efficiently. The information we collect generally falls into two categories: (1) personal data about you that you voluntarily provide to us (“personal data”), and (2) tracking information collected as you navigate through SOA operated applications and websites (“tracking information”).

PERSONAL DATA

We may collect and store your personal data whenever you do the following:

  1. Sign up to be a member, create an account on our website, update your profile, register for a meeting, register as an actuarial candidate, pay member dues, register for an exam or register for a webinar, webcast or other learning vehicle. We collect information such as your name, birth date, mailing address, email address, and phone number. We use this information to process your request, as well as for analytics and market research to provide services and benefits to you. 
    We also endeavor to collect demographic information such as educational information, gender, race/ethnicity, country of origin, language fluency, employment status and work address. This is personal data you voluntarily provide, and may update or delete at any time. We use this demographic information to help the SOA better understand and service its members, including performing analytics and market research.
  2. Purchase our products or services. When you purchase products or services from us through the website, we will collect the personal data needed (such as your name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and credit card number) to process and communicate with you about your order.  The SOA does not process or store your payment information; instead, we use a PCI/PA-DSS compliant payment processing service to process your payment on our behalf.
  3. Complete a survey. We collect various information depending on the nature of the survey, which may include your name, mailing address, title, employer, email address, and phone number. How this personal data and your survey responses will be used by the SOA is disclosed in the survey itself.
  4. Sign up for a newsletter or express interest in volunteering for the SOA. Among other items, we may collect your name, title, company name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. We use this information to process your request.
  5. Use the SOA Events app.  When you use the SOA Events app, you are providing your personal data to a third party we have contracted with to provide you with certain services.  Through the app, we may collect your name, title, company name, mailing address, email address, photo, biographical information, meeting information, and phone number.  We use this personal data to provide you with information about the event you are attending, enable certain app features, for analytics and market research services, and sending emails or push notifications in relation to the event. The app provider will process your information in accordance with our instructions and as required to provide the service.  For any third party app providers, please also see the app provider’s Privacy Policy/Statement.

The SOA uses trusted third-party vendors to help us collect, store and process the personal data you share with us.  Our vendors process your personal data and tracking information in accordance with our instructions, this Policy, and applicable privacy laws and regulations. 

AGGREGATE AND COMPUTER- RELATED INFORMATION

When you use the website and other SOA operated applications, we may collect tracking information such as your browser type, the type of operating system you use, your IP address, device identifiers and features, the name of your Internet service provider, and pages visited on the website.  If you visit our website or other SOA operated applications from a location-enabled device, that device will send us data about your location based on your device settings.  We collect this information for aggregate reporting on website activity and for identifying possible sources of website abuse or malicious activity. For example, we may want to know how long the average user spends on the website or which pages or features get the most attention.

When we collect this tracking information, we endeavor to remove any identifying elements by combining it with information about other individuals and/or by removing characteristics that make the information personally identifiable to you. SOA reserves the right to share with third parties anonymous, aggregated information about you and other visitors to our website. We share this information in order to improve our website, analyze usage trends, and develop content and services that may be of interest to you. 

Likewise, the SOA may allow third party vendors to collect industry-standard user information (which may include data IP addresses and other device identifiers) through use of cookies, pixel tags, web beacons, technologies, and other relevant tags on our website for use by the SOA to better understand the needs and interests of our members, for statistical and research purposes, and to improve content and services that may be of interest to you.

SHARING YOUR DATA

Except as provided below, SOA does not share your personal data with third parties without your consent.

  1. We publicly post and may also disclose to third parties the names of those individuals who have passed an examination, including publishing lists of new Associates (ASA) and Fellows (FSA).
  2. When you become a member, we include the information you designate in the Actuarial Directory, a publicly accessible online resource. When completing your membership application, you may limit the information available in the Actuarial Directory; however, at a minimum, the Directory will include your name, CPD compliance status, and membership designation (i.e. ASA or FSA).
  3. We may also disclose information about your membership status to third parties, including employers and prospective employers, upon request.
  4. We may share information about your SOA membership with other actuarial organizations, and may disclose limited personal data to other actuarial organizations affiliated with you if they have a reasonable interest in the information. These organizations may use your personal data to contact you about their organizations or other topics which may be of interest to you.
  5. We may share information about you as a member, customer, or user of the website with other companies that want to contact you with offers consistent with your stated marketing preferences. You may opt-out of receiving future marketing from other entities by following the instructions set forth in the “Opt Out of Marketing” section below.
  6. We share your personal data with sponsors, partners, and exhibitors who participate in SOA conferences, programs, and events. 
  7. We may display personal data about you as a member, customer, or user in our private online communities, forums, collaboration tools, and member portal(s) (“Private Online Services”). The information displayed about you in the Private Online Services may include your name, mailing address, email address, social networks and e-Learning courses. You may limit the information displayed in these Private Online Services by changing your privacy preferences.
  8. We also may disclose information to trusted outside companies that help us bring you the products and services we offer or that are necessary to process the transaction you request.  These trusted companies process your personal data based on our instructions, in accordance with our Privacy Policy, in compliance with U.S. and international privacy laws, like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and any other applicable confidentiality and security measures. For example, we may work with an outside company to: (a) process credit card transactions; (b) administer a survey; (c) manage a database of customer or member information; (d) assist us in distributing emails; (e) assist us with direct marketing and data collection; (f) provide us storage and analysis; (g) provide fraud prevention; (h) administer an examination or e-Learning module; and (i) other services designed to assist us in maximizing our business potential.
  9. We may disclose your personal data to third parties with your consent.
  10. We may disclose the personal data you provide via the website in connection with the sale, assignment, or other transfer of the business or a portion of the business of the website, including a corporate merger, consolidation, restructuring, sale of assets, or other corporate change of our company.
  11. We may disclose your personal data when required by law, wherein we have a good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a criminal investigation, a court order, or legal process. We may also share your personal data if we believe it is necessary in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of the Terms of Use, or as otherwise required by law.

USE OF COOKIES

For information about how the SOA uses cookies and related technologies, as well as how to disable cookies, please see our Cookie Policy.

ACCESSING AND UPDATING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We aim to provide you with easy access to your personal data.  If you need to review, change, or update your personal information, you can do so by logging into your “ My SOA” account.  Alternatively, you can send an email to customerservice@soa.org, calling us at +1.888.697.3900, or write to us at Attn: Customer Service Dept., Society of Actuaries, 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60631.

Due to production, mailing, and system timelines, it may take a few days to process a request to update your preferences and personal data.   

DATA SUBJECT ACCESS RIGHTS

Under the GDPR, residents of the European Union and European Economic Area (data subjects) have additional rights.  A good explanation of them is available on the United Kingdom’s Information Commissioner’s Office website.  These rights include accessing, updating, or requesting the deletion of personal data (unless we have to keep that personal data for legitimate business or legal purposes).  To learn more about how data subjects can exercise those rights, visit our DSAR Form.   

OPT OUT OF MARKETING

If you do not want to receive marketing emails from us, you can opt out by visiting our Manage Your Email Preferences Center.  A link to manage your marketing preferences is included in the footer of every SOA marketing email.  If you want to opt out of receiving marketing from third parties we are affiliated with, you can do so in your “My SOA” account.

Even if you opt out of marketing emails, we may still communicate with you for other purposes related to your membership and/or transactions initiated by you, such as new or existing orders and purchases; governance related information and changes; for customer service purposes; regarding examinations; regarding your membership; and/or for other activities where the SOA has a legitimate business or legal purpose for contacting you.

ADDITIONAL TERMS

PRIVACY POLICY SUPPORT

If you have a question about our Policy, please contact us at +1.888.697.3900 or customerservice@soa.org.

SECURITY OF INFORMATION

The website has industry standard security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. While there is no such thing as "perfect security" on the Internet, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of your personal information.  We periodically review our information collection, storage and processing practices to protect against unauthorized access to systems.

INTERNATIONAL USERS

The SOA is headquartered in the United States, and our website(s) and applications are operated, in whole or in part, from the United States. The personal data we collect from you will be processed in the United States. The SOA relies on derogations (see Article 49 of the GDPR) for transferring and processing your personal data in the United States.  The SOA transfers and processes your data based on your consent, to perform a contract with you, or to fulfill a compelling, legitimate interest of the SOA that does not outweigh your rights.  We safeguard your privacy by ensuring that the SOA uses your data consistent with your relationship with the SOA and the privacy practices described in this Policy. 

THIRD PARTY LINKS

The website may also contain links to other third party websites that are not under our control. These websites may have their own policies or no policies at all, regarding privacy. You should review these policies before providing information to these websites. The SOA has no responsibility for linked websites, and provides these links solely for the convenience of our website visitors.

CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13

Our services are directed to the general public.  We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13 years of age or have any reasonable grounds for believing children under the age of 13 are accessing our website or using our services.  If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.  If you believe that we might have any information from a child under the age of 13, please contact us at customerservice@soa.org, by calling us at +1.888.697.3900, or writing to us at Attn: Customer Service Dept., Society of Actuaries, 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave, Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60631.

TERMS OF USE, NOTICES, AND REVISIONS

If you choose to visit and/or use the website or any SOA operated application, your use, visit, and any dispute over privacy is subject to this Policy, our  Terms of Use, application of the law of the State of Illinois, and resolution of any disputes in Illinois. If you have any concern about privacy on the website, please contact us with a thorough description, and we will try to resolve it. Our business changes constantly, and this Policy, the Terms of Use, and the website will continue to change; however, you will be notified before any material changes to our Policy take effect. You should check the website frequently to see recent changes.

Last updated: January 17, 2024