If you collect any information from your Web site visitors, you should have a privacy policy. The policy should be explained in your Web site privacy page, and you should scrupulously abide by your policy.
Most agency sites do not have privacy statements, but they should. If you want some help creating a privacy statement, visit TRUSTe (www.truste.com) and look at their "For Business" section. You can view an XML version of their "Model Privacy Statement" or download a copy into Word for free. The model statement can be a starting point for creating your own.
If you want to take the next step and earn and display the TRUSTe logo on your site, you need to go through a three step process of creating a privacy statement, doing their paperwork, and then having TRUSTe process your application. TRUSTe charges a sliding scale fee based on annual revenue.
You might also want to check out privacy statements at major Web sites and insurance company sites. As you tour the Web, notice how many sites have privacy statements and how many sport the TRUSTe logo.
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