Web Site Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the New York State PrePlan Funeral Trust Website (Preplan.Org) and reviewing our website privacy policy. Our privacy policy explains how we handle the personally identifiable information (PII) that you provide to us when you visit us online to browse, obtain information, or conduct a transaction. PII includes information that is personal in nature and which may be used to identify you.  You may provide PII to us when you send us an e-mail message or a request for information, when you fill out a questionnaire or customer satisfaction survey, when you participate in a research study, etc. We do not require you to register or provide PII to visit our website. We do collect some technical information that does not include PII when you visit to make your visit seamless. The section below explains how we handle and collect information when you visit www.preplan.org.

The PII you provide on the PrePlan.Org website will be used only for the purpose for which you provided it. We will protect your information consistent with the principles established by the New York State Office of Cyber Security and the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standards for Financial Institutions.

Personally Identifiable Information

As a general rule, PrePlan does not collect PII about you when you visit our website, unless you choose to provide such information to us. Submitting PII through our website is voluntary. By doing so, you are giving PrePlan your permission to use the information for a specific, stated purpose. However, not providing certain information may result in PrePlan’s inability to provide you with the service you desire.

If you choose to provide us with PII on the PrePlan website, through such methods as completing a web form, we will use that information to help us provide you the information or service you have requested. The information we may receive from you varies based on what you do when visiting our site.

We DO NOT share the PII you give us with any other individual, company, affiliate or government agency, unless required by law. We never create individual profiles or give your PII to any private organizations. The New York State PrePlan Funeral Trust never collects information for commercial marketing.

If we store your PII in a record system designed to retrieve information about you by personal identifier, we will safeguard the information you provide to us in accordance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standards for Financial Institutions.

Email Communications

Several of our programs and Web sites allow you to send us email messages. We will use the information you provide to respond to your inquiry. We will only send you general information via email. You should be reminded that email may not necessarily be secure against interception. Therefore, we suggest that you do not send sensitive PII (such as your Social Security number) to us via email. If your intended email communication is sensitive, e.g., it includes information such as your bank account, charge card, or Social Security number, you should instead send it by U.S. mail.

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

When you browse through any website, certain information about your visit can be collected. We automatically collect the following types of information about your visit:

• Domain from which you access the Internet;
• IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to a computer when surfing the Internet);
• Operating system and information about the device or browser used when visiting the site;
• Date and time of your visit;
• Content you visited or downloaded; and,
• Web site (such as google.com or bing.com) or referral source (email notice or social media site) that connected you to the Web site.

PrePlan.Org uses a variety of different Web measurement software tools.

PrePlan uses Google Analytics measurement software to collect the information listed above. The data are automatically sent to Google’s system and the system immediately aggregates the data.  Neither PrePlan.Org nor Google ever have access to the specifics of your particular site visits.  The staff can only see the aggregate data from all users for a particular time period.

PrePlan.Org gathers this information to improve our Web sites and has chosen to not share the aggregate data with Google.  We may use the aggregated data to share with our partners and contractors to help improve visitor experiences. 

How We Uses Cookies

When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a "cookie" to place on your computer. Placing cookie text allows Web sites to “remember” visitors’ preferences, surfing patterns and behavior while they are connected.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of Web pages. Cookies from PrePlan.Org Web pages only collect information about your browser’s visit to the site; they do not collect any personal information about you.

There are two types of cookies, single session (temporary), and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site.

Persistent Cookies: We use persistent cookies to enable Google Analytics to differentiate between new and returning visitors to our site. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to PrePlan.Org for six months.

Site Security

PrePlan.Org takes the security of all PII very seriously. We take precautions to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the information we collect at this site. Such measures include access controls designed to limit access to the information to the extent necessary to accomplish our mission. We also employ various security technologies to protect the information stored on our systems. We routinely test our security measures to ensure that they remain operational and effective.

• For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this computer system employs commercial software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.
• Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Raw data logs are used for no other purposes and are scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration guidelines.
• Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

Visiting Other Web sites

Our Web site contains links to agencies, private organizations, and some commercial entities. These Web sites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security, or accessibility polices. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the policies of that site.

Privacy Policy Contact Information

We welcome feedback if you have any questions regarding our privacy policy or the use of your information.  Any additional privacy questions should be directed to Director of Information Technology. For additional information about our Privacy Policy, or for general privacy inquiries, please contact us at preplan@preplan.org or at 800-577-3752.