1. Acceptance of Terms. This website (the “Site”) is operated by United Policyholders, a non-profit educational organization. It is intended for your personal information, education and communication. Please feel free to browse the Site: your access and use of this Site is subject to these Terms of Use and all applicable laws. By accessing and browsing the Site, or posting of information or Content on the Site, you accept, without limitation or qualification, these Terms of Use. United Policyholders reserves the right to limit or terminate your access to the Site or terminate or suspend your registration for failure to comply with these Terms of Use, or for any reason at any time.
2. Limited Right to Use; Copyrights. The information and materials on this Site are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, trade secrets, and/or other proprietary rights and laws. The viewing, printing or downloading of any materials, content or information from this Site grants you only a limited, non-exclusive license for use solely by you for your own personal use and not for republication, distribution, assignment, sublicense, sale, publication, preparation of derivative works or other use. No part of any content, materials or information may be reproduced in any form or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, other than for your personal use, except as expressly authorized by United Policyholders. The copying, redistribution, use or publication by you of any content, materials or information or any part of this Site, except as expressly allowed by United Policyholders, is strictly prohibited.
3. General Disclaimer. This Site is an informational and educational resource to assist you in insurance and disaster-related issues, including certain legal and financial issues related thereto. While United Policyholders hopes to provide you with useful information and assistance, we do not provide legal, financial, or professional advice, or specific advice regarding which service providers you should use. The applicability of the legal and insurance principles discussed at this Site may differ substantially in individual situations or in different states or countries. Remember, when dealing with any legal matter you should not rely on the materials or the content provided on this Site without first seeking the advice of an attorney about your particular situation and facts. The information provided in this Site, including any advice imparted in the Ask an Expert forum, is to be used at your own risk. Nothing contained on this Site should be construed to constitute a recommendation or endorsement of any product, service, site, insurance professional, financial advisor, law firm or attorney. Any listing, name, content, material of any insurance professional, financial advisor, attorney or law firm found on this Site does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or referral of such persons. When deciding to hire any insurance professional, financial advisor, attorney or law firm you should do your own independent research and not solely rely on the materials found on this Site.
4. Posting of User Content. Certain areas of this Site may allow users, including Experts selected by United Policyholders, to post content including questions, experiences, advice, expert content, recommendations, opinions, information, messages, or other material (“User Content”). For instance, you may use our forums, blogs, “Ask an Expert” or other community areas to post User Content. Please be aware that these areas are public and not confidential. You may only post your User Content to public areas and where you have permission to post. Only registered users of the Site may post User Content. You may not post any User Content that violates these Terms of Use or any third party rights.
United Policyholders does not claim ownership of any User Content that you may post. However, by posting User Content to public areas, forums, and/or “Ask an Expert” on the Site, you grant United Policyholders the perpetual royalty-free right to use, copy, display, perform, distribute, adapt, create derivative works, sublicense and promote your User Content in any medium and any manner whatsoever.
United Policyholders has not reviewed the posts on the Site in advance and the views expressed therein are those of the posters and do not necessarily reflect those of United Policyholders or its employees, officers, directors, agents or affiliates. United Policyholders assumes no responsibility for the posts or the information contained therein, nor do they make any claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, suitability or completeness of any of the information in the posts, including posts made by Experts (as defined below).
5. Advice and Information Provided On Site and by “Experts.” The “Ask an Expert” feature on the Site allows users to post questions, which may be responded to by insurance professionals, attorneys and/or other persons with expertise to provide responses, who are selected by United Policyholders (“Experts”). You hereby acknowledge your understanding that the Experts that participate in the Ask an Expert forum may not be affiliated with, employed by or agents of United Policyholders, and that United Policyholders makes no representations as to the qualifications of any of the Experts who participate in the Ask an Expert forum. The selection of an Expert by United Policyholders does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or referral of such persons. When deciding to hire any insurance professional, financial advisor, attorney or law firm you should do your own independent research and not rely solely on the materials found on this Site.
Please remember that no information found at this Site, in the database, in the forums or in the responses from Experts can replace a face-to-face meeting or telephone consultation with an insurance agent, financial advisor or attorney about your particular case, problem or question. The information you find on the Site or in the Expert responses should just be a starting point in finding your answers. Nothing transmitted to or from this Site constitutes the establishment of an attorney-client relationship between you and any attorney. As laws vary from state to state and are constantly changing, you should consult an attorney in your state for specific advice to rely on.
In addition, because Ask an Expert is a public forum, you must also understand that you may lose some privacy by posting your questions or answers on the forum. Although your identity will stay anonymous, your facts and your view of the facts may not remain a “secret” any longer, and you should consider this in determining whether and what to post on the Site.
6. Prohibited Uses of Site. While using the Site, you may not:
- restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Site;
- post or transmit any unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, abusive, hateful, offensive, or otherwise objectionable information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, constitute unauthorized practice of a professional service, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or foreign law;
- post or transmit any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or schemes, or other unsolicited commercial communication (except as otherwise expressly permitted by United Policyholders), or engage in spamming, phishing, or flooding;
- use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without United Policyholders’ express written permission;
- post or transmit any information or software that contains a virus, Trojan horse, worm, or other harmful component;
- post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute, or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material obtained through the Site for commercial purposes (other than as expressly permitted by the provider of such information, software, or other material);
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way information, software, or other material obtained through the Site which is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or right holder; or
- upload, post, publish, reproduce, transmit, or distribute in any way any component of the Site itself or derivative works with respect thereto without United Policyholders’ prior written consent.
User Content is the sole responsibility of the person from whom it originated and United Policyholders accepts no responsibility for, nor does it guarantee the integrity, quality, or accuracy of, the information.
7. No Duty to Monitor. You agree that United Policyholders is not liable for User Content that is provided by others, including Experts selected by United Policyholders. United Policyholders has no obligation to prescreen User Content that may be posted in the Ask an Expert or other community forums and is not responsible for such postings. Although United Policyholders has no duty to prescreen User Content, United Policyholders has the right to refuse to post or to edit submitted User Content. United Policyholders reserves the right to remove User Content for any reason, but is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such material.
8. Copyright Infringement. If you believe your copyright or the copyright of another has been infringed on the Site, please provide United Policyholder’s Copyright Agent with a written notice containing the following information: (1) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; (2) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed; (3) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site; (4) your address, telephone number, and email address; (5) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and (6) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. Claims of infringement should be addressed to the United Policyholders’ Copyright Agent by mail to 381 Bush Street, 8th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, or by email to copyrightagent@unitedpolicyholders.org.
9. Links. Any link provided on this Site is provided for the use and convenience of its users. The appearance of links does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or certification by United Policyholders, nor should the presence of a link in any way be construed as a suggestion that such site or the persons operating such site have any relationship with United Policyholders. United Policyholders does not take responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness or quality of the content contained in these linked sites or the quality of any services rendered in connection with such sites. As such, United Policyholders will not be responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information contained in these sites.
10. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. ALL MATERIALS, CONTENT (INCULUDING USER CONTENT), INFORMATION, OPINIONS AND SERVICES (THE “CONTENT”) INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” FOR YOUR USE. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. UNITED POLICYHOLDERS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE CONTENT IS ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR CORRECT, THAT THIS SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION, THAT ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE CONTENT IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL UNITED POLICYHOLDERS OR ANY OF ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, AGENTS OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THIS SITE, INCLUDING ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN CONTENT ON THE SITE, STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SITE, INSTRUCTION, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY OR LINKED FROM THE SITE OR ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SITE. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF UNITED POLICYHOLDERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
12. NO PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. THE SITE OFFERS INFORMATION RELATED TO INSURANCE AND DISASTER-RELATED ISSUES, WHICH INCLUDES LEGAL, FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ANY INFORMATION FOUND ON THE SITE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR OBTAINING SPECIFIC LEGAL, FINANCIAL OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL OR LICENSED SERVICES OR ADVICE DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON ANY INFORMATION ON THE SITE, INCLUDING ANY ADVICE OR INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE ASK AN EXPERT FORUM, AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SUCH SERVICES OR ADVICE.
THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL, ATTORNEY, FINANCIAL ADVISOR OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL OR LICENSED ADVISOR AS APPROPRIATE. DO NOT DISREGARD INSURANCE, LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL OR LICENSED ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS SITE.
NOTHING STATED OR POSTED ON THIS SITE OR AVAILABLE THROUGH ANY SERVICES OR FORUM, INCLUDING ASK AN EXPERT, IS INTENDED TO BE, AND MUST NOT BE TAKEN TO BE, THE PRACTICE OF LAW, OR FINANCIAL, PROFESSIONAL, OR LICENSED SERVICES. Your access or use of the Site does not create in any way an attorney/client, confidential, or privileged relationship, or any other relationship that would give rise to any duties on United Policyholders’ part or the part of our suppliers, distributors, partners, and/or affiliates. United Policyholders does not sell insurance or certify, endorse or warrant insurance products or vendors. United Policyholders is not a referral service. If you rely on any of the information provided on the Site, you do so solely at your own risk.
13. Indemnification. You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless United Policyholders and its officers, employees, directors, agents and affiliates from any and all claims, demands, damages, costs, and liabilities, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, resulting from or arising out of your acts or omissions in using the Site, including your breach of these Terms of Use or any User Content you submit or post to the Site.
14. Modifications to Term of Use. United Policyholders may change, modify, update, add to, or remove portions of these Terms of Use at any time. Please check these Terms of Use periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of any changes will signify your acceptance of those changes.
15. Governing Law; Venue. Any action related to these Terms of Use or the use of this Site will be governed by the substantive laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of laws principles. The state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California shall have sole jurisdiction over any dispute arising hereunder, and by the use of this Site you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for all such purposes.
16. Miscellaneous. These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. The failure to require performance of any provision shall not affect a party’s right to require performance at any time thereafter, nor shall a waiver of any breach or default under these Terms of Use constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach or default or a waiver of the provision itself. If any provision herein is held unenforceable, then such provision will be modified to reflect the parties’ intention, and the remaining provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect. You may not resell, assign, or transfer any of your rights hereunder.
17. Privacy Policy. United Policyholders understands you may provide personal information and other data when you come to the Site. While United Policyholders takes all reasonable steps to protect and safeguard your personal information and other data, we cannot guarantee that our system is failsafe or that information is not subject to the interception, alteration, and unauthorized access by third parties. Nor does United Policyholders guarantee absolute security and confidentiality. Furthermore, United Policyholders may disclose your personal information as required by law, rule, regulation or court order. Please review United Policyholders’ Privacy Policy, as it governs the handling of such information. By agreeing to these Terms of Use you are agreeing to United Policyholders’ Privacy Policy.