PRIVACY POLICY
Last Updated: March 14, 2024
MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company (“MassMutual Ascend”) respects your privacy, and we strive to be transparent in how we collect and use your information. This Privacy Policy describes how MassMutual Ascend collects, uses, discloses, and protects your personal information.
1. SCOPE
This Privacy Policy applies to all personal information MassMutual Ascend receives or collects from you and from other sources about you during the course of our business operations and insurance relationships, including
personal information we receive or collect when you visit our websites (www.massmutualascend.com; www.massmutualascend.com; www.mybusiness.massmutualascend.com;
and www.massmutualascend.com/mmalis).
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “MassMutual Ascend”, “we”, and “us” means MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company, Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company, Manhattan National Life Insurance Company and MassMutual Ascend Life Investor Services.
2. PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED BY MASSMUTUAL ASCEND
MassMutual Ascend offers and administers a variety of annuity and life insurance products and services. Depending on our relationship with you – policyholder, insured, claimant, annuity owner, certificate owner, beneficiary, producer (including brokers, agents, and advisors), business partner, vendor, or other person or entity – MassMutual Ascend may collect or receive the following information that may contain personal information:
• Identity Information: First name; middle name or initial; last name; gender; genetic characteristics; date of birth; marital status; age; mother’s maiden name; identification number, such
as social security or tax identification number; geolocation data; permanent residence; professional licenses and affiliations; contract or policy number; relationship to policyholder, insured, owner, annuitant, or claimant; date and cause of death,
injury, or disability; and other similar information. In cases involving a trust, the date of the trust instrument, the state law that governs the trust, the identity of each grantor, the identity of each current trustee, whether the trust is
revocable, whether conflicts of interest are present, and information related to the tax status of the trust.
• Contact Information: Business and/or personal addresses, email addresses,
telephone numbers, fax numbers, and other contact details.
• Financial and Business Information: Financial statements; assets; liabilities; and tax information; credit history;
credit score; educational information; status as a director, partner, or other ownership or management position; insurance coverage information; and any other financial information required to support the suitability determination of an annuity purchase.
• Payment Information: Bank account information, brokerage account information, wire transfer instructions, and other information necessary for MassMutual Ascend to make or receive
payments.
• Health Information: Medical history; past, current, and future physical, mental, or medical condition or treatment; medical procedures performed; health status, injury, or disability
information; personal habits (for example, smoking or consumption of alcohol); prescription information; payment for medical treatment; and other similar health information.
• Regulatory Information:
Any personal information needed for MassMutual Ascend to comply with its obligations under applicable laws and regulations, including, without limitation, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, insurance fraud, economic and trade sanctions, and other
regulatory schemes. In the event MassMutual Ascend intends to obtain a consumer credit report about a U.S. individual, MassMutual Ascend will provide separate notice to the individual and, if required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, obtain
the individual’s consent prior to obtaining the consumer report.
• Website Usage Information: MassMutual Ascend’s website uses cookies and other automatic
data collection technologies to collect certain information about visitors to our website, including IP address; details about your browser, operating system and device/hardware; general location (if available); webpages visited; and other logging
information such as the date, time, and duration of your use of the website. Please refer to our Cookie Policy for additional information about MassMutual Ascend’s use of cookies and other automatic data collection technologies.
3. HOW MASSMUTUAL ASCEND COLLECTS YOUR INFORMATION
MassMutual Ascend collects and receives the personal information described in Section 2: Personal Information Collected by MassMutual Ascend above from
a variety of sources. We may receive personal information directly from you, through our website, software, and mobile applications, as well as from third parties such as producers, other insurance companies, vendors, service providers, consumer
reporting agencies, account verification services, and other publicly-available sources of information.
4. HOW MASSMUTUAL ASCEND USES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
MassMutual Ascend uses the
personal information collected above for the following purposes:
• Underwriting, Policy Issuance and Maintenance: In order to underwrite, issue, and maintain annuity contracts and
insurance policies, obtain reinsurance, and communicate important information to you throughout this process, MassMutual Ascend may collect, use and share (“process”) identity, contact, financial, health, and
regulatory information about policyholders, insureds, producers, annuity owners, certificate owners, annuitants, beneficiaries, trustees, legal representatives, reinsurers, underwriters, actuaries, and other related persons or entities. We process
this information to enter into and perform our contractual obligations to you and for our legitimate business purposes.
• Claims Review and Approval:
In order to process claims under an annuity contract or life insurance policy and to communicate with you throughout this process, MassMutual Ascend may process identity, contact, financial and business, health, and regulatory information about claimants,
policyholders, insureds, annuity owners, certificate owners, annuitants, beneficiaries, trustees, legal representatives, agents, advisors, brokers, and other third parties. We process this information to perform our contractual obligations to you
and for our legitimate business purposes.
• Payment: In order to collect premium payments, collect purchase payments, collect reinsurance proceeds, purchase reinsurance,
make annuity payments, process annuity withdrawals and loans, pay annuity and life death claims, pay third-party service providers and other payees, and make other business-related payments, MassMutual Ascend may process identity, contact, financial
and business, payment, and regulatory information about policyholders, insureds, reinsurers, annuity owners, certificate owners, annuitants, beneficiaries, trustees, claimants, third party administrators, professional advisors, service providers,
vendors, and other payees. We process this information to perform our contractual obligations to you and for our legitimate business purposes.
• Internal Operations:
MassMutual Ascend may process identity, contact, financial and business, payment, health, regulatory, and website usage information for purposes of MassMutual Ascend’s internal business operations, including but not limited to marketing; servicing
your account; improving our products and services; data security; financial, claim or other audits; quality assurance measures; resolving complaints; identifying and preventing fraud; complying with legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations;
business continuity and disaster recovery; complying with internal policies and procedures; establishing and defending MassMutual Ascend’s legal rights; communicating important information regarding our policies, terms and conditions, and other
administrative information; communicating with agents, advisors, brokers, policyholders, contract owners, certificate owners and beneficiaries; responding to requests for information and deletion; website personalization and optimization; as well
as actuarial studies, analytics, and statistical modeling. We process this information to perform our contractual obligations to you, for our legitimate business purposes to provide and customize our products and services to you and to secure
your information, and to comply with legal obligations and exercise any legal rights we may have.
5. HOW MASSMUTUAL ASCEND SHARES YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
MassMutual Ascend may disclose
your personal information to the following entities, as allowed by and in accordance with applicable law, for the purposes set forth in Section 4: How MassMutual Ascend Uses Your Information above:
• Parents, Subsidiaries, and Affiliates:
In connection with our business operations, to provide products and services, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations, MassMutual Ascend entities may share information with their parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates.
• Professional Advisors: In order to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to obtain professional advice and services, and in connection with our business operations, MassMutual Ascend
may disclose personal information to accountants, auditors, lawyers, bankers, insurers, and other professional advisors to MassMutual Ascend.
• Insurance-Related Business Partners and Third Parties:
In connection with our business operations and to provide products and services, MassMutual Ascend may share information with underwriters, actuaries, brokers, agents, and advisors; insurance support organizations; reinsurance providers; other insurance
companies and third-party administrators; financial institutions, such as banks; payment processors; securities firms; credit bureaus; consumer reporting agencies; and other third parties.
• Other Vendors and Service Providers:
In order to provide products and services and to support our business operations, MassMutual Ascend may share information with vendors and third-party service providers such as IT vendors, developers, software providers, and website hosting providers;
records management and data storage providers; data analytics companies; printing, advertising, marketing and market research companies; translators; and other third parties.
• Legal and Regulatory:
For the purpose of meeting our legal and regulatory obligations, or otherwise as allowed or required by law, MassMutual Ascend may share personal information with third parties such as federal, state, and local regulatory authorities, tax authorities,
law enforcement, public, administrative, or judicial bodies, or other persons or entities in response to a legal process (such as a subpoena).
• Authorized Representatives and Successors in Interest:
MassMutual Ascend may share personal information with your agent, advisor, representative, attorney-in-fact, guardian, or conservator. If an interest in an annuity contract or life insurance policy is transferred, assigned, or otherwise passes
to a new owner, assignee, or other successor, MassMutual Ascend may share personal information with that successor to the extent needed to confirm the successor’s interest. After your death, MassMutual Ascend may share personal information
with your executor, administrator, or personal representative, your beneficiary, or other legally authorized successor to your interest in the annuity contract or life insurance policy.
• Corporate Transaction:
MassMutual Ascend may disclose your personal information to a third party in connection with a proposed or actual reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of the MassMutual Ascend
business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any insolvency event or similar proceedings).
• Marketing: MassMutual Ascend may disclose your personal information to an affiliate or a third-party marketing service provider in connection with the marketing efforts of MassMutual Ascend or its affiliates, which may include joint marketing arrangements with third parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, MassMutual Ascend will not share the opt-in or consent information of any individual who opts in to a short code text messaging program with third parties, other than (1) with vendors, consultants and other service providers who need access to such information to perform services on our behalf (and who will not use such information for their own purposes); and (2) if we believe disclosure is required by any applicable law, rule or regulation or to comply with law enforcement or legal process. You may opt out of marketing emails at any time by following the instructions in our marketing communications or by contacting us using the information provided in Section 12: Questions and Contact Information below.
6. CONSENT
There may be situations where MassMutual Ascend is required by law to obtain your consent in order to process or share your personal information. If you are asked to give your consent and have provided your consent, you may withdraw it at
any time by contacting us using the information provided in Section 12: Questions and Contact Information below. Please note, however, that withdrawing your consent could impact our ability to provide you with the requested
products and services.
7. YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
MassMutual Ascend strives to ensure the information we have is accurate and up-to-date. Please notify us if you believe an
error has been made in the accuracy of the information MassMutual Ascend has about you, and we will correct it upon confirmation of the error and receipt of the correct information.
You may have additional rights
with respect to your personal information depending on the laws of your jurisdiction.
If you wish to exercise one or more of your rights with respect to your personal information, please contact MassMutual Ascend using
the information provided in Section 12: Questions and Contact Information below. Please understand that in order to protect your privacy and security, we will need to take reasonable steps to verify your identity before we can
respond or comply with any request relating to your personal information. MassMutual Ascend will respond to your request as soon as practicable, but in any event within the legally required time.
8. DATA RETENTION AND INFORMATION SECURITY
MassMutual Ascend retains your personal information for as long as reasonable or necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the data was collected, meet its business requirements, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
MassMutual Ascend is committed to protecting your personal information and has implemented physical, procedural, organizational, and technical safeguards, consistent with applicable law, intended to prevent loss, misuse, unauthorized access,
disclosure, or modification of personal information under our control. If you have reason to believe that any of your personal information is no longer secure, please notify us using the information provided in Section 12: Questions and Contact Information below.
9. DATA TRANSFERS
In connection with the purposes described above, MassMutual Ascend may transfer personal information to persons and organizations that are located in other countries.
Where permitted by applicable law, by providing your personal information to MassMutual Ascend, you understand and consent to the collection, use, processing, disclosure, and transfer of such information in the United States of America (“United States”
or “U.S.”) and other countries or territories, which may not offer the same level of data protection as the country where you reside, in accordance with applicable law and the terms of this Privacy Policy.
Further, please note that information collected through the use of this website and any communication you send to a mmascend.com email address will be routed through the United States.
10. OTHER MASSMUTUAL ASCEND NOTICES OF PRIVACY AND INFORMATION PRACTICES
The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and U.S. state privacy laws require MassMutual Ascend to provide the following notice of privacy and insurance information practices to its U.S. consumers:• MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company, Annuity Investors Life Insurance Company and Manhattan National Life Insurance Company (collectively, “MassMutual Ascend”) Notice of Privacy and Insurance Information Practices: https://www.massmutualascend.com/contact/privacy/annuity-privacy-notice
11. EXCLUSIONS FROM THIS PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy does not apply to information MassMutual Ascend receives and maintains about its job applicants, employees, directors, or independent contractors. MassMutual Ascend’s website is intended for individuals who are over the age of eighteen (18). We do not knowingly collect personal information through our website from children under the age of eighteen (18) and ask that they do not provide us with personal information through the website. Although our website may contain links to third party websites, this Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party websites. You should review the privacy policies associated with those third-party websites to understand their privacy practices.
12. QUESTIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about the Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any legal rights with respect to your personal information, you may reach us by clicking the “Contact Us” button at the top of our website, or by mail, email, or phone at the following address:
MassMutual Ascend Life Insurance Company
Attention: Privacy Officer
191 Rosa Parks Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202-4201
(800) 854-3649 (select 2)
annuitycompliance@mmascend.com
13. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy may be changed from time to time. We will post any changes we make to the Privacy Policy on our website. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to check this page periodically and to review any updates, and we will obtain your consent to any changes where required by applicable law.
