Privacy Policy

THE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE GROUP, consisting of Universal Healthcare (Pty) Ltd and its subsidiaries, (hereinafter “the Group”) is committed to protect the privacy of all users.

This Privacy Notice governs the way that the Group treats your personal information. The Group complies with the applicable data protection legislation when processing your personal information.

The purpose of this notice is to inform you about the types of personal information that the Group collects, how your personal information is used, the manner in which personal information is collected, and the sharing, protection and storage of said information.

1. What is personal information?
The terms “personal information” as used in this notice, refers to information that may be used to identify an individual or a juristic person (for example, a registered company).

The person to whom personal information relates, is referred to as the “data subject”.

Personal information can included your contact details, financial information, or information relating to your physical or mental health.

2. What personal information will the Group collect?
The personal information collected can include a data subject’s name, contact information, date of birth, identity number, gender, employment details, marital status, family or dependent details, address, online identifier, bank account or financial details, and medical or health information.

When personal information is collected, the purpose for the collection will be indicated, and whether the information required is compulsory or voluntary.

3. How is personal information collected from you?
The Group collects the information either directly from you (the data subject), your employer or through financial services intermediaries. In certain instances, third parties may be appointed to collect information on the Group’s behalf. The Group will disclose the source from which personal information was obtained, if it was not obtained directly from the data subject.
4. Is my personal information secure?

The Group will take all reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information. All personal information will be stored in secured environments.

5. How does the Group use my personal information?
The Group uses your information for the following purposes:

  • Rendering our services to our clients and their beneficiaries where applicable;
  • To execute our contractual obligations;
  • To issue, administer and manage products;
  • Notifying you of new products and developments that may be of interest to you;
  • Confirm, verify and update your details;
  • To comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

Where permission has been granted, the Group may use your personal or other information to provide you with more information on the Group products, services and special offers.

If you participate in the Group’s health or wellness management programs, your health information may be used to assist you in managing your health. The data can be used anonymously, for internal statistic, marketing or operational purposes.

6. When will we process your special personal information?
Your special personal information may be processed in the following circumstances:

  • If you provided consent for the processing thereto.
  • If the processing is required to create, use or protect a right or obligation in law.
  • If the processing is for statistical or research purposes.
  • If the special personal information was made public by you.
  • If the processing is required by law.
  • If racial information is processed for the purpose of identifying you.
  • If health information is processed for purposes of managing your health portfolio, or to enforce a right or obligation flowing from your medical scheme membership.
7. How can I review and correct my personal information?
The personal information contained in the Group’s records may be viewed, updated and / or corrected at any time.

If the purpose for which your personal information was requested initially does not exist anymore (for example you cancelled your medical scheme membership), you may request that personal information held by the Group be removed. The Group may however decline your request to delete this information from its record, if the Group is required by law to keep it, or if the records have been de-identified.

8. How often is this notice updated?
This notice will be amended from time to time, as required.
9. Who is responsible for managing my personal information?
The Group Legal, Risk and Compliance Department of Universal Healthcare Group Services, and in particular the Information Officer, is accountable to address and manage the risk of data privacy and cyber security. The Information Officer has regular meetings with business units to ensure continued protection of personal information.

Employees are trained on a regular basis to ensure compliance with the provision of the data protection legislation.

10. What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file stored on your device by the website you are visiting. It helps the website to remember information about your device and how you use the website. The Group uses this information to make your visit to its site as easy and useful as possible.

There are two main types of cookies: session cookies and persistent cookies.

When your browser is closed, some cookies are deleted. These are called session cookies. Other cookies are stored on your device until they expire, or you choose to delete them. These are called persistent cookies and are sent back to the Group each time you visit the Universal website.

Cookies are used for session management, user device identification and classification, traffic routing, and analytics.

Clearing or disabling cookies may limit your website functionality, and your functionality once you’ve logged in to the Universal website. You can limit the collection of your information by disabling cookies on your browser. You may also be able to modify your browser settings to require your permission each time a site attempts to set a cookie.

Many websites however rely on cookies to enable certain functionality. If you choose to disable cookies, some of the services available on the Universal website may not function properly.

11. Is your personal information at risk?
The Group will never save any personal information, including login details or other personal information on your computer. As such, your personal information is not at risk.