Privacy Policy
How Northgate Hub collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information when you visit northgatehub.com or insure cargo with us, and the choices you have.
A bay gives ships a sheltered place to unload. We want your personal information to have the same kind of shelter with us. This Privacy Policy explains what Northgate Hub Cargo Insurance Services, Inc. (“Northgate Hub,” “we,” “us”) collects about you, why we need it, who else may see it (including recipients in other countries), and the choices you have.
By browsing northgatehub.com or using our insurance services you agree to the practices described here, including the cookies and analytics explained under Cookies, analytics, and similar technologies and the options presented in our cookie banner. This Policy should be read together with our Terms of Use.
Scope of this Policy
This Policy covers personal information collected through northgatehub.com and our other online channels. Information that reaches us in other ways, for instance a call to our loss line or a claim form sent in by a broker, is treated under the same principles wherever that is reasonably possible.
Information we collect
What we collect depends on how you interact with us. It falls into these groups:
- How you use the site: pages viewed and when, your IP address, cookie identifiers, browser type, operating system, device, and the website that sent you to us.
- Who you are and how to reach you: name, company, email, mailing address, and telephone number, given when you request a quote, apply for cover, open an account, subscribe to updates, or complete a form.
- Policy and claims information: shipment details, declared values, routes, descriptions of loss or damage, supporting photographs and documents, the payment information needed to bind cover or pay a claim, and recordings of calls with our staff or appointed partners.
- Applicant and contractor information: when you apply for a role with us, including our Remote Package Quality Inspector program, or supply services to us.
You can read most of this site anonymously. To bind a policy or file a claim, however, we need specific information and cannot proceed without it.
Where it comes from
The bulk of what we hold is provided by you directly, or by someone acting on your behalf, for example a broker, an authorized representative, an e-commerce platform, or a shipping platform integrated with ours. When a shipment or claim involves third parties (carriers, warehouse operators, surveyors, loss adjusters), we may also receive relevant information from them.
Types of personal information in our records
Depending on your relationship with us (policyholder, claimant, broker, or other business contact), our files may hold:
- Your name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number(s).
- Date of birth or company registration details, where relevant.
- Bank and account details used to underwrite cover and settle payments.
- Medical or injury information, only where a claim requires it.
- Information required for sanctions and compliance screening, where applicable.
We never sell personal information to marketers or list brokers.
Why we use it
We collect and use personal information to:
- Quote, bind, service, and renew cargo and shipping insurance.
- Evaluate and underwrite risk, and calculate premiums.
- Manage claims from first notice through to settlement.
- Collect payments and process transactions.
- Make the site easier to use, for example by restoring a quote form you did not finish.
- Respond to enquiries and resolve complaints or disputes.
- Meet our legal, regulatory, audit, and compliance obligations.
- Keep you updated on your cover and, where permitted by law, on our products and services.
Without the information we ask for, we may not be able to issue a policy, service it, answer your question, or settle a claim.
Who we share it with
To the extent the law allows, we disclose personal information to organizations that help us deliver our services, including:
- Brokers, agents, distribution partners, and program administrators.
- Claims handlers, surveyors, loss adjusters, investigators, and repair or salvage contractors.
- Insurers, reinsurers, coinsurers, and insurance-industry reference databases.
- Banks and payment processors.
- Hosting and software providers, and professional advisers bound by confidentiality obligations.
- Regulators, government bodies, courts, and dispute-resolution bodies where the law requires or permits.
- Other members of the Northgate Hub group, for administration and reporting purposes.
We do not sell, rent, or pass your information to unrelated companies for their own marketing without your consent. Disclosure stays within what this Policy describes or what is necessary to provide the service you requested.
International transfers
Northgate Hub began in Trondheim and has run its US head office from Oakland since 2017, and our clients ship across more than 120 trade routes. So personal information crosses borders too. Our offices, partners, and service providers may be located in countries whose privacy laws differ from those where you live. Whenever information leaves your country, we take reasonable measures to ensure the recipient protects it and uses it only for the purposes described here.
Cookies, analytics, and similar technologies
This section explains the cookies, local storage, and comparable technologies used on northgatehub.com. It forms part of this Privacy Policy and should be read with our Terms of Use.
What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file placed on your device by a website. We also use related techniques, including local storage, which is how we remember your cookie choice. These tools keep the site functioning and remember your settings. Only with your permission do they also show us how visitors move around the site.
Your choice in the banner
The first time you visit, a banner appears at the bottom of the page and remains until you choose one of two options:
- Accept all: allows the essential tools plus the optional analytics and measurement cookies listed below, where we use them.
- Essential only: allows only the strictly necessary tools that keep the site running and record your decision. No optional analytics cookies are placed.
Your decision is stored in your browser (see northgatehub_cookie_consent below), so the banner does not reappear on every visit, unless you clear your site data or we update this Policy in a way that requires renewed consent.
To change your mind, clear this site’s cookies and local storage in your browser settings and reload the page; the banner will show again. If anything is unclear, email quotes@northgatehub.com.
Types of cookies we use
| Type | Purpose | Requires consent? |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Security, load balancing, remembering your consent decision, and core site features | No, these are always active |
| Preferences | Keeps the settings you have selected, including your cookie decision | No, needed for normal operation |
| Analytics & performance | Counts visits and page views so we can improve the site and our services | Yes, placed only after you choose Accept all |
| Marketing | None. We run no advertising or retargeting cookies on this site | Not applicable |
Specific cookies and storage keys
| Name | Type | Placed by | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
northgatehub_cookie_consent |
Local storage | Northgate Hub (first party) | 12 months, or until cleared | Stores your decision (all or essential) and the version of this Policy you accepted |
| Session / security cookies | Cookie (if set by the host) | Northgate Hub / hosting provider | Session | Keeps the site secure and available |
| Google Fonts | Third-party request | Google LLC | Subject to Google's policies | Delivers the typefaces on this site; your IP address may be processed in the request |
| Analytics cookies (e.g. _ga) | Cookie | Third-party analytics (if enabled) | Up to 24 months | Placed only after Accept all; measures site usage |
If we introduce analytics tools in future, we will update this table and, where required by law, the banner will request your consent before they activate.
External links and embedded content
Some links lead to websites run by carriers or other third parties, each with its own approach to cookies. Should we embed third-party content or tools on this site in future, we will list them here.
Controlling cookies in your browser
All major browsers let you block or delete cookies; look under the Privacy or Site settings menu. Note that blocking cookies altogether can stop the banner from remembering your choice and may limit how the site works.
“Do Not Track” and advertising
There is no agreed industry standard for “Do Not Track” signals, so we do not respond to every such signal in the same way. We do not sell personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. To opt out of any targeted advertising associated with our brand, or to exercise other privacy rights, contact quotes@northgatehub.com.
Updates to this section
When our use of cookies changes, we will revise this section and update the effective date shown at the top of the page. For material changes the banner may return so you can choose again.
How we protect your information
We keep administrative, technical, physical, and organizational safeguards in place to protect the personal information you provide, online or otherwise. Payment details submitted through the site are transmitted over encrypted connections (SSL/TLS) and processed by secure payment providers. Access to personal information is limited to staff and contractors who need it to do their jobs.
How long we keep it
We retain policy and client records for as long as they are needed to service cover and handle claims, and for as long as legal and regulatory requirements demand, including the minimum retention periods set by insurance regulators where we do business. When there is no longer a reason to hold information, we take reasonable steps to delete it or remove anything that could reasonably identify an individual.
Accessing and correcting your information
We try to keep the information we hold accurate and up to date. You may ask to view or correct your records using the contact details at the end of this Policy. Before responding we may need to verify your identity, which means asking for your full name and date of birth, plus the specifics of your request. If you are acting for another person, we may ask for their written authorization.
Privacy law allows us to refuse certain access requests, and we will tell you when that applies. Correction requests are free; where the law permits, a reasonable charge may apply to unusually extensive access requests.
Your rights under state and regional privacy laws
Where applicable, we honor the rights provided by the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) and similar state or regional legislation. Residents of certain jurisdictions may be entitled to know what information we hold, to correct it, to request its deletion, or to limit particular uses of it. To exercise any of these rights, contact us; legal exceptions may apply.
Children
Our services are for businesses and adults, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has shared information with us, please tell us and we will delete it.
Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. Any revision is posted on this page and takes effect from the date shown, so we encourage you to check back periodically.
How to contact us
Privacy questions, access or correction requests, complaints, and anything else about this Policy can be sent to us; we aim to acknowledge each within a few business days:
Northgate Hub Cargo Insurance Services, Inc.
500 Water St, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Email: quotes@northgatehub.com
Phone: +1 (510) 555-0186
For data-protection questions specifically, you may also write to privacy@northgatehub.com.