Privacy Policy — ShopSmartRate

Last updated: August 2026

On this page

Who we are
What we collect
How we use it
Who we share it with
What we never do
Calls, texts and email
Cookies and analytics
How long we keep it
How we protect it
Your choices and rights
Children
Changes and contact

The short version. We are an insurance agency, not a lead generator. We collect what a carrier needs in order to quote you, we use it to get you that quote and to service your policy, and we do not sell, rent, or trade your information to anyone. You can ask us to delete it at any time.

1. Who we are

This website, shopsmartrate.com, is operated by SmartRate LLC, doing business as ShopSmartRate, a licensed independent insurance agency. Where this policy says "we," "us," or "our," it means SmartRate LLC.

We are an agency. We do not underwrite insurance and we are not an insurance company. We place coverage with licensed insurance carriers through the First Connect agency network. Those carriers have their own privacy practices, which govern the information they hold about you once you become their policyholder.

2. What we collect

We only ask for what is actually needed to quote and service insurance.

Information you give us

Contact details — name, phone number, email address, mailing address, ZIP code.
Quoting details — the type of coverage you want, your current carrier and renewal date, and anything you choose to tell us in the notes field.
Underwriting details — once you ask us to quote, carriers require information such as date of birth, driver's license number, vehicle identification numbers, property characteristics, prior claims, and prior insurance history. We ask for these directly, usually by phone or secure document, not through the public form on this site.
Business details — for commercial quotes, things like entity name, payroll, receipts, square footage, class codes, and loss history.

Information collected automatically

Standard web log data: IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, and the pages you view.
Analytics events, if and when analytics are enabled on this site — see section 7.

Information from third parties

With your authorization, carriers and their vendors may pull a consumer report such as a motor vehicle record, a loss history report (CLUE), or an insurance credit score. These are pulled by the carrier under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, not by us, and we tell you before it happens.

3. How we use it

To prepare and present insurance quotes.
To place, issue, change, and renew your policy.
To service your account — ID cards, certificates, billing questions, and claims support.
To contact you about your quote or your policy, within the consent you gave us.
To meet our legal, regulatory, and recordkeeping obligations as a licensed producer.

4. Who we share it with

We share your information only with parties who need it to do the job you asked us to do:

Insurance carriers and their underwriters, to obtain quotes and issue coverage.
The agency network we access carriers through — First Connect — as part of submitting a risk.
Service providers that operate our systems, such as our form processor, email provider, e-signature service, and agency management system. They are permitted to use your information only to provide that service to us.
Premium finance companies, if you choose to finance your premium.
Regulators, or in response to lawful legal process, where we are required to.

5. What we never do

We do not sell your information. We do not rent it. We do not trade it. We do not share it with other insurance agencies, lead buyers, lead aggregators, or marketing companies. If you submit a quote request here, your information goes to this agency and to the carriers we approach on your behalf. That is the entire list.

6. Calls, texts and email

When you tick the consent box on our quote form, you are agreeing that we may contact you at the number you gave us by phone, text, and email about insurance, including messages sent using automated technology.

Consent is not a condition of purchase. You can buy a policy from us without agreeing to automated contact — just call us instead.
You can stop it at any time. Reply STOP to any text, click unsubscribe in any email, or simply tell us. We record the request and it takes effect immediately.
Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.
We keep a record of the exact consent language you agreed to, along with the date and time, so that what you agreed to is never in dispute.

7. Cookies and analytics

This site uses only what it needs to function. If we enable web analytics, it will be used to understand which pages people find useful and where our forms are confusing — not to build advertising profiles about you. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies in their settings; the site will still work.

If we later add advertising pixels, we will update this section before doing so, and we will say plainly what is being collected.

8. How long we keep it

If you become a client, we keep your records for as long as you are insured with us and afterward for the period required by Illinois insurance recordkeeping rules and by our errors-and-omissions carrier — generally several years after the policy ends. If you request a quote and do not buy, we keep the quote file for a limited period so we can pick up where we left off if you come back, and you may ask us to delete it sooner.

9. How we protect it

We use encrypted transmission for this website and for our document delivery, access controls on our systems, and we limit access to the people who need it. No system is perfect, and we will not claim ours is. We do not ask for sensitive identifiers such as your Social Security number or driver's license number through the public form on this website — those are collected directly and securely when a carrier requires them.

10. Your choices and rights

Regardless of where you live, you may ask us to:

Tell you what information we hold about you.
Correct anything that is wrong.
Delete your information, unless we are required to keep it as an insurance record.
Stop contacting you, in whole or by channel.

Residents of states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws may have additional rights, including the right to know what is collected, the right to deletion, the right to correct, and the right to opt out of sale or targeted advertising. Since we do not sell or share your personal information for targeted advertising, there is nothing to opt out of — but the other rights are available to you.

To make a request, email [email protected] or call 855-USMART1. We may need to verify your identity before acting, and we will not treat you differently for exercising a right.

11. Children

This site is intended for adults purchasing insurance. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes and contact

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of the page. Material changes will be noted plainly rather than buried.

SmartRate LLC dba ShopSmartRate Insurance Agency
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 855-USMART1
Illinois Insurance Producer License #22321839