Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

1. Access to the site This Agreement will constitute a binding and enforceable agreement between you (individually and in your individual capacity as an employee, officer, agent or partner of each organization you represent in connection with any use of the Site) and SLAM. By using the Site, you acknowledge and agree that you have fully read and agree to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement, exactly as if it were printed on paper and signed by you. If you do not agree to be bound by this Agreement in its entirety, then you must immediately stop using the Site.

By using the Site in the course of your employment or business, you enter into this Agreement both on your own behalf and in your individual capacity as an employee, officer, agent or partner of such organization which you represent, and references in this Agreement to "you" shall mean both you as the individual user of the Site and you in your capacity as a representative of your organization.

Notwithstanding the forgoing, any signed agreement between you and SLAM, will supersede any conflicting term in this Agreement.

2. escription of Information and Services. The Site provides Information that comprises a variety of resources, and may include information about SLAM and its mission, reports and other documents related to SLAM, its organization and activities, information about contacting SLAM, links to the Minnesota Department of Commerce and other surplus lines resources, as well as other materials and information related to SLAM and surplus lines. The Information, including any updates, enhancements, and new features are provided subject to the terms of this Agreement. SLAM also provides Services that include the creation and management of user accounts for the purpose of conducting transactions for the stamping of surplus lines of insurance and the collection of stamping fees.

3. Intellectual Property. The Information, the Services, the Site, and all information and content that you see, hear or otherwise experience on the Site (the “Content”) are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark and other laws, and belong to SLAM or its parent, partners, affiliates, contributors or third parties.

SLAM grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Site, the Service and the Content and to download, print and store portions of the Content that you select, provided that you: (1) only use these copies of the Content for your own personal, non-commercial use or for use under a Minnesota surplus lines license; (2) do not copy or post the Content on any network computer or transmit, distribute, publish or broadcast the Content in any media; and (3) do not modify or alter the Content in any way, or delete or change any copyright or trademark notice. No right, title or interest in any downloaded Content or materials is transferred to you as a result of this license. SLAM reserves complete title and full intellectual property rights in any Content you download from the Site, subject to this limited license for you to make personal use of the Content as set forth herein.

You may not use any of the marks or logos appearing throughout the Site without express written consent from the trademark owner, except as permitted by applicable law.

You may not mirror, replicate, or frame the home page or any other pages of this Site on any other website or webpage.

If you wish to make any general complaint regarding any Content then please contact SLAM at n.schro@gmail.com. SLAM's agent for notice purposes under 17 U.S.C. § 512 is (notices of infringement must be made in writing):

Nicholas Schroeder
Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota
600 Clark Street
P.O. Box 86
Mora, MN 55051

4. Disclaimer of Warranties. SLAM PROVIDES THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT AND RELATED INFORMATION AND SERVICES STRICTLY ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS. SAVE TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY ANY MANDATORY APPLICABLE LAW, SLAM MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO ANY INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED, OR WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER CONTENT. SLAM EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT WITH REGARD TO ANY PRODUCTS, THE SITE, THE SERVICE, THE INFORMATION, AND ANY OTHER CONTENT. SLAM DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY THE SITE OR THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SITE OR THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED. SLAM DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT, OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE CONTENT WILL BE CORRECTED. THE SITE, THE SERVICE AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE ” BASIS.

The information or content of this site is not intended to provide specific advice about individual legal, business or other questions, and it is not a substitute for your independent research and evaluation of any issue. If specific legal or expert advice is required or desired, you should seek the services of an appropriate, competent professional.

5. Additional Disclaimers. Without limiting the disclaimers set forth in Section 3:

a. Correction of Errors and Inaccuracies. The Content may contain typographical errors or other errors or inaccuracies and may not be complete or current. SLAM therefore reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update the Content at any time without prior notice. SLAM does not, however, guarantee that any errors, inaccuracies or omissions will be corrected.

b. Third Party Links. Hypertext links to third party web sites or information do not constitute or imply the endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation by SLAM of the third party, the third-party web site, or the information contained therein, unless expressly stated on the Site. You acknowledge and agree that SLAM is not responsible for the availability of any such web sites and that SLAM does not endorse or warrant, and is not responsible or liable for, any such web site or the content thereon. You need to make your own decisions regarding your interactions or communications with any other web site. Further, you should consult the privacy statements or policies posted on third party sites to determine how your personal information, if provided by you, may be utilized by the proprietors of those third party sites. SLAM disclaims any and all responsibility and liability for the collection and transfer of information collected by such other third party web sites.

Further, all Minnesota surplus lines producers are required to be a member of SLAM as a condition to holding a surplus lines license from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. SLAM does not promote or endorse the services or products of one SLAM member over any other member. The Site may contain links to SLAM member websites, or contain links to websites containing products, services or publications other than those of SLAM. As stated above, SLAM does not endorse, approve, certify or control these external websites, and is not responsible for the content or operation of any site or content linked to the Site.

You may provide a hypertext link to the Site on your website, under the following conditions: (a) the link must be a text-only link marked "Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota"; (b) the link directs to the home page of the Site, www.mnsla.com, and not to other pages within the Site; (c) the usage of the link may not create an appearance of authorship, sponsorship or endorsement by SLAM; and (d) the link must display this Site full-screen and not within a frame on your website or any other website. In its sole discretion, SLAM reserves the right to revoke its consent to the link at any time, for any reason.

c. Geographic Limitations on Use. Like most Internet websites, this Site is accessible worldwide. However, SLAM Information and Services are specific to the state of Minnesota, and provision of the Information and Services are thusly limited. You agree to comply with all applicable laws and local rules of Minnesota and of your jurisdiction regarding the transmission of technical data, acceptable content, and online conduct.

6. Limitation of Liability. EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY ANY APPLICABLE MANDATORY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL SLAM, OR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, VENDORS OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, RELIANCE, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OPPORTUNITY, SAVINGS OR INTEREST, OR ANY PENALTIES OR ASSESSMENTS IMPOSED UNDER APPLICABLE TAX LAWS OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF SLAM, OR ITS AGENTS, HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE LIKELIHOOD THEREOF.

7. Reservation of Rights. SLAM reserves the right in its sole discretion, and at any time, (under no penalty or liability of any kind) to: (a) suspend or terminate access or use of all or any part of the Site; (b) change the format and contents of the Site; or (c) suspend, terminate operation or block all or part of the Site.

8. Indemnification. SLAM provides the Site, Information and Services solely as an accommodation to you, and SLAM will not accept any risks arising from your use of the Site. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless SLAM, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, joint venturers, business partners, licensors, employees, agents, contractors, and any third-party information providers to the Service from and against all claims, losses, expenses, damages and costs (including, but not limited to, direct, incidental, consequential, exemplary and indirect damages), and reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from or arising out of your use, misuse, or inability to use the Services, the Site, the Information or any content, your reliance upon Information or any content contained on the Site, or any violation by you of this Agreement.

9. General Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. No waiver by SLAM of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. If any part of the Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, it will not impact any other provision of the Agreement, all of which will remain in full force and effect. Any and all disputes relating to the Agreement, or your use of the Site, the Service, or the Content (collectively, “Disputes”) are governed by, and will be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to this Agreement. Any Dispute will be venued in a state or federal court situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you hereby irrevocably submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for that purpose.

10. Privacy Terms. SLAM or its service providers may record certain information about your visit, such as the name of the Internet service provider and the Internet Protocol ("IP") address through which you access the Internet, the date and time you access the Site, the uniform resource locator ("URLs") of the web sites and pages you visit (before, during and after your visit to the Site), information about the computer hardware and software you use and other information that may be available. Also, SLAM or its service providers may place "cookies" on your computer to recognize you on return visits to enable SLAM to enhance your browsing experience, enable account functionality, as well as to collect additional information about you. You may adjust your browser settings or use other means to prevent cookies from being placed on your computer, but doing so may result in reduced functionality and a less personalized browsing experience. This information is used by SLAM for several purposes: to monitor use of the Site; to improve Information, Services, and other content offered on the Site; to diagnose problems with our server; to solve technical problems; to collect information about attempts of unauthorized access; and to administer the Site.

In the course of performing its Services, SLAM must collect and make use of certain personal data for insurance licensees and their insured customers (“personal data”). The insurance licensees’ personal data includes name, address and other contact information, four digits of the licensee’s social security number, the licensee’s tax ID number and the licensee’s insurance license number. Insured customers’ personal data collected includes name, address, other contact information and insurance policy information. The personal data will be shared with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota Department of Revenue to the extent necessary to carry out the surplus lines stamping process, or otherwise as needed to carry out SLAM’s obligations under state law. Aggregated forms of personal data, with no personally identifiable information, will be used to generate reports on SLAM’s activities, and may be shared publicly. Personal data will not be shared in any other way outside of SLAM without obtaining consent of the affected parties. SLAM will use the data internally among SLAM staff, leadership, or contractors as is necessary in the performance of SLAM’s services and obligations. SLAM’s use of personal data complies with applicable laws and regulations, including data privacy provisions of Minn. Stat. § 72A.

We will safeguard, according to prudent security standards, information considered confidential by law. To protect against unauthorized access or use of this information, we maintain industry-standard electronic and procedural safeguards to guard your information.

11. Account Holder Policies. You may access the Site using a username and password (“Identification”) selected according to SLAM account-setup policies found in the SLAM Online Submission Manual. You are solely responsible for keeping your Identification confidential. You agree that you and your authorized representatives will be the only users of your Identification, and that you will be solely responsible for all activities on the Site using your Identification. We strongly recommend that you log out of the Site and close your browser window when your session is completed to help prevent unauthorized persons from accessing your Identification.

If you believe your Identification has been lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised, please contact SLAM immediately at n.schro@gmail.com. SLAM strives to protect the personal information and privacy of its users, but please keep in mind that no Internet website is 100% secure. Thus, your use of the Site to transmit or store personally identifiable information is at your own risk.

12. User Conduct. You agree not to take any action that might compromise the security of the Site, render the Site inaccessible to others or otherwise cause damage to the Site or the Content. You agree not to add to, subtract from, or otherwise modify the Content. You agree not to use the Site in any manner that might interfere with the rights of third parties.

13. User Supplied Information. If you supply any information or material to the Site, you guarantee to us that you have the legal right to supply or post such material and that it will not violate any law or the rights of any person or entity. By supplying such material to the Site, you give SLAM the royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to use, distribute, display and create derivative works from this material, in any and all media, in any manner, in whole or in part, without any restriction or responsibilities to you.

14. Legal Compliance Statement. Each member of SLAM must maintain full compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, including without limitation antitrust laws. In the course of meetings and other official or unofficial SLAM activities, including at social gatherings, it is important that each member refrain from discussing, agreeing or exchanging information regarding competitively sensitive information with other members, or undertaking any activity or exchanging any information deemed a violation of law.

SLAM is not a government entity, and meetings are not authorized by any state regulatory official acting under proper statutory authority.

15. Account Holder Compliance with Applicable Laws and Regulations. Insurance industry licensee account holders must comply with all applicable federal and state law and regulations, including Minnesota state insurance statutes and regulations. An account holder’s failure to comply with any applicable law or regulation may result in suspension or termination of account holder access privileges.