What are cookies?

A cookie is small piece of data sent from a website and stored on your computer or device. Almost all websites use cookies and they have several different functions. The main purposes for cookies are to:

1. Allow the site to function correctly and to help keep it secure.
2. Make the site easier to use by remembering information that you’ve entered, to recognise you as a site user and to personalise your visit.
3. Collect basic information about the way you have used the site.

The cookies may also allow Maher & Richardson Ltd to record additional information on the webpages you have visited and the contents of those webpages, any information you input, your referring URL or IP address, your time of visit and related session information, your requested page, web browser type, USR agent, status of request (successful reply), cookies, number of bytes in the response, and query string and any information or technical detail your browser is sending to us.

SA Faughnan uses this information to better understand website usage in the aggregate so that we know what areas of our website users prefer. This information is stored in log files and is used for statistical reporting and in limited circumstances to prevent fraudulent claims.

How do we use them?

We use two classifications of cookies:

• Cookies that are defined as “strictly necessary” are required to help keep data safe. They allow you to move between different pages on our site. They also help to keep your details secure
• Cookies that are defined as “not strictly necessary”. This type of cookie helps us improve the performance of our site. They tell us how pages are used, which ones are commonly viewed and help us piece together a full picture of a typical customer journey through the site. They also tell us if any errors occur.

There are three types of cookies on our websites which fall under the two classifications:

1. Session cookies
2. Persistent cookies
3. Third party cookies

Session cookies

A session cookie exists only while the user is reading and navigating the website. Session cookies enable users to carry out essential tasks on our site, without them the site will not function correctly. This type of cookie expires as soon as you exit the browser you are using to view our website.

Persistent cookies

A persistent cookie will outlast a user’s session. This could be used to record a vital piece of information such as how the user initially came to this website or to record details about the last browsing session on the site. For this reason persistent cookies are also called tracking cookies.

Third party cookies

Third party cookies are used by our business partners, e.g. Google Analytics. Google Analytics tracking (and most web tracking software) uses cookies in order to provide meaningful reports about site visitors. However, Google Analytics cookies do not collect personal data about website visitors.

Maher & Richardson LTd monitors this information to gather data about repeat visitors to our site and their user experience. This helps us ensure that improvements are consistently made to our sites based on your experiences. Google also reserve the rights to the data collected.

The Google Analytics features implemented by Maher & Richardson Ltd include Remarketing and Double Click. These tools are used to advertise online, where the information obtained is used to inform, optimise, and advertise based on past visits to our site. These advertisements may be shown on sites across the Internet.

This Site may link through to third party websites which may also use cookies over which Maher & Richardson Ltd has no control. Maher & Richardson Ltd recommends that you check the relevant third parties’ privacy policies for information about any cookies that they may use.

How to disable your cookies

If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set. If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device then you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.

Remember, if you refuse to accept cookies, certain critical elements of web sites will not function correctly.