Death notification emails and AI data leakage: what notifying an insurer gives away in ChatGPT or Claude.

When a client dies, the adviser is often the first professional the family calls, and the first thing to write is the notification to the insurer and the super fund. It has to be accurate, gentle and complete on a bad day, so it gets drafted in ChatGPT or Claude. The email names the dead client and the cause of death, the policy and the sum insured, the widow and her instructions about her family, the estate and where the money is to go. This page marks the items in an invented notification that the Privacy Act and the Code of Ethics bear on, including what the Act does and does not say about a person who has died.

The death notification email

Sent to the life insurer and the superannuation fund within days of a client’s death, once the family has asked the adviser to act, usually with a certified copy of the death certificate attached.

An invented email about an invented client. The registry number, phone number, adviser number and account details are placeholders. Hover or tap any highlighted item for the analysis; the full list is below.

What leaves the practice

1. 1
   The deceased client and the date and place of death

   A named man, his date of birth and where and when he died. The Privacy Act does not apply to the personal information of a deceased individual, according to OAIC, though the same details are information about the living family. The practice also holds him as a former client under Standard 8 of the Code of Ethics. Privacy Act guide.

2. 2
   The illness and the cause of death

   A diagnosis, the timeline of care and the cause of death. OAIC says the Privacy Act does not cover a deceased person’s own information, but it can still be personal information about a living person, and the practice treats it as confidential client file content. Patient data guide.

3. 3
   The policy number and sum insured

   A live claim identifier with the amount at stake. The details a fraudster needs to impersonate a claimant, or to redirect a payment.

4. 4
   The widow, her contact details and an instruction about her son

   A living person’s age, address, phone preference and a request that a named relative not be contacted. Personal information under the Privacy Act, where it applies, about a person in the first week of grief. Privacy Act guide.

5. 5
   The executor, the will and the lawyers

   Who administers the estate, that probate is pending and which law practice acts. Information about the estate that the family has not made public. Privacy Act guide.

6. 6
   The super fund, member number and the death benefit nomination

   Another fund, a member number, a balance and who the benefit is to go to. A nomination is the deceased’s decision about his family, and the member number identifies the account. Privacy Act guide.

7. 7
   The death certificate details

   An attachment with a registry number. A certificate is an identity document of the deceased and a gateway to claims against his accounts.

8. 8
   The payment account

   A bank account for the claimant. The details needed to send, or divert, a large payment.

9. 9
   The adviser

   Ties the email to a named adviser bound by the Code of Ethics.

What happens in Frontier Models (ChatGPT, Claude)

• The whole document is transmitted to the provider’s servers. On personal plans the user cannot choose where it is stored or processed, and for the major providers that has generally meant outside Australia, under that country’s legal process. Some business plans offer storage in Australia, but the provider still receives the content.
• On consumer tiers, prompts can be retained and used to train future models.
• The provider’s staff and systems can reach the content under the provider’s own policies.
• Once sent, the practice no longer controls it. Retention and deletion happen on the provider’s terms.

The same document on Ermos

Part of AI data leakage in financial advice practices.

Common questions