How to Claim | Cumberland

How to Claim?

At Cumberland, we believe that you should always have a positive claims experience. We aim for a speedy turnaround time and want the process to be as easy and stress-free for you as possible.

If you need to register a claim, you can do so by any of the following means:

Call us directly on +961-4-403888 and a consultant will guide you through the process.
Submit a claim by going to the company premises.
Submit a claim notification via the online form below.

Fast Track your claim – Fast Track Claiming involves contacting Cumberland immediately by telephone. Often the immediate authorization of repairs or replacements can be done using one of Cumberland’s approved suppliers and repair shops whose work carries a Cumberland guarantee.

What to do in case of a car accident

As anyone who has ever been in a car accident will tell you, it is a shocking and stressful experience especially if you have been injured, or have injured someone else and it’s not always easy to think clearly. That’s why we’ve put together this guide that you can print out, read and keep it in your car’s glove compartment. This way, if you are involved in an accident, you will know what steps to follow to ensure the best possible outcome.

Stop your car immediately – if you think there may be injuries, or damage to other vehicles or property, stop straight away.
Make sure the scene is safe.
- switch your car off.
- turn on your hazard lights to alert oncoming traffic about the accident.
- put the triangle reflector to alert oncoming traffic about the accident.
In case of a pure mechanical problem and the sole need for the towing road assistance, you are requested to call the road assistance company on the number specified on your motor insurance policy and provide them with all the need information. (Cumberland is not responsible for any delay or problems related to the quality of the road assistance service).
In case of accident, involving a third party or not, you are requested to contact the nearest expert in your area from the list of expert names enclosed in your motor insurance policy and or call Cumberland hotline numbers +961-3-348787 and +961-3-296996. We regret to inform you that you will not be able to claim unless an expert been present at the scene and has submitted a detailed report to the company.
Stay calm – try to remain calm and not panic while you wait for help to arrive.
Don’t accept liability – Be careful not to take the blame for any incident until you have spoken to Cumberland. Instead of saying ‘Sorry, this was my fault’ – first speak to your insurance partner (Cumberland or your broker), submit the relevant information and let them investigate the incident.
Call the Lebanese Red Cross on 140, Civil Defense on 125 and or the police on 112, if someone is injured. If the accident was minor and there were no injuries, but you have any damages to your vehicle, it must be reported to the company within 48 hours. We also regret to inform you that you will not be able to claim unless you have filed a claim declaration.
Exchange of information. By law, all parties involved in an accident must exchange details. Ask the other driver for their name, ID number, address, telephone numbers (try to get a phone number as well as a cellphone number) and their insurance details. You must also provide this information to them. In addition, record any other details you think may be relevant e.g. if you think the driver of the other vehicle was using a mobile phone, or appeared to have been drinking, etc…

Make note of the details – always make sure you have a pen and paper in your glove compartment so that you can write down the details of the accident, including:

Date, time and place the accident occurred
The other vehicles’ make, model and color, registration number/s
Details of the owner of the other motor vehicle, if not the driver – i.e. name, address and telephone numbers (home/work/cell).
Name, address and telephone numbers (home/work/cell) of any witnesses.
Name of police or traffic officer, if present, and their police station.
Name/telephone number of the towing operator.
Name/telephone number of the Experts on scene.

If you can, make a sketch of the scene, or, if your mobile phone has a camera, take pictures of the road layout, the position of the vehicles, skid marks, collision points and the damage caused.

You must notify Cumberland immediately of any accident you have been involved in, regardless of any circumstances or whose fault it is. It would be much appreciated if you can provide us with all the accident details, notes, photographs etc…
If your car is not drivable, call the road assistance company on the number specified on your motor insurance policy and provide them with all the needed information about the car condition and location.

Other important information

If a third party is involved and/or passengers are injured:

Third Party insurance, covers you against claims made by others against you. For example, if it is proven that you were the cause of an accident involving another vehicle (third party) your Third-Party insurance will cover any costs you may be liable for. These include costs relating to death, injury and damage, as well as any legal costs that could be claimed from you. You must have two polices, a Third-party material damage and the Third-party compulsory bodily injury.

If you do receive any claim from a third party, please pass the correspondence on to Cumberland immediately, so that we can deal with it on your behalf (in accordance with your policy contract and provided that the terms of your policy have been met).

We have a dedicated team available to deal with third party claims. This team also specializes in the recovery of the cost of repairs, including your excess, should the accident have been caused by the other driver.

N.B. As mentioned previously, it is very important that you do not accept any liability until you have reported the incident to us.

If your vehicle is a total loss/write-off:

Once we have established that your vehicle cannot be repaired, a Claims Officer will contact you with the details of what to do next and what documentation is required to settle your claim.

In case your vehicle is stolen or hijacked:

If we are unable to recover your vehicle, our Claims Department will let you know what to do next and what documents we need in order to settle your claim as quickly as possible.

Know your rights!

If you are unlucky enough to be involved in an accident you can expect a host of tow trucks to arrive, all clamoring to be the one to tow your vehicle away! Worse still, you could find a police officer advising or insisting that you choose a particular tow operator to clear the accident scene. Here’s what you should know:

No towing operator or police officer has the right to force you to make use of a specific towing operator.
Should a police officer attempt to force you to make use of a particular towing operator, a charge can be laid against the officer at the nearest police station. In this case, make sure you take note of the officer’s details.
The responsibility for moving any obstruction to traffic rests with the police department, not the towing operator.

What should you do?

As a Cumberland comprehensive motor vehicle policyholder, you automatically have access to a 24 hour towing service. If your car is not drivable, you should call them immediately on 961-3-258558. (Note: even if your motor vehicle is only insured with us for Third Party, Fire and Theft or Third Party only, our management help-desk will continue to assist you. However, the towing facilities should follow the rules and conditions specified on your insurance policy).

Cumberland is not responsible for any delay or problems related to the quality of the road assistance service, therefore when the towing operator dispatched arrives, he should be both professional and courteous. Should the service not live up to your expectations, please take the relevant name(s) and motor vehicle registration, and report your complaint to us. We will ensure that appropriate action is taken.

Want to know more?

If you would like more information about Cumberland Motor Insurance plans and services,
call us now on +961-4-403888 or submit your details and we’ll call you back.

What to do in case of medical admission

As anyone who has ever been under a medical stressful condition, it is a tense experience especially if you have an emergency case, or have been injured and it’s not always easy to think clearly. That’s why we’ve put together this guide that you can print out in order to help you through out any admission issue.

A medical admission could be split into two cases, cold and hot depending on the urgency and gravity.

Common steps are as follows:

Make sure that the Health care providers you are attending is enlisted in the list provided with your medical insurance policy (Hospitals – Labs and diagnostic centers – Physiotherapy centers – Pharmacies).
Make sure that the following documents are with you.
Personal I.D. card.
Medical I.D. card issued by Cumberland.
In case of a non-emergency hospital admission
- Medical prescription document issued and signed by the Doctor / Physician.
- Medical report issued and signed by the Doctor / Physician describing the case and the diagnostic reasons.
Cumberland insured persons are served by Total Care Lebanon representatives, who are present in most of the hospitals. TCL delegates will assist you throughout your hospitalization journey, from admission to discharge. TCL call numbers are also available on the backside of your medical card 961-3-404047 and 961-1-480999.
In case you are being admitted outside working hours or in the emergency room or TCL delegate might not be present, the hospital admission clerk should normally contact TCL 24/7 call center and send them all the needed documents to enable them to take the proper admission decisions and issue the approval accordingly.
Labs, diagnostic centers and pharmacies shall follow the same rule as the previous point on one condition that you are benefiting from the relevant Cover (OUT Patient, Doctors visit, prescribed medicines plan…).
For other types of admission such as physiotherapy sessions, the insured person is advised to obtain a prior approval from the company.

Know your rights!

Insured person is requested to read carefully his policy for the following cases. The company can set some underwriting rules for new insured, or insured, that do not benefit from the “PR” benefit (Pre-confirmed Renewability Benefit)

First year insured shall not benefit from a full pledge coverage especially for any cases that insurance companies classify as pre-existing cases whether known or unknown.
First year female insured might not benefit from any coverage related to pregnancy and or delivery unless specified by the company in the policy schedule particular conditions.
Female insured might not benefit from any coverage related to pregnancy and delivery in case the spouse is not insured within the same policy or unless specified by the company in the policy schedule particular conditions.
A medical case could be subject to rejection in case considered as a false declaration. i.e. case related to a pre-existing case not declared by the insured person when applying for his medical insurance.
The insurance company might set some technical rules, at the time of the policy issuance or renewal, such as exclusions and/or limitations for some specific cases accordingly (chronic diseases, pre-existing cases etc….). Insured person shall be notified prior to his policy issuance.

In Case of Worldwide or Pan-Arabian cover under medical policy or insured holding Travel insurance

Insured person is requested to read carefully his policy. To benefit from the Worldwide or Pan-Arabian cover under medical policy, insured policy and card should show clearly the WWA benefit (World Wide Assistance).

Steps to follow:

Insured should have your Medical card or Travel policy issued by Cumberland.
Insured should have your passport to show your accumulated travel days within the policy period.
Insured or any person escorting him/her, should contact the international call center as specified on the medical card or Travel policy, to notify them of the case with all the relative detail, medical condition and care provider details.

Want to know more?

If you would like more information about any Cumberland health plans and services, call us now on +961-4-403888 or submit your details and we’ll call you back.

Home and business emergency tips

Your home/business is the one place you should be able to feel secure, but unfortunately burglaries, accidents, fire and other damage can happen to anyone, with devastating and often costly results. Here we take a look at what you should do if you are faced with dealing with an emergency:

If you are burgled

If you enter your property and notice anything out of place, leave immediately as the intruders may still be inside. Rather leave the premises and call the police from your cellphone, or from a neighbor. In addition:

Don’t clean up or move anything until the police have had a chance to inspect the scene, or you could be damaging vital evidence. The police will want to take a statement from you, as well as photographs and fingerprints.
The police will also give you a case number. Keep this safe as you’ll need it for your insurance claim.
If your bank or credit cards have been stolen, call the bank’s emergency number and have them stopped. These services are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so don’t delay. If any important documents are missing, such as your passport, report that to the police too.
Check your premises for damage and make a list of all the items that were stolen before you contact your insurer. If possible include items’ model and serial numbers, how much you paid for them, as well as any purchase receipts, instruction manuals or photographs you may have. The more detail you provide, the more helpful the information will be to assist us in dealing with your claim quickly and efficiently.

Important: Make sure that you report your claim within 24 hours of the incident, and have your policy number handy when you call to submit your claim. If you had previously prepared for the possibility of a loss by videotaping or photographing your possessions and filling out an Inventory Form, have this information available for the assessment.

An Internal Claims Consultant, External Loss Adjuster or an investigator will be appointed and will contact you within 24 hours.

If your geyser or pipes bursts

Burst pipes and geysers and the resulting water damage are common household emergencies. Here’s what you should do if it happens to you:

The first thing to do is switch off the geyser isolator switch on your main electrical distribution board. If in doubt, switch off your main electricity supply.
Then turn off the water at the geyser inlet valve to minimize further water damage to ceilings, walls, carpeting and furniture. If your geyser is inaccessible, or you are not sure where the valve is located, (or if you have a burst pipe) turn off your water at the mains.
Once the water and electricity have been switched off, open up all the hot taps – your bath, basins, shower, kitchen, etc. This will drain out some of the hot water from the geyser, but its main purpose is to release the pressure in the geyser cylinder thereby making it leak less.
If you have switched off the main water supply to the whole house, you can also open up all the cold taps, as this will sometimes drain all the hot water from the geyser instead of it leaking onto your ceiling.

If you have storm, hail or flood damage

One thing we have no control over is the weather. If your home/business is damaged by storm, hail or flood, make sure you do the following:

In the event of a flood, dry up as much water as possible to minimize further damage (items like carpets and curtains can be saved if drying takes place promptly). Remove furniture and household contents from wet areas.
If the flood is due to a burst water pipe, turn off the main water supply.
If your home/business has been damaged during a storm (for example if a tree has fallen on the roof), or you have damage caused by hail, evaluate the damage so that you can describe it clearly to your insurer. In need, board up any broken windows or doors.

If there is a fire

Experiencing a house fire is a frightening and upsetting experience. In the event of a fire, it is very important to know what to do to protect yourself and others from any possibility of harm.

Contact the emergency services in your area immediately or call the Civil Defense on 125.
If you are inside the house when a fire starts, check where the fire is coming from. If there is smoke coming from under a door, do not open it. Even if you don’t see smoke, there could still be fire on the other side, so feel the door and doorknob with the back of your hand to see if it is warm or hot.
If the door and doorknob are not hot, slowly open the door. If you can see an escape route, stay low to the ground – crawl on your hands and knees as fast as you can until you can get out of the house. Don’t walk upright – since smoke rises, you’re more likely to inhale smoke if you are higher up.
If you see smoke or fire coming from under a door, block the cracks in the door with towels, blankets or clothes so the smoke doesn’t come in.
Open a window and shout ‘FIRE’ as loud as you can.
If you have water, wet a shirt or pillowcase and cover your mouth and nose so you don’t breathe in too much smoke.
If your clothes catch fire, drop to the floor and roll around to put out the flames.
Do not re-enter the house or any other building that has been affected by a fire until you have been told it is safe to do so.

In case any of the above and if you have a Cumberland fire or property all risks policy, call our Claims Department immediately to report the damage and an External Loss Adjuster or an investigator will be appointed and will contact you within 24 hours.

Do you have enough cover?

Having up-to-date insurance cover will help to ensure that you are able to cope financially in the event of loss or damage to your premises, its contents and your personal valuables. If you are unsure about what level of cover you currently have, or you would like to find out more about the various types of cover available, call us now on +961-4-403888 or submit your details and we’ll call you back.