Motor Insurance back to motor back to top
1- What is motor insurance?
A motor insurance policy is a contract between an insurance company and you by which the insurance company promises to pay for specific motor financial losses during the period of time agreed upon in exchange of your paying a premium.
2- Why do I need Motor Insurance?
According to the new Lebanese Law to be operative starting April 5th 2003, you have to acquire a compulsory insurance covering the bodily injury you may cause to third party.On the other hand, having at least a third party liability cover for material damages will free your mind in case of an accident, assuming that you have also acquired the compulsory insurance.
3- How do I know how much coverage I will need?
In general, the higher your liability limit is the more protection you will get.
When deciding whether to purchase ‘Third Party Liability’ or ‘All Risk Motor Insurance’, you should determine if you would be financially able to replace your car in case of a total loss.
4- What does All Risk coverage mean?
The term “All Risk” coverage for motor insurance means that the policy has both third party liability and own damage coverage. However, it does not mean that everything is covered no matter what happens, it depends on the terms and conditions of the product you had purchased.
5- If I am driving someone else’s car and an accident occurred, will it be covered?
Yes, the insurance goes with the car. If you had an accident while driving someone else’s car, the owner’s insurance would apply first towards damages, whether material damage or bodily injury.
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6- What determines my motor insurance rate or premium?
The actuaries assess the risk for driver categories based on a variety of criteria:
- Mandatory bodily injury cover:
The premium has been set by the government and applied by all the insurance companies.
- Material damage to third party liability:
Make and model of the car, horse power, age of the driver and the sum insured.
- All Risk Motor Insurance:
Make and model of the car, year of production and market value.
7- What can I do to lower my motor insurance premium?
You can only lower your motor insurance premium by purchasing an All Risk Motor Insurance with a deductible. Thus, the higher your deductible is, the lower your insurance premium will be.
8- In case of an accident with bodily injury, do I have to spend a period of detention in prison?
NO. At Bankers Assurance we are making sure that a direct settlement for emergency admission to all hospitals is sent on the spot. Such a procedure delivers you from legal binding that usually keeps you under detention.
9- I have a third party liability motor insurance; I have been hurt during my last accident and needed medical care. Does my third party liability cover my medical expenses?
Yes. As of March 2002, the medical expenses for the driver and the passengers, even if they were relatives, have been included in our third party liability motor insurance.
10- I am driving on a highway. A stone jumps from the roadside and hits my windshield? Is it covered?
Yes, it is covered under our All Risk Motor Insurance product, the Driver Plus.
11- My car is parked. I come back and see it all scratched. Is it covered?
The official answer is no. However, if it is obvious that it was an act of vandalism, the case will be examined by our claims center.
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12- Is any loss covered following natural catastrophe?
NO. No kind of loss or claim could be acceptable following a natural catastrophe.
13- What if after an accident my car isn’t drivable?
All our motor insurance products include a Road assistance subscription. In case of an accident, you should call this assistance company and it will provide you with an expert and a towing, in case you need one.
14- What happens after I file a claim?
We may contact you for additional information. To obtain a detailed account of the facts, a declaration form is requested. After receiving the expert’s report of the accident and our expert’s estimation of the damages, the claim will be processed. Then, a check will be ready within 5 days at the cashier’s end.
15- What should I do if the insurance company does not contact me?
A claim representative should contact you within a reasonable period, usually 24-72 hours after you report the loss. If you do not hear from anyone, call your broker or sales representative.
16- What will you pay on a physical damage claim under an all risk motor insurance?
Actually the reimbursement is done depending on the coverage you have chosen. Generally the reimbursement includes:
- The amount necessary to repair the vehicle.
- The actual cash value (ACV) of the vehicle.
- The limit of liability.
To know what you are really insured for, you need to read your policy and pay particular attention to the exclusions. For example, there is usually no coverage for sound equipment and telephone.
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17- What is subrogation?
Subrogation is the right of the insurance company to recover from a third party the amount of damages it paid to you. For example, if another party is at fault in an accident that damaged your car, and you have an own damage claim, your company will ask the other party to reimburse the money it paid on your claim. The policy requires your cooperation with the company's subrogation efforts. Also, you cannot do anything that jeopardizes the company's right of recovery. For example, you cannot sign an agreement releasing the other party in exchange for payment of your deductible.
18- Which one of your motor insurance programs covers my car outside Lebanon?
A year ago an insurance program, the ‘Orange Card’, has been established to cover accidents in all the Arab countries. This program is a third party liability, it covers material damage and a bodily injury. You can choose to buy it for one trip, or for 3 or 6 months or a whole year, and its price is set by the ACAL (Association des compagnies d’assurance Libanaises).
Medical Insurance back to medical back to top1- How could I get a Health insurance contract?
If you are younger than 60 years old, you will only have to fill in a medical questionnaire.
If you are older, some medical exams may be required after filling in the medical questionnaire.
2- Can we, my husband and I, get health insurance knowing that he is 70 years old and I am 58?
You are lucky! Your husband alone could not be insured, the maximum age to get a health insurance is 65 years old.
Since you are a couple and you are 58 years old, it is possible for both of you to apply for a health insurance.
3- Can I insure part of my family?
No. All the family must be insured
4- Can I insure my child all by himself?
No. A child younger than 24 years old can not be the principal policyholder of an insurance contract, unless he/she got married before that age. This is why one of the 2 parents must be insured with him.
5- I am 50 years old, till what age can I renew my contract?
You can always renew your contract. But if you have been insured with us for the last couple years and do not suffer from any chronic diseases, you will benefit from the guaranteed Renewability.
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6- What do you mean by Guaranteed Renewability (G.R)?
If you are insured for 2 consecutive years and are in good health you can benefit from the guaranteed renewability that gives you the advantage of renewing your contract without any exclusion or limitation even if your health condition alters later on.
7- Are pre-existing conditions covered?
All the pre-existing cases are not covered the first year. If you know that you have a health problem, you will have to declare it in your medical questionnaire. Otherwise, it will be considered a false declaration. But if you are not aware of the problem, it will be covered starting the second year of insurance.
8- When filling in the medical questionnaire, I forgot to mention that I broke my leg and had an operation. Is it considered a false declaration?
Yes it is. Any withholding of information, even the minor ones, is badly viewed. Moreover, any health problem resulting from your broken leg will not be covered.
Thus, it is of utmost importance that you take your time to carefully read, remember, and mention all the details concerning your health.
9- What do you mean by waiting period?
If you are subscribing to health insurance for the first time, a waiting period is applied to the preexisting cases.
For example, your insurance started 2 weeks ago and you’ve got a renal colic and needed to get to the hospital for treatment.
Knowing that the renal problem needs more than 2 weeks to be developed in the human body, we consider it a preexisting case and the waiting period is applied.
10- If I had medical insurance elsewhere, can I benefit from waiver of waiting period when joining Bankers Assurance?
To benefit from the waiver of waiting period you will have to subscribe within the month following the expiry date of your previous insurance.
If your insurance had expired since more than a month, any insurance company even the one you are already insured with will consider you as a new adherent and will apply the waiting period after you fill in a medical questionnaire.
11- I am pregnant, and I don’t have medical insurance. If I subscribe today will my maternity be covered?
No. The maternity is covered 12 months after your subscription.
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12- I am going to have my baby, what should I do?
As soon as you know when your due date is, you will have to prepare the following documents:
- Your gynecologist report
- Your insurance access card
- Your identity card
If you arrive to the hospital between 8:30 AM and 2:00 PM, go directly to MedNet’s office at the hospital. If it is after 2:00 PM, the admission office will do all the formalities, this procedure will take 15 to 20 minutes.
13- Do I need pre-approval to deliver?
No, this is one of the major advantages of Bankers Assurance; we know how to make your life easy. With your access card and the documents mentioned above, all you need to do is go to the hospital and deliver.
14- Is the Peridural covered?
Yes it is.
15- How many days can I stay at the hospital after the delivery?
For a normal delivery you can stay 2 nights and 3 days; but for a cesarean’s, it is 3 nights and 4 days. You should before going to the hospital check at what time it is considered a new day. Generally, if you arrive before 11:00PM, the hospital counts it a first night. So, if you know that you won’t deliver before 6:00 AM, do not enter the hospital before that time in order not to lose a night.
16- I am insured with your company, and I will give birth to a baby girl in a month. Will she benefit immediately of the medical cover?
Two cases are to be taken into consideration:
- If your maternity is covered by your plan, your child will get medical insurance free of charge from her 14th day of birth till the expiry of your insurance contract.
- If your maternity is still not covered, (you did not subscribe 1 year before your delivery), the medical insurance of your child will still start at the 14th day of her birth but expires 12 months later, and will be at your charge.
17- What is covered for a new-born child?
After 14 days of his birth, a new-born child is covered for 25 congenital cases.
And while you are still at the hospital, your child is covered for circumcision, incubator and jaundice.
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18- How soon will I receive my access card after subscription?
You can expect your access card to be delivered 10 days after your subscription and acceptance. Meanwhile if you had an accident, you should contact the company that will take care of sending you a ‘prise en charge’ to the designated hospital, on a condition that you’ve already settled your premium.
19- I lost my access card, what should I do?
In case you lost your Access Card, you should notify us in writing, by sending either a mail or a fax. When receiving your message we will disable your card in order not to be used by someone else and shall provide you with a replacement.
20- Can I use the nearest hospital to my home?
You will have to check if it is one of the hospitals included in the Network you are subscribed to. If it is not and you are obliged to use its service, you will have to bear 20% of the invoice as an excess.
21- What do you mean by Out of Hospital?
Out of hospital covers all the treatments you can have that do not require your staying in the hospital. Furthermore, you can add the following options to your In-hospitalization cover to suit your requirements:
- Ambulatory: covers laboratory tests, x-rays and physiotherapy.
- Plan Medications Prescription: covers prescribed medicine.
- Doctor’s visit: covers the doctor’s consultation fees.
22- Up to what limit do these options cover me?
The Ambulatory and Plan Medications Prescription covers have no financial limitations and are unlimited per year with a 15% excess on each exam and acute prescribed drugs purchased, whereas a 35% excess is applied on chronic prescribed drugs.
Whereas the Doctor’s visit cover is limited to 10 visits per year with neither a financial limitation nor applicable excess.
23- How can I know what medicine is covered by ‘Plan Medications Prescription’?
When purchasing a medicine prescribed by a doctor, the pharmacist or the doctor can tell you if it covered or not; actually most of the medicines covered by the social security are covered by your Plan Medications Prescription plan.
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24- Are the medicines for chronic health problems covered?
You can benefit from your Plan Medications Prescription cover for chronic health problems after having acquired your guaranteed renewability for this option. That is starting the second year from your subscription; if in the meantime, no major disease had altered your health situation.
25- How can I upgrade my insurance class?
All you need to do is fill in, upon renewal, a new medical questionnaire by which you precise the desired class. You should keep in mind that you can only upgrade one class level, meaning C to B and not C to A, and that all preexisting cases shall be treated on the previous class and not the newly upgraded one.
26- If I buy directly from your office; will my insurance premium be less expensive?
No. Actually the premium of your insurance contract is the same whether you got it directly, from a broker or online.
27- What is a deductible?
A deductible is the amount of money you agree to pay as part of the claim.
The insurance company starts to pay a claim when its amount is higher than the deductible.
For example: You have chosen 300$ excess at your subscription, an accident occurred and the claim amounts to 500$. You will pay the first 300$ and the insurance company the rest of the bill, meaning 200$.
For health insurance you have a range between 100$ and 1000$ deductible. The main advantage of choosing a deductible is to lower your premium. Thus, the higher the deductible is, the lesser the annual premium.
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28- How can I pay my insurance premium?
We have carefully planned and applied 4 modes of payment to suit everyone’s requirements.
- Bank standing order: It is the same mode of payment than that of your telephone or cellular bill. Upon subscription, you pay directly a 25% down payment of the total amount to the company and the remaining sum, equally divided to 6 or 9 installments, will be then directly debited from your bank account.
- Bank Slip Payment: As the bank standing order, you pay a 25% down payment of the total amount to the company and the remaining sum, equally divided to 6 or 9 installments, will be directly paid to a bank designated by Bankers Assurance through monthly invoices or slips included in your policy.
- Collection: If the first 2 modes don’t meet your need, you can choose the collection option. The same 25% down payment is applicable upon subscription as the above and the remaining sum, equally divided to 6 or 9 installments, will be monthly paid to a collector who will come to the address you specify on the application.
- Direct payment: It implies a 40% down payment of the total amount directly payable to the company and the remaining sum will be settled after 3 months of the start of your insurance contract.
Travel Insurance (Traveler Plus) back to travel back to top
Why should I purchase this product, knowing that my health insurance provides me international medical cover?
One of the advantages of Traveler Plus is that it settles directly your medical bills if your case is covered, whereas your medical insurance reimburses your bills according to the Lebanese tariffs with a penalty.
Moreover, Traveler plus covers more than your medical needs, such as: repatriation, baggage loss, credit card loss…see the product definition for more information.
Who do you consider my immediate family?
We consider your spouse or fiancé, children, parents and any person travelling and residing permanently with you during your trip as your immediate family.
When should I apply for this product?
As soon as you book your flight and accommodation, it is recommended that you apply for your travel insurance cover.
Your last chance to apply for this product is at least one day before travelling.
What are the minimum and maximum periods for which I can subscribe?
The minimum period of a contract for which you can subscribe is one week and a maximum of one year, with a maximum of 92 days stay
What do I need to apply?
You just need to fill in a general application.
Is it possible to renew my contract every time I am supposed to travel for my work?
Actually you can buy an annual cover if your stay abroad does not exceed 92 days per voyage. If it does, it is then better to get 2 contracts over the year or one for each trip.
If my doctor recommends a special hospital that is two hours from my location, will you cover the transportation?
If our doctors agree with yours that it is preferable for you to be in this specific hospital, your transportation will be covered.
If I have changed my trip schedule before advising you, will my expenses be covered?
If you urgently had to do these changes and didn’t have the time to advise us of such, your expenses will be covered only if the reason of your change of schedule is covered. To know in this case what is covered, read the product definition.
Who do I have to call in case of accident, sickness, loss or information?
Our 24 hours call center will be more than happy to assist you any time and for any service you may need.
00 973 17 21 88 99
What happens if I had to be urgently hospitalized and I couldn’t contact you?
In this case, you will have to send us your voucher and original invoices, and your expenses, if included in the policy conditions, will be covered.