Cumberland will be closed on the following days:

• December 24, 2012
• December 25, 2012
• December 31, 2012
• January 1, 2013

1. Report your claim online – Filing online is the fastest and easiest way to make a claim. Just click on the “Report a Claim” tab on this page and complete the claim form. Once the form is processed, you will receive confirmation and a claim number.

2. Report your claim by phone – Call 1-856-451-4050 or 1-800-232-6992 to speak to a representative who will assist you in handling your claim.

3. Contact your agent – Need your agent’s contact information? Click on the “Find an Agent” tab on this page for your agent’s website or phone number.

Once you have contacted Cumberland, we will begin to process your claim and an adjuster will contact you as soon as possible.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Essex County (NJ) named Cumberland Insurance Group the recipient of its prestigious company recognition award.

This award was presented at the IIAEC Annual Installation of Officers Dinner in Livingston, New Jersey on September 6, 2012.

The IIAEC company recognition award honors insurance carriers which demonstrate outstanding support to the American Agency System.

Below is a picture of the award:

Every year, the Cumberland Insurance Group provides scholarships to eligible students who are pursuing a degree in business. Cumberland understands that every business has different departments that allow the business to operate smoothly. That includes information technology, accounting, actuarial studies, human resources and others.

Four students of Delaware County Community College were awarded scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year from the Cumberland Insurance Group. The recipients included:

• Gerald Abel, Network Engineering Major
• Troylynn M. Ford, Business Administration Major
• Melissa A. Price, Business Administration-Accounting Major
• Krystofer L. Best, Computer Programming Major

A group of employees from Cumberland’s Ohio office participated in the Warrior Dash on August 26, 2012. This event raised money that benefited the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The Warrior Dash is a 5k race including some of the following tough obstacles:

• The Leaders Ledge – Participants climb down a ledge and avoid falling into a water pit below
• The Chaotic Crossover – Participants crawl across tangled nets
• The Trenches – Participants crawl quickly through the dirt and duck under logs
• Cliff Hanger – Participants rappel down a steep ravine
• Barricade Breakdown – Participants hurdle over barricades and crawl under barbed wire
• Warrior Roast – Participants had to leap over fire before crawling through mud and crossing the finish line

Before the Warrior Dash:

After the Warrior Dash:

As you can see in the pictures, this was a very fun and dirty event that supported a great cause! To find a Warrior Dash in your area, visit http://www.warriordash.com/.

Cumberland is pleased to introduce Employment Practices Liability Insurance to its commercial lines products. This coverage protects employers from claims made by employees alleging wrongful termination, discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment.

Cumberland’s Employment Practices Liability Insurance is for policyholders with up to 50 employees. Cumberland offers a variety of limits and deductibles, as well as specialized claims service and access to experienced Employment Practices Liability law firms. There is optional coverage available for claims brought by customers and vendors. Defense costs are included in the limit of liability.

This coverage is available in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

Click here to learn more about Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or contact your Independent Insurance Agent.

In May 2012, Cumberland presented two $2,500 scholarships to high school seniors, Nicole Chillari and Itzel Melchor, to continue their educational pursuits at Cumberland County College. Pictured below are Nicole Chillari, scholarship recipient, and Cumberland’s Human Resource Director, Laurie LaTorre.

CSC, one of the largest providers of software to the insurance industry, recently hosted their annual Business and Technology Conference in New Orleans for customers, employees, and partner companies. This year they invited Brad Rall, a computer programmer from Cumberland, to speak as part of their Social Media track. Companies are discovering that social media websites represent value to the industry directly by providing resources for collaboration, and indirectly in the insights they provide about consumer interests. Brad, who serves as Vice Chairperson of CSC’s Customer Community Board, focused on how Cumberland and other CSC customers are sharing experiences surrounding their CSC software via a social website called Wikonnect. He discussed several examples of how Wikonnect has saved Cumberland substantial time and effort by tapping into a network of CSC customers and employees to solve problems. As Brad stated, “mid-sized companies like Cumberland don’t have the luxury of having specialists in every area of technology, but through partnerships with companies like CSC and by sharing experiences with other CSC customers, we’re able to bridge the gap and support a variety of technology comparable with very large companies.”

The Cumberland Insurance Group Run Team placed 3rd overall at the NJYIP (New Jersey Young Insurance Professionals) Fun Run that took place on the Atlantic City Boardwalk on June 12, 2012. The 5k race was on the final day of the PIA Convention held at the Trump Taj Mahal. The NJYIP Fun Run raises money for the NJ Special Olympics and this year, over $141,000 was raised.

Cumberland team members included Glenn Watkins, Steve Catranis, Glenn Bell, Michele D’Agostino, Hal Soden, Kevin Clausen, Jodi Bell, Tom Heist, Bob Conner, and John D’Agostino. Thanks to all who participated in this great event!

Cumberland sent four employees to the annual Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA) Conference in San Diego, CA. The conference included vendor connect tours, technical sessions, and more. Some highlights from keynote speakers include:

• “People leave managers, not companies” – Everything is about relationships and how we treat our staff.
• “The bottle neck is always at the top of the bottle” – Be careful not to obstruct the productivity of your staff.
• “Paint a picture of what success looks like” – Before you start a project, have a clear picture of what would be considered success.
• “Do not let perfect be the enemy of good” – Do not wait to implement something until it’s “perfect” when you can obtain immediate benefit by accepting what is good and improving as needed.
• “Many leaders are too busy playing Whack a Mole to look at the future and cast vision” – Leaders need someone else to deal with the daily issues so they can truly lead.

Conference attendees learned the top two reasons people switch insurance carriers are due to price and bad claims experience. In fact, 30% of customers leave after a bad claims experience. Reinforcing ideas such as these help insurance carriers focus on what their customers want. As a result, a number of carriers are aggressively looking into providing online claims statuses. The goal is to decrease the number of poor experiences and retain customers longer.

From an IT perspective, the biggest items of interest discussed included big data, cloud, social media, and mobile technologies. In a poll taken at a keynote session, only 2 out of approximately 200 insurance companies represented at the session have mobile apps running. Fortunately, Cumberland was among the crowd of companies who have invested in social media. If you haven’t already done so, follow the links at the bottom of the screen to view our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

To learn more about the IASA and the conference in San Diego, visit www.iasa.org.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo had an enjoyable visit here at the Cumberland Insurance Group’s New Jersey office in May 2012. He walked around Cumberland’s office and visited with several employees. In the picture below, Cumberland’s CEO, Paul Ritter, and Frank LoBiondo can be seen in front of the minerva outside Cumberland’s New Jersey office.

The Cumberland Insurance Group sponsored a team to play in the 18th Annual Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) golf tournament at the Centerton Golf Course. 

_{L to R: Neal Pierce, Frank Wilson, Bill Cole, Carl Earnest, and Glenn Watkins}

To learn more about the Bridgeton Area Chamber of Commerce, visit http://baccnj.com/.