Save an additional 30% on Auto Insurance

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Here’s how our usage-based insurance program works*:

Enroll online.
Sign up for Snapshot when you quote and buy your Progressive car insurance policy.

Plug the device into your car.
We’ll mail your Snapshot device to you, along with details on where to plug it into your car.

Drive as you normally do.
For the next 30 days, you’ll keep track of your good driving habits with Snapshot. You can log in to your Progressive policy anytime to see your projected Snapshot discount.

Enjoying your savings
On day 31, your initial Snapshot savings—which can be anywhere from 0 to 30 percent— kicks in. After six months, you’ll send back the device, we’ll finalize your driving snapshot, and you can keep saving for as long as you’re insured by Progressive.

You can only save money with Snapshot—your rate won’t go up—but if at any point, you decide Snapshot isn’t right for you, just call us and then send back your device.

Quote and enroll in Snapshot to try usage-based insurance today!

www.lehninsurance.com

Call or contact via our website for a free quote.  Find out how you can save $$$ with Progressive.

Citizens Insurance Looking for More Money

Florida May Change Citizens’ Policyholder Assessments

Funding for the Florida’s state-run property insurer is likely to change as state lawmakers are looking to access the insurer’s total assessment base quicker and give it more time to collect funds in the event of a deficit.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. currently has a three-tier assessment scheme that is triggered in a sequential manner based upon any deficits in the insurer’s three separate property insurance accounts. The insurer has a personal lines account, a commercial lines account, and a coastal account.

Initially, following a deficit in an account, Citizens can assess policyholders up to 15 percent of their premium for a maximum total of 45 percent. If that assessment fails to cover the deficit, Citizens can levy a 6 percent regular assessment for a total of 18 percent on all personal lines policyholders in the private market. If further funds are needed an additional 10 percent emergency assessment can be levied.

Under current law, insurers must pay regular assessments upfront and the recoup them from policyholders. However, emergency assessments can be charged to policyholders within 90 days of a deficit and collected over as many years as needed.

Florida lawmakers, however, are looking to change that assessment scheme to reduce the per year assessment percentage on policyholders by giving them more time to retire any Citizens’ deficit while reduce the immediate financial impact on private carriers that under current law have to pay any regular assessment up front.

The Florida House of Representatives approved a bill (HB 1127), sponsored by Rep. Ben Albritton (R-Bartow), who said he merely wants to cushion the impact of assessments without affecting Citizens’ ability to pay claims.

“This bill in no way limits Citizens’ ability to pay their claims on time,” said Albritton on the House floor.

According to a Senate House of Economic Affairs analysis, the elimination of the six percent regular assessment on the private market means that Citizens policyholders would likely see higher assessments while policyholders in the private market would end up just paying the assessments over a longer period of time.

The bill’s primary impact would be on private insurers.

Since private insurers would no longer have to pay regular assessments –except for the two percent assessment in the coastal account—upfront, the change would largely eliminate any impact on the insurers’ net worth. Lawmakers are hoping this will reduce the chance that any insurer will go bankrupt.

Citizens’ officials indicated the bill would have no negative impact on its ability to pay claims in a timely manner. However, since the insurer would no longer collect monies upfront in the form of regular assessments, it may invest more monies in pre-event bonding.

At this time,  it appears Citizens will  have substantial financial resources entering into this year’s hurricane season.

According to officials, Citizens is expected to have a surplus of $5.7 billion, an amount that could be augmented by another $6.5 billion in reimbursements from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The insurer also has $575 billion in pre-event bonds that would cover losses located along the state’s coastline. In total, that gives Citizens roughly $12.8 billion in claims paying capacity before levying any assessments on policyholders.

That amount is expected to be able cover a 1-in-50 year storm.

SW Florida Traffic

Hello All!

It is officially season in Florida!  The restaurants and stores are full and so are the roads.  Everyday as I sit in my office I hear the sirens...heading to yet another accident.  Driving to appointments, I see another accident. While some are fender benders others are quite serious!  What can we do to help avoid these accidents or at least lower our risk.  Here are a few suggestions;
1. Hang up and drive..  Dont text or talk on the phone while driving.
2. Drive the speed limit.
3. Pay attention!!!!!
4. Distance....Dont follow to closely. Give yourself time to react.
5. Leave the house a little earlier. 
6. Dont blow the red light or stop sign. STOP!
7.PAY ATTENTION!!!!!!!!!!!


Drive safe!

Matt Lehn

Lehn Insurance
4478 N Access Rd
Englewood, FL 34224
http://www.lehninsurance.com/

Strange Insurance Claims

Weird Insurance Claims: Licking Cows, Naked People and More

Have you ever been hit by a frozen squirrel while driving?
Has a rabid magpie ever flown in your bedroom window, stolen your spectacles and made a break for it, glasses in beak?
Has a naked pedestrian ever jumped on your car, leapt onto the roof, jumped up and down and then run away, never to be seen or heard from again?
So say some insurance policyholders, who will do just about anything for money—including filing strange insurance claims.
Animal Insurance Claims
When real disaster occurs, insurance provides a vital and necessary lifeline that helps policyholders regain their footing and start life over.
But sometimes freak occurrences of nature happen so unbelievably that convincing the insurance company claims are viable becomes rather challenging.
Take the gardener who, buying plants at a local nursery, exited the store just in time to see a passing camel kick and damage his car. (That was random!)
While the man was trying to explain the situation to his insurance company, a local television crew just happened to be in the area filming nearby and accidentally caught the camel footage on camera—corroborating the man's story for his insurer.
Another woman filed with her insurance company, claiming she hit the car in front of her because it "barked suddenly." Apparently, the other driver's dog, riding in the rear window of the car, had decided to "speak" loudly, startling the driver behind and causing the collision.
Who needs a horn when there are barking cars?
In another case, a man approached his car following a fishing expedition and saw a cow chewing on something long and black. As he came closer, he realized it was his windshield wiper, which contained salt deposits from a long weekend at the coast.
Upon further inspection, it was discovered the cow had licked his vehicle from bumper to bumper, ruining every bit of rubber along the way.
"Cows like salt," the man later explained. "They saw the vehicle as a huge salt lick!"
Wonder what the insurance company thought about that one?
Bumbling Burglars—and Sore Losers
Insurers say they're constantly amazed at some of the bizarre situations for which policyholders file claims, ranging from the serious to the downright outrageous.
One??bumbling burglar robbed a house and, in the process, accidentally locked himself in the garage. Because the garage door opener was broken, and the homeowners were away on vacation, he was stuck there for more than a week and forced to survive on the dog food and soda stored inside.
When finally released from his prison, the man got away, then filed—and won—an insurance claim against the owner for undue mental anguish.
The payout? A cool half million.
A??Pennsylvania woman received a six-figure insurance judgment after claiming she fell in a puddle of soda and cracked her tailbone.
What didn't she tell her insurer? She had thrown the drink at someone else earlier in the evening. It landed on the floor—in the same spot where she later slipped and fell.
The Weird, Wild and Wonderful
Though sometimes hard to believe, incredible insurance claims like these illustrate the fact that almost anything can happen to anyone at any time, making insurance necessary for all.
Though who's to say which claims are real—and which ones aren't?
If you're looking for a way to make money in tough times, we don't recommend filing a claim as the route to riches. Oh, but do look out for those licking cows, frozen squirrels and naked people!

Happy Groundhog's Day

Phil Says 6 More Weeks of Winter! Hear Ye Hear Ye Hear Ye! On Gobbler's Knob on this magnificent Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2012, Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, was summoned from his burrow in the old oak stump by the tap of President Bill Deeley. At 7:25 a.m. he greeted his handlers, John Griffiths and Ron Ploucha. After casting an appreciative glance toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil proclaimed: As I look at the crowd on Gobbler's Knob, Many shadows do I see So six more weeks of winter it must be!

Auto Insurance PIP Reform moves forward.

    TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate's plan to reform the no-fault auto insurance program has already achieved what its counterpart in the House has not: unanimous approval from a committee. Insurers and business groups have sided in favor of the House proposal, while Democrats, consumer advocacy organizations and attorneys have lined up against it. But the Senate legislation received almost universal support from them all in its first committee hearing Thursday. Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who sponsored the legislation, said reducing PIP fraud was his primary goal, but he also did not want to penalize people who file legitimate claims and receive treatment from reputable health care professionals. "Let's make sure that insurance companies are paying them in a timely manner with a reasonable rate," he told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. The Senate plan excludes massage therapy and acupuncture from the list of allowable treatments under the personal injury protection, or PIP, system. It also tightens licensing requirements for medical clinics, requires long-form crash reports when someone is injured in a crash and creates a statewide organization to help fight PIP abuses. The House's approach is much more controversial, mainly because it requires people injured in an auto accident to be treated first in an emergency room. It also caps attorneys fees and allows insurance companies to examine policyholders and doctors under oath when investigating claims. Several speakers representing insurers suggested changes, such as removing chiropractors from the list of medical professionals that can provide PIP treatments or limiting "multiplier" provisions that allows attorneys to collect higher fees. Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, said the plan received bipartisan support because it reflects a series of compromises that appeases all sides while still leaving them wanting more. "People weren't totally unhappy, and people weren't totally happy," she said. "That means it's a good bill." The proposal must be approved by another committee before it reaches the Senate floor. If the two chambers cannot agree on an identical version of the legislation, one side will have to relent or, in rare instances, a joint House-Senate conference committee will be formed to review. Regardless if PIP reform passes in the State Legislature, make sure you have as much auto insurance coverage you can afford. You either pay now or pay.