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“When thunder roars, go indoors!”—Lightning Safety for You and Your Family

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Even though summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, we’re already experiencing increased thunderstorm activity in Riverview, Brandon, and nearby areas. Florida is the lightning capital of the United States, with more than 2,000 lightning injuries in the past 50 years. While the odds of being struck by lightning are only 1 in 500,000, you’re at increased risk if you often work or play outdoors—and with summer activities soon to be in full swing, that’s most of us!

Since June is Lightning Safety Month, here are a few lightning safety reminders from your neighbors at L & M Insurance Group.

Check the forecast

If you plan to spend a lot of time outside—going out on a boat, going dirt biking, hiking, or canoeing, for example, be sure to check the weather forecast. If thunderstorms are predicted, adjust your plans. And even if the forecast is favorable, be sure to keep an eye on the weather once you’re outside. Know where you can go for safety if a storm blows up. Your best options are an enclosed shelter not made of concrete (the metal wires and bars in concrete walls and flooring can conduct lightning), or a metal-topped vehicle.

“If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you,” according to the National Weather Service. Another rule of thumb: if you see lightning, count to 30. If you hear thunder before you get to 30, go inside. Don’t go back outside until 30 minutes after you hear the last thunderclap. Lightning can strike before or after rainfall, and as far away from rain as 10 miles.

If you’re outside

During storms with lightning, if you’re outside, you’re at risk. Doing the following may make you slightly safer:

Avoid open areas, isolated trees, towers, metal fences, or bodies of water—though these things don’t attract electricity, they do conduct it. If you can’t get inside a metal-topped vehicle or fully enclosed building, get as low to the ground as you can, with as little of your body as possible touching the ground.  Look for a low spot such as a ditch or depression.

What if you’re inside?

You should still be cautious even if you’re inside when lightning is present—one-third of lightning-strike injuries occur inside. During thunderstorms, avoid using water (no showers, baths, hand washing, or doing dishes), electronics, or a corded telephone. These things all conduct electricity and you could be injured if lightning strikes nearby while you’re touching them. It’s safe to use a portable or cell phone. Also stay off porches, balconies, lanais, and out of open garages.

Also remember your pets during storms—a doghouse or screened porch is not a safe place for your pet. Bring him or her indoors until the storm passes.

If someone is struck by lightning, call 9-1-1 and begin CPR if you have training. Strike victims often need immediate first aid and touching them will not give you a shock. Only 10 percent of lightning strike victims die, but many of the rest live with serious aftereffects such as severe pain, neurological disabilities, or depression.

If lightning hits your home, most standard homeowners insurance policies cover structural damage and damage to personal property caused by lightning. If your car is hit by lightning, if you carry comprehensive insurance, it should be covered, less your deductible. Be sure to report the lightning strike to your insurance company or to your L & M Insurance Group agent as soon as possible.

Please feel free to call us at 813-672-4100 or contact us online if you have any questions about your insurance needs and coverage. And stay safe this summer!

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Is Your Homeowners Insurance Hurricane Ready?

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Hurricane season starts again June 1. Are you ready? Is your homeowners insurance? In addition to basic preparations such as creating a disaster kit and reviewing evacuation plans, you should also review your homeowners insurance coverage so you won’t have any surprises if a hurricane damages or destroys your home. Here are a few things to familiarize yourself with before hurricane season begins.

Hurricane deductibles

Hurricanes have their own separate deductibles, different from the deductible you’d pay out of pocket for another named peril. Instead of a flat dollar amount, such as $500 or $1,000, a hurricane deductible is a percentage of your Dwelling A coverage (the part of your homeowners policy that covers you if your home has to be rebuilt or repaired). Most of the policies we see have a 2% deductible, but it can rise as high as 5 or 10% in Florida. That means that if you have a 2% deductible and your home is insured for $350,000, your hurricane deductible will be $7,000. (We do have a few companies that offer a flat hurricane deductible of $1,000-$2,000, which may be a better choice for some clients.)

Once the storm passes, and the hurricane warning or watch has been lifted, you’ll still be on the hook for your hurricane deductible for 72 hours. That means if a tree falls on your roof a day after the storm passes through, your hurricane deductible will still apply.

What if you have damage from more than one hurricane in the same year? According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, “In Florida, you only have to pay one hurricane deductible within the calendar year, provided you are insured with the same insurance company or group of companies for the second or subsequent hurricanes during the same calendar year.”

Other questions to ask

  • If your home is destroyed, do you have enough coverage to rebuild? 
  • Do you have flood insurance? Flood damage is costly, and even if the flood is caused by a hurricane, it won’t be covered by your homeowners policy. To have flood coverage, you need a flood policy. A “flood” can be anything from storm surge, to pooling water after prolonged rainfall, to rising water from a river, creek, or lake.
  • What about sewer backup? Damage from sewer backup is not covered by either homeowners insurance or a flood policy. You’ll need separate sewer backup coverage.

Before hurricane season begins, review your homeowners insurance declarations page, decide if you need any additional coverage, and make sure you’ll have access to funds to cover your hurricane deductible. Please call your L & M Insurance Group agent at 813-672-4100 for a no-obligation homeowners insurance quote, or if you have any questions about your insurance coverage. You may also click here to contact us online.

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Buying Commercial Trucking Insurance: What You Need to Get Started

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Buying Commercial Trucking Insurance is important for your trucking business

One of the most important steps in running a commercial trucking business is purchasing adequate insurance, tailored to your needs, at the best rate possible. But because of the nature of the risk, insurance for your trucking business will likely be one of your major expenses. This isn’t surprising, since commercial trucking insurance protects your liability as well as your cargo and your physical assets (trucks and trailers). To learn more about what types of insurance coverage you’ll need for your trucking business click here.

Helpful Information to get the best Commercial Trucking Insurance

In order for us to help you purchase the coverage best suited for your business, we recommend that you collect the information we will need to give you an accurate quote, including the following:

  • Driver information: legal names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, marital status (insurance companies offer discounts for married drivers), and the original issue date of each driver’s CDL.
  • Vehicle information: make, model, year, cost when new, gross vehicle weight, vehicle identification number (VIN)
  • DOT number
  • What is your business?
    • Will you be driving over state lines or operating locally?
    • How is each vehicle used?
    • Do you carry cargo, or transport people?
  • Information about your cargo:
    • What types of cargo will be hauled, including if there will be any heavy equipment or hazardous materials.
    • Is your cargo refrigerated? If so, what type of cargo are you hauling?
    • If you’re hauling general freight, we need to know what types of freight you’re hauling.

If you already have a commercial vehicle policy, have the declarations page handy so you can confirm the coverages and limits you currently carry.

Ready to start buying Commercial Trucking Insurance?

Remember, the more information we have, the better we will be able to match your needs to an insurance company that’s right for you. Whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been in the commercial trucking business for a while, let L & M Insurance Group help you with this important aspect of your business. As independent agents, we represent several quality commercial trucking insurance carriers. Give us a call at 813-672-4100, or contact us online and we’ll be happy to answer your questions or give you a quote.

For more information:

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

http://www.floridatruckinginfo.com/

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Buying a Home? Don’t Skip the Home Inspection

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When you’re buying a home, there are many decisions and expenses to take into consideration. While it may be tempting to waive the home inspection contingency to make your offer more attractive to the seller or to save money, most of the time that’s not a good idea. A home inspection is a protection for you as the buyer. If you waive a home inspection, you’ve lost the right to ask for repairs or walk away from the sale if the home has major problems. An investment of a few hundred dollars now may equal a savings of thousands of dollars later.

In addition, if you’re buying a home for the first time, a home inspection can help you understand what it takes to maintain a home, and what types of home improvement projects you should plan for in the future.

What does a home inspection include?

A standard home inspection covers the major components and systems of a home, including “the condition of the home’s heating system; central air conditioning system (temperature permitting); interior plumbing and electrical systems; the roof, attic and visible insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; the foundation, basement and structural components,” according to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). A home inspection is different from an appraisal, which determines the home’s market value.

Home inspectors must be licensed in Florida, and are generally required to be certified by state-run agencies. If possible, get a recommendation from someone you trust, or check with an organization like the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, or HomeAdvisor. Look for certification from one of the home inspection professional associations, such as ASHI. Your real estate agent may recommend someone, but be cautious—while many agents have your best interest in mind, some won’t recommend a home inspector if they think he or she is “too picky” and will cost them sales.

Attend the inspection if you can. You’ll be able to hear first hand about any issues the inspector finds, point out areas of concern, and ask questions about the home’s condition and how to maintain it.

After the inspection

Once the inspection is completed, the inspector will prepare a written report. Do remember that a home inspection will almost always find problems with a home. That doesn’t have to be a deal breaker. If the problems are serious enough, perhaps you can negotiate with the seller for repairs, or to knock some off the price so that you can make the repairs yourself. It’s unlikely that the seller will pay to have everything fixed, but knowing ahead of time what to expect will also help you budget for repairs and renovations you’ll want to do in the future.

While a home inspection is not a guarantee that nothing major will ever go wrong with your new home, it can be a helpful negotiating tool, as well as a source of knowledge for the future.

L & M Insurance Group is a locally-owned, independent insurance agency based in the Brandon/Riverview  area. We would love to help you with your homeowners insurance—or any of your insurance needs. Please give us a call at 813-672-4100 for a free quote, or contact us online. For more information about homeowners insurance.

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Assignment of Benefits Abuse Continues to Expand

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Why are Florida Insurance Premiums so high?

Florida consumers pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country for auto and homeowners insurance, and it’s not because we are worse drivers or live in a state where hurricanes are prevalent. A major contributor to our higher insurance rates is assignment of benefits abuse. When we first wrote about assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse in July 2016, we mainly discussed AOB abuse related to homeowners insurance and water claims. Unfortunately, AOB abuse is still growing, and is spreading across insurance lines and across the state.

AOB Abuse is growing in Florida

AOB abuse started with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims, moved into homeowners claims (often water or roof damage), and is now spreading to the auto glass repair industry. After 2012 PIP reform, PIP AOB abuse cases dropped, but they’re on the rise again—and will likely cause the cost of PIP to rise once more.

AOB agreements have long been used in the auto glass repair industry in order to settle claims efficiently. Unfortunately, there’s been a large increase in bulk lawsuits for glass claims—in the Tampa Bay/I-4 corridor area alone (where much of the abuse is centered) auto glass lawsuits jumped from 3,723 to 17,165 between 2013 and 2017.

AOB abuse equals higher premiums

AOB is a contract between a policyholder and a business in which the policyholder turns over (“assigns”) his or her rights and benefits under the policy. There are many occasions where this type of contract is standard practice and works well, such as in health insurance and auto physical damage claims.

It becomes abuse when a vendor submits inflated claims, provides unnecessary repairs, or doesn’t do the repairs at all but still bills the insurance company. If the insurer balks at paying the claim, the vendor’s attorneys sue the insurance company. Some consumers don’t even know litigation is taking place in their name.

Inflated claims and large attorneys fees drive up insurers’ costs above the national average, and they pass on those costs to Florida consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums. The average homeowners insurance premium rose 30 percent between 2007 and 2015, and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation blames AOB abuse for this large increase. Insurer’s legal expenses in Florida are growing at more than twice the national average. If legal costs had followed the national trend, the cumulative savings to Florida insurers and their policyholders would have been nearly $1.6 billion, according to an Insurance Information Institute report.

More than just higher premiums

There are other problems for consumers besides higher insurance premiums when AOB abuse runs rampant. If you as a homeowner were involved in an AOB lawsuit, whether or not you even knew about it, you may now have a large claim on your loss history. This can result in even higher premiums and make it harder to get homeowners insurance. In addition, an AOB agreement can also give contractors and suppliers the legal right to recover unpaid bills from the homeowner if the insurer delays or denies payment, even to the extent of placing a lien on your home.

Obviously, not every claim is inflated and not every lawsuit is unwarranted, but the situation is such that Florida consumers should be extra cautious if they’re approached by a business asking for an AOB agreement. If you’re in a claim situation, and a company or contractor wants you to sign an AOB contract, think twice. Before you sign anything, talk to your L & M Insurance Group agent or to your own insurance company, especially if you’re being pressured to sign or being asked for a substantial up-front deposit before repairs can be started.

L & M Insurance Group is an independent insurance agency serving eastern Hillsborough County, Tampa, Riverview, Lithia, Valrico, Seffner, Bloomingdale and surrounding areas for more than 25 years. If you need help with any of your insurance needs, please give L & M Insurance Group a call at 813-672-4100, or request an insurance quote by clicking here. We represent you, and we’re here to help!

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Distractions and Driving Don’t Mix

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We’ve all done it. We hear the telltale ping or ring of our cell phone while driving. Surely it will be OK just to sneak a peek at the screen to see who is trying to reach us? Maybe even answer the phone?

Unfortunately, all too often it’s not OK. Instead of focusing our full attention on the road, we’re driving distracted.


According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,450 people were killed in 2016 in “distraction-affected” crashes—92 percent of all crash fatalities. In 2015, 391,000 people were injured in crashes involving distracted driving.

Using a cell phone while driving increases crash risk, but phones aren’t the only things distracting us on the road. Eating or drinking, interacting with passengers (or pets), adjusting the radio, consulting navigation, and personal grooming (applying makeup, combing hair) all keep our full attention from being on our driving. Distracted driving is driving while doing any activity that takes full attention away from driving, whether it takes our eyes off the road, our hands off the steering wheel, or our minds off our driving. Texting is the worst thing we can do, since it involves all three of those things. Sending or reading a text for even five seconds at 55 miles per hour is like driving the length of a football field with our eyes closed!

Many states already ban hand-held cell phone use and texting. The Florida Legislature is currently considering a bill that would prohibit drivers from texting, reading data, or talking on hand-held devices. Texting while driving is now only enforced as a secondary offense when a driver has been stopped for another infraction.

Whether or not the bill passes, for our safety and the safety of others on the road, we should decide to put aside all distractions and keep our full attention on our driving. We also need to share this information with our teens, some of the worst offenders when it comes to phone use while driving.

So the next time a call or text comes in while you’re driving, do the right thing and keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road until you get to your destination, or you can pull off the road safely to check your phone. We promise we will, too.

L & M Insurance Group is an independent insurance agency. Our staff has been serving eastern Hillsborough County, Tampa, Riverview, Lithia, Valrico, Seffner, Bloomingdale and surrounding areas for more than 25 years. We represent more than 15 quality auto insurance companies, and strive to provide our customers with the best coverage at the most competitive rates. If you need help with your auto insurance, please give us a call at 813-672-4100, or request an insurance quote by clicking here.

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Truckers: Protect Yourself From Gaps in Insurance Coverage

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Trucker Insurance to Cover Gaps

The demand for commercial truck drivers is high right now, and many new truckers are hitting the roads. If you’re new to commercial trucking, you may not know what insurance coverage you should have (check out some basic information trucking insurance information here). Today we’re going to take a closer look at two types of commercial truck insurance you may need to protect yourself from gaps in coverage.

Trailer interchange

Trailer interchange coverage provides physical damage coverage if a semi-trailer you do not own is damaged by accident, fire, theft, or vandalism while under your care, custody, or control. Say for example, you have a contract with XYZ shipping company to haul between Tampa and Orlando. You drive your tractor truck to Tampa, pick up a trailer and drive it to Orlando and drop it off. You then pick up another trailer and bring it back to Tampa.  Since you don’t own these trailers they will not be covered under the physical damage portion of your insurance policy.

The company that owns the trailers you haul may require you to have trailer interchange coverage, and will likely set the amount of coverage required. Trailer interchange coverage is not necessarily more or less expensive than the cost of insuring your own trailer.

Non-trucking liability

If you’re under contract with a motor carrier company, you should have primary liability coverage through them (your contract will indicate this). In order to purchase non-trucking liability, you must have primary liability coverage through the company you are contracted to. Non-trucking liability covers you when you’re not doing something that benefits the company you have a contract with. For instance, if you have an accident while driving your tractor truck home at the end of the day, non-trucking liability would pay for damages or injuries you cause to other people or their property.

Insuring a tractor truck you use for commercial purposes can be a complicated business, but L & M Insurance Group can help. We are independent agents who represent several quality commercial trucking insurance carriers. Give us a call at 813-672-4100, or contact us online and we’ll be happy to answer your questions or give you a quote.

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Commercial Insurance Spotlight: Long-Haul Trucking Insurance

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The trucking industry keeps goods moving all over the United States, and long-haul trucking jobs are expected to grow six percent from 2016 to 2026. That’s a lot of trucks on the road—and sadly, accidents happen. And when a semi-truck is involved, the consequences can include severe property damage and injuries. That’s where long-haul trucking insurance comes in.

What is Long-Haul Trucking Insurance

Long-haul trucking insurance is just what it sounds like: specialty commercial truck insurance for individual owner-operators and businesses who haul cargo long distances, usually between states and/or in a radius of 300 miles or more.

Why you need Long-Haul Trucking Insurance

Long-haul trucking professionals need coverage to protect their cargo from damage or theft, as well as liability coverage in case a truck causes physical damage or injuries in an accident.  They may also need coverage for their own assets: the trucks or truck/tractor-trailers used in their business. (For more information on commercial truck insurance, click here.)

The Independent Insurance Agency Difference

As an independent agency, L & M Insurance Group represents a number of commercial insurance companies in addition to our personal lines carriers. Whether you’re an owner-operator or manage a fleet of trucks, we can provide competitive coverage and rates for your long-haul trucking insurance needs. Please call us at 813-672-4100.

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Show Your Home Some Love With These Maintenance Tasks

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Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and love is in the air! Once you’ve taken care of your significant other, why not show your home some love? Maintaining your home can save you money, hassles—and maybe even a homeowners insurance claim!

You don’t have to do a major remodel to improve your home. Here are a few areas where a little loving attention will do the most good.

First, see your home with fresh eyes. Walk through your entire home, noting areas of wear, safety issues, and so on. Don’t forget your attic, deck, patio, porch, or lanai. Take pen and paper, and jot down any areas that need attention.

For instance, are there signs of leaks, such as discoloration on walls, floors, or ceilings? What about around toilets, tubs, and sinks? Is a faucet dripping or a toilet running?

Even minor leaks can do major damaged, and unlike a sudden accident, such as a burst pipe, gradual damage caused by neglected maintenance is not covered under homeowners insurance policies.

Check Fire Safety Items

Check and replace fire safety items. Change batteries in smoke detectors, and every 10 years, replace the smoke detectors themselves.

Fire extinguishers should be checked monthly. Click here for instructions on how to properly inspect your fire extinguisher. (And remember, only use a fire extinguisher on a small, contained fire. In many cases, it’s more important for everyone to get out of the house and let the fire department handle a fire.)

Drains and Pipes

Keep drains and pipes clear. If water drains slowly from sinks or tubs, try using vinegar and baking soda, or commercial drain cleaner, to get things moving again. Don’t put things down the kitchen sink unless it’s equipped with a garbage disposal. In the bathroom, use traps in drains to keep hair from clogging the plumbing, and don’t use flushable wipes as these also cause plumbing backups.

Air Conditioning

Maintain your HVAC system. Replace air filters on an appropriate schedule, and have the unit cleaned and serviced according to manufacturer’s directions. These tasks improve air quality and help your unit operate more efficiently, as well as lessen the chance of a breakdown when it’s 90 degrees outside!

Check Large Appliances

Inspect and clean large appliances. This includes cleaning the dishwasher, which can become clogged with food particles or soap residue, resulting in dirtier dishes or even a breakdown. If your dishwasher has a filter, take it out and clean it. Run some white vinegar through a wash cycle, or use a commercial dishwasher cleaner.

Check dishwasher and washing machine hoses and replace if they’re cracked or worn.

Clean refrigerator coils.

Empty the dryer lint trap after every load, and periodically clean dryer exhaust vents in order to prevent fire.

Review Home Insurance Coverage

Review and update your insurance coverage if necessary. Are you receiving all available discounts? Have you made home improvements that have added value to your home? Did you replace your roof? Notify your L & M Insurance Group agent of any changes to your personal situation, such as marriage or divorce.

L & M Insurance Group is Here to help

Please call us at 813-672-4100 if you have a question about how a home improvement project might affect your homeowners insurance, or if you need a quote. Happy Valentine’s Day to you—and your home!

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We Can Insure That! Let L & M Insurance Group Help With Specialty Insurance Coverage

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You already know L & M Insurance Group can get you great deals on your homeowners, car, and business insurance (and if you don’t, contact us today for a free quote!). But what if you buy a recreational vehicle, boat, or personal watercraft? Where should you go for insurance? Wonder no longer—we can insure that!

We want to be your one-stop insurance agents. Not only can we insure your home, car, and business, we can also provide specialty insurance coverage.

What is specialty insurance coverage?

Simply put, specialty insurance coverage is insurance for special or unique items or situations not typically covered under a standard home or auto insurance policy. This might include insurance coverage for classic cars, boats, ATVs, motorcycles, RVs, or personal watercraft.

In addition, important coverages such as flood insurance and umbrella policies can also be considered specialty insurance.

Protection from financial loss

The purpose of any insurance is to provide protection from financial losses—both physical losses and liability losses. Once you have the basics covered—insurance on your home and vehicles appropriate for your situation—you should consider what losses you might incur that would not be covered by those policies. What assets do you want to cover—like boats, RVs, and other “toys,” for example? You may need flood insurance, since flood damage is not covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy, or an umbrella policy to protect your financial assets in case of a lawsuit.

This might sound confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. As an independent agency, L & M Insurance Group has been serving Riverview, Brandon, Gibsonton, Apollo Beach, Tampa and nearby communities for more than 10 years. We represent dozens of financially stable, A-rated insurance companies, and we will be happy to advise you in choosing the right specialty insurance coverage for your needs. Please call 813-672-4100, contact us, or visit www.landminsurancegroup.com for more information.