The following article was taken from: Watsonville Patch
“Over the holidays until Jan. 15, locals contributed food to Second Harvest donation centers around Santa Cruz County.
Their goodwill paid off.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County raised 3.6 million pounds of food for its holiday food drive, Development Director Steve Bennett Thursday.
“Volunteers have been sorting the food and our 200 member agencies have begun distributing it to hungry people throughout Santa Cruz County,” said Bennett, pointing out that the food will be enough to feed people through March — a period when need is the greatest.
The money raised through the drive will be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement the non-perishable items, said Bennett.
The need for food aid in Santa Cruz County is up 38 percent, according to Second Harvest, which feeds 55,000 people in Santa Cruz County each month.”
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For information about Commercial Insurance or Personal Insurance simply contact Scurich Insurance Services today at 800-320-3666.
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A season long influenza outbreak has swept through California and across the nation, hospitalizing hundreds and leaving thousands of people infected. We at Scurich Insurance Services would like to offer tips and tricks to help you stay healthy, the remainder of the flu season. The following information is taken from Flu.gov.
“Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from the flu. There are additional steps you can take to keep yourself and your family healthy this flu season.
- Everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the flu.
- Take everyday precautions, like washing your hands, to protect your health.
- If you are exposed to or caring for someone with the flu, talk to your doctor about preventive antiviral medications.
Everyone 6 months of age or older should get the flu vaccine as soon as it is available in your area.
What everyday steps can I take to stop the spread of germs?
There are steps you can take in your daily life to help protect you from getting the flu.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Practice good health habits. Get plenty of sleep and exercise, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat healthy food.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.
Are there medications I can take to prevent getting the flu?
If you are healthy but exposed to a person with the flu, antiviral drugs can prevent you from getting sick. The sooner you are treated with an antiviral, the more likely it will prevent the flu. Antiviral drugs are 70% to 90% effective at preventing the flu. Talk to your health care provider if you think you need antiviral drugs.”
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So don’t forget to get vaccinated, if you haven’t yet taken advantage of the flu vaccine there is still time. Flu shots can be obtained through your doctor’s office, health clinics and most drugstores. If you would like more information about our current Health Insurance programs, or to obtain a new insurance policy, simply contact the health insurance professionals at Scurich Insurance Services located in Watsonville, California today at 800-320-3666!
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This article was taken from: PropertyCasualty360.com
“Everything is not “coming up roses” for a Fontana, Calif. man who is facing workers’ compensation fraud and perjury charges.
Fifty-four-year-old Jose Cortez formerly earned a living as a gardener until Oct. 2010, when a large tree branch fell and landed on him during his shift for L. Barrios & Associates Landscaping. Cortez was then transported to a local hospital and sent home with “minor work restrictions.”
Although Cortez claimed the injuries sustained that day prevented him from completing his customary work duties, at least one person was not convinced. The following year, a tip aroused enough suspicion to initiate video surveillance of Cortez. During the course of the probe, insurance investigators observed Cortez carrying on as if it were business as usual. In fact, investigators documented at least six separate occasions when they saw him performing his normal duties as a gardener without any obvious signs of discomfort.
In Sept. 2012, investigators from the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud Unit conducted a thorough criminal investigation, collecting surveillance footage allegedly incriminating Cortez, who was still collecting insurance benefits at the time.
“Mr. Cortez had previously stated that he was unable to perform the full range of his duties,” said Deputy District Attorney Scott Byrd, who is assigned to the case. “However, our investigation revealed that he had misrepresented the extent of his injuries and received more compensation than [to which] he was entitled.”
On Jan. 21, the prosecution filed criminal charges against Cortez, resulting in a felony arrest warrant being issued. Cortez was taken into custody outside his residence without incident by District Attorney Investigators. He was then transported and booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s West Valley Detention Center. On Jan. 22, Cortez entered a plea of “not guilty” in San Bernardino Superior Court.
If convicted as charged, Cortez could enter a system far different from workers’ compensation—namely prison, where he could serve as many as eight years.
“This type of fraud is harmful because it causes premiums that businesses have to pay to go higher,” Byrd says. “It drains business profits, which in turn costs honest workers money in raises or other benefits that they may have been eligible to receive.”
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For more information about Workers Compensation or to obtain a new policy, simply contact Scurich Insurance Services located in Watsonville, California today at 800-320-3666 and we will be happy to help you.
Scurich Insurance Services did not originally write this content
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We at Scurich Insurance Services located in Watsonville, California, know how troublesome it can be when you apply for an insurance quote. That is why we have launched a program that will make applying for an insurance quote 10 times easier.
Simply visit our Happy Customer Follow-Up page and select the products and services you currently have as well as the ones that you need. Once you press submit we will receive your information and the products and services that you need and one of our agents will contact you!
It’s as easy as that! If you would like to speak with someone directly you can always contact us today at 800-320-3666. Don’t forget to spread this information with your family and friends.
If the link above for the Happy Customer Follow-Up page does not load please copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://aom.imms.com/promotions/startpage.aspx?id=37
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Agriculture Insurance is purchased by agricultural producers, including farmers, ranchers, and others to protect themselves against either the loss of their crops due to natural disasters, such as hail, drought, and floods, or the loss of revenue due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities. The two general categories of crop insurance are called crop-yield insurance and crop-revenue insurance.
- Crop-hail insurance is generally available from private insurers (in countries with private sectors) because hail is a narrow peril that occurs in a limited place and its accumulated losses tend not to overwhelm the capital reserves of private insurers. The earliest crop-hail programs were begun by farmer’s cooperatives in France and Germany in the 1820s.
- Multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) covers the broad perils of drought, flood, insects, disease, etc., which may affect many insureds at the same time and present the insurer with excessive losses. To make this class of insurance, the perils are often bundled together in a single policy, called a multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) policy. MPCI coverage is usually offered by a government insurer and premiums are usually partially subsidized by the government. The earliest MPCI program was first implemented by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1938. The FCIC program has been managed by the Risk Management Agency (RMA), also a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency, since 1996.
If you want to learn more about Scurich Insurance and what they have to offer, click the link to be directed to their website!
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