Scurich Insurance Services has been serving the Monterey Bay Area since 1924. Our mission is to partner with our customers and provide them superior service and value. We are a member of United Valley Insurance Services, Inc., a cluster of over 70 California Independent Insurance agencies, which produced over $530,000,000 of annual premium last year. At Scurich Insurance Services we understand your business and our community. Our customers look to us for comprehensive solutions. We have established relationships with more than 40 of the nation's leading insurance providers, which allows us to deliver multiple, competitively-priced options and a team of experts to guide you through the process. When you need to file a claim, change a policy or process a certificate you can depend on Scurich Insurance Services to respond quickly to your request. Give us a call today to see what we can do for you!  

In the construction world, we're often quick to reprimand our workers about safety violations. Such phrases as "Hey, put your helmet on!", "Seriously, do you really think this is a good idea?" and "Get off that ladder now!" come to mind. All too seldom, do we say, "Thanks. You're doing a great job in keeping the site safe!"

As you walk your work sites or wander the shop, it's important to search out potential hazards and people who are not following what's expected. However, don't forget to recognize and acknowledge the workers who are doing their jobs right. When you recognize the power of thanking those who do well, their peers pay attention. That's the reason why merit badges work. Whether you're a supervisor, foreman, or project manager, your job is to encourage safe behavior by motivating - not threatening - your workers as often as possible. Showing gratitude goes a long way in forming your crew and your friends. Take the time, and you'll soon be surrounded by people who want to work for you. When you recognize this, you will understand the power of thanks. Without trust, there's little chance of success in any business - including yours. Your role is to help your workers stay out of trouble and eliminate acts and conditions on the job that can harm them. Whenever possible, it's better to work with them, rather than acting as an obstacle. Help your construction crews understand the hazards of the work they do and how to get them corrected. Establish a level of trust, and say "Thanks!" more often than "Stop!" Remember, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Content provided by Transformer Marketing.

If you've been to our office, chances are.  Mary Myrick-Sunkler, CISR, CPIW is a central California coast native.  Mary has been in the insurance business since 1988 giving her 26 years of experience.  Mary has worked with Scurich Insurance Services for 15 of those years, starting in 1998. Mary graduated from Monterey High School and went onto graduate from Monterey Peninsula College.   Mary is a member of the Insurance Professionals of Monterey Bay which is a local chapter of National Association of Insurance Women. In Mary's spare time, she is an avid walker, loves bicycling, gardening, camping and cooking. Stop by our office to say, "Hi," to Mary today.

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. —Studies show the number of monarch butterflies making their annual migration is dwindling. So much so, experts are worried they are in danger of disappearing altogether. Although there has been a drop in the number of monarchs migrating through Pacific Grove over the years, die hard butterfly fans are hopeful the monarchs will make a comeback. The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove acts as a temporary home to hundreds of Monarchs, all migrating from the U.S. to Canada. Experts say their numbers have dropped severely. The number of butterflies wintering in Mexico is the lowest level ever recorded, too, but butterfly fans in Pacific Grove remain optimistic that they will continue to show up. Migration is an inherited trait and although no butterflies live to make the full round trip, it's unclear how they remember the route back to the same patch of forest each year. Scientists theorize they may rely on magnetic fields, the position of the sun, polarization of the sun's rays, scenting or pure genetic instinct. Content provided by:  http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-california/monterey/monarch-butterfly-population-dwindles/-/5738820/24238720/-/rc821rz/-/index.html#ixzz2sHWUeyo6

An ever increasing number of people in the labor force are contractors. As the owner of a business you normally use contractors to ensure that they have contractor insurance. An ever increasing number of people in the labor force are contractors. As the owner of a business you normally use contractors to ensure that they have contractor insurance. This type of insurance is useful in the event of injury or damage caused by the contractors on any of your property. As a contractor you will need contractor insurance to protect yourself from any claims made against you directly and/or any legal expenses incurred even if you are wrongfully sued by the company, organization or party’s involved. There are several people who are possible candidates for contractor insurance. This is an option for anybody who is a limited company contractor. Most companies are more likely to make use of you if you have a contractor insurance policy in place to protect them from any arising issues. Contractor insurance cover is mandatory if you want to contract for a governmental institution of a state, federal or even on a city level. Without contractor insurance you do not have a chance of being contracted to supply services to any governmental institution. You essentially have a responsibility over the work you provide to your customer and contractor insurance protects you and the other party from any issues that may result from it. A contractor insurance policy generally has three parts; it covers you, the person or company you are contracted to and member of the public who may be affected directly by your job as a limited company contractor. In each of these groups, it is necessary to have additional full protection available from your provider against accidental destruction or damage caused to property and equipment and full liability protection covering legal, medical and compensation costs. Contractor insurance does not cover negligent actions or deliberate errors. They will also not provide prolonged cover if you show a pattern of consistent and negligent behavior. Other than these two main exclusions, contractor insurance is a very complete cover since it gives you and the company a safety net that would otherwise not be available. There are more insurance products and services that the policy holder could take out in this range. Contractor insurance is mostly designed to include professional indemnity and public liability features. It also covers property and equipment to a large extent. If you need additional coverage in these areas as you realize the volume of business you will produce in a year it will be prudent for you to apply for a separate cover to have protection to a larger extent. A limited company contractor’s work may be used several years after he has completed his work. Therefore, contractor insurance may only be active many years after a contract has been completed. Contractor insurance will ensure that you are still covered for liability long after you retire as you will need to be covered in the event of any consequent legal action. This may take the form of an extension of the liability clause to your contractors insurance or a run-off insurance policy. Content provided by Transformer Marketing.

The best defense in the NFL meets the best offense in the NFL this weekend for what is going to be nothing short of an electrifying, on the edge of your seat Superbowl game.  The hype with surrounding whether or not Peyton can play in cold weather (which he proved to everyone he can when he led the Broncos to a 58-21 win over the Titans in 15 degree weather), is adding so much more to this game. Create your own Supperbowl! We have all seen them.  The huge party platters in the shape of a football stadium.  We have the recipe here for you. Denver is on a mission.  Last year, they were knocked out of the race for the Superbowl when the Ravens beat the Broncos in double overtime.  This year, Peyton and Company's offense boasts more points scored and yards gained than any other team.  In the past, Denver has been to the Superbowl six times and have won twice. Seattle is looking for retribution.  The last time Pete Carroll led the Seahawks to the Superbowl was in 2005 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  At Ford Field, the Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10.  To this day, calls the referees made that day were nothing short of questionable and may have cost the Seahawks the game.   This will be the second appearance for Seattle at the Superbowl. The match up:

 Content provided by Transformer Marketing, NFL.com and http://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/how-to-build-a-snack-stadium?bffbfood

Read the full article here. Content provided by http://business.time.com/2014/01/22/the-terrifying-video-that-will-convince-you-not-to-buy-a-small-car/?iid=biz-main-lead

Last week Governor Jerry Brown declared California is in a drought.  A drought simply stated is a shortage of precipitation, whether it comes from rain or snow.  There just simply isn't any moisture in our lands.  Problems that can stem from a drought can become catastrophic.   Withered crops, high fire dangers, water shortages and livestock dying are just a few of the effects that a drought has on our land.   Unemployment is another effect that a drought will bring.  The loss of crops means no employment.  In 2009,  about 10,000 people lost their job due to the drought. According to Brown, who was in San Francisco last week, "The drought accentuates and further displays the conflicts between north and south and between urban and rural parts of the state. So, as governor, I'll be doing my part to bring people together and working through this." During this dry season, the rest of us need to be diligent as well.  Conserve as much water as we can, including washing dishes all at once, don't light fires when you're camping and use only propane stoves.  Right now, California is in danger of becoming a matchbox just waiting for the match to strike. According to 58 year old Kevin Kester, "I am a fifth-generation cattle rancher, and it has never been this bad ever in my lifetime — and from my family's history, it's never been anywhere close to this bad ever."   The last drought that was comparable to the one we're in now, according to his family's history was in the 1890's. Contact us today for a quote for your agribusiness. Content provided by Transformer Marketing and http://www.register-pajaronian.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=15820&page=72    

"What's the point?" I sometimes ask myself. It's such an uncertain world out there. I mean, "It all looks so bleak. Why should I even bother to try to move forward in life or my career? Why should I try to improve my circumstances when I don't think it will lead to anywhere? Why should I try anything in this crazy, uncertain, unpredictable and difficult environment?" Over the last few years as I have worked through trying to deal with uncertainty of life, the unpredictability of a career, chaos at work and the complex nature of things, I have come to some realizations that have helped me to keep going and move forward in life. For me, embrace the chaos means: to accept the uncertainty of life and move forward anyway! Take action despite not knowing how things will turn out. To stop over-thinking, stop over-analyzing, stop trying to predict. To go ahead, take action, move forward in life, move forward in a new career, take new action, start a new business, get into a new relationship and stop over thinking whether or not it will work. But self-doubt arises in all of us. No matter how strong we might be, the question of WHY always comes up: Why should I embrace the chaos? Here are my own reasons to get unstuck and move forward in life... 12 Reasons to Embrace the Chaos Next Year! 1. Accepting the chaos of life is better than trying to fight it Life has always been in unpredictable and full of uncertainty. We just didn't realize it. Accept it. Don't fight it. Accepting the reality of our world today is the most important way to learn to live in it. Let go of your ego. Let go of trying to force order and perfection to an imperfect life full of ups and downs and uncertainty. Often, stress, anxiety and tension occurs when you fight hard to change something you cannot change. You can't control the chaos. You can only change you... your thoughts and your actions. And that's really good news... to focus on what you CAN control... you! 2. You cannot predict the future Uncertainty about how things will turn out tomorrow holds a lot of us back from pursuing our life ambitions, relationships or business ideas. We waste so much time trying to make sure the path we take is the "right one," when the reality is that there is no right path... just the one you're on! No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow. That's a good thing in some respects because the walls around us are malleable and move constantly. You and I have just as good a shot as anyone at success and happiness. Stop trying to figure out the future and CREATE moments by working towards your purpose in the here and now. This moment right now is the only one you can be certain of. 3. You will feel better doing than not doing Taking a step forward in any direction makes you feel like you have some level of control of your life. When you take action, you stop over thinking and get less anxious because in some sense, you are creating your own future in the here and now. You get a rush when you're consumed with activity geared towards pursuing a goal, irrespective of how tough the goal. You feel like you're in charge again because you are... of your thoughts and your actions. The positive energy generated by movement of hands and body in forward motion towards the pursuit of a higher purpose, a life-long trip, a business goal or to raise a child, is often what keeps us energetic, youthful and feel alive. 4. One thing always leads to another Like a stone thrown into a pond of water, somehow one tiny little step forward puts in motion other pieces, rippling away, leading you to places, people and opportunities that you can never have imagined. You didn't get to where you are right now by your perfectly laid out plans years ago. So many of us arrived where we are through the zig zag motion of life, through stepping stones that were laid out all over the place. Some of the greatest things in your life right now, came to you by chance, randomness and luck. 5. You will become a better person... faster, stronger, leaner and sharper The mind is a muscle and like any muscle sometimes the mind needs resistance and tension to grow and develop as much as it needs nourishment and positive energy. Use the chaos of life to learn and develop. Adversity forces you to dig down deep inside to make you rediscover your inner strength or to fire synapsis in your brain that create new learnings. Moving forward in uncertainty forces the potential energy that is already within you to come out. 6. You are resilient and know how to adapt You don't know what real strength lies within unless you're put in a situation that forces you to bring it out. You have an innate ability deep within to adapt and improvise to our new environment. You can handle it because your DNA has gone through a history of difficult times and has progressed ever since. As human beings, we have this awesome ability to persevere in really difficult times with nothing more than what you've been given: an able body and a strong mind. The resiliency inside all of is dormant but kicks in when you move forward in life. 7. You are meant for bigger things Within each of us lies a potential for great things. Think about the possibility of becoming who you really want to become... a better parent, a more successful business person who creates jobs for many, a better spouse or partner or simply contribute more to society. This great person will never be realized unless you take steps to move forward in life and do something different... to accept the chaos and move forward anyway. All of us are meant to create positive impact to all those around us, in our own unique way. Read the entire article here. Content provided by http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-miglani/embrace-chaos_b_4433876.html