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Most college career counselors and career building websites are quick to sing the praises of networking. There is an old adage, which has proven increasingly true, that “you are only as good as who you know.” This adage actually pre-dates the Internet...

Adding a teenager to your auto policy can raise your rate by more than 40%. The good news: you and your teen can reduce these hikes significantly in a variety of ways: Get good grades. Most insurance companies offer high school or college students with a B average or better a discount of up to 10%. Live away from home. Students at college or living at least 100 miles from their parents without a car can usually get a 5%-10% discount. Take an additional driving class. Although most insurance companies don’t give a discount for mandatory drivers’ed instruction, some companies will reduce premiums by 5% for teens who go to follow-up classes. Sign a parent-teen driving contract. Your insurer might offer up to a 5% discount if your teen agrees to follow such rules as not driving at night or with friends in the car. Raise your deductible. However, bear in mind that you’ll have to pay this deductible if your teen driver damages the car. If you repair every ding, you could spend a lot more than you'll save on premiums with a higher deductible. Reduce or drop some coverage. If you have an older car, you might not need Comprehensive or Collision insurance. Be wary of lowering Liability limits. In most cases, it makes sense to keep Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, which pays medical expenses of anyone injured in an auto accident. Choose a safe vehicle. The higher the safety rating of your car, the lower your premiums – and the safer your teenager will be behind the wheel. We’d be happy to help you minimize the sticker shock of adding a teen driver. Just give us a call.

Kim House [email protected] Born in New York, transplanted as a 5 year old to sunny California, Kim grew up in San Jose, attended Piedmont Hills High School, continued her education at San Jose City College and graduated from San Jose State University in 1975. She is married with one college age daughter. Kim has worked for Scurich Insurance for almost 8 years. Some of her passions are walking at the beach, especially Seacliff Beach, biking and swimming. She also enjoys gardening, home improvement (Kim prefers receiving tools instead of jewelry as a gift), stained glass and sewing. She belongs to Holy Eucharist Catholic Church and enjoys serving at the Salvation Army on Monday nights along with many others from Holy Eucharist Church. Content provided by Scurich Insurance Services

There is an old adage, which has proven increasingly true, that ‘you are only as good as who you know.’ This adage actually pre-dates the Internet...

Your weekly update on what's happening on CompleteMarkets. Featured Markets | Latest Discussions | Latest Blog Posts | Did You Know?

If you have teenagers, you're well aware that they're all too prone to take risks. Four in five U.S. teen (80%) have part-time jobs. Of these, more than half (52%) are in the retail sector, which includes restaurants and fast food establishments. To help keep themselves safe on the job - and thus reduce their employers' risk-management exposure - teenagers who work in restaurants and agriculture can use interactive web-based training tools provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). According to OSHA, educating and training young people about safety in the workplace can help prevent injuries today and lead to a healthy workforce in the future. These resources provide practical information to protect young workers from hazards in industries where many of them are likely to work during high school and college. The Teen Worker Safety in Restaurants eTool highlights the most common hazards in these workplaces and offers safety and health suggestions, safety posters, and electronic links to educate young workers about job safety. Areas of focus include serving, clean-up, drive-thru, cooking, food preparation, delivery, and worker rights and child labor laws. The Youth in Agriculture eTool presents case studies that describe common hazards and offers safety solutions for teenage workers in such areas as farm equipment operations, confined spaces, and prevention of c injuries g from falls, electrocutions, and chemical exposures. The OSHA Teen Workers page offers educational resources such as fact sheets on workplace rights and responsibilities, hazards on the job, ways to prevent injuries, work hours, job restrictions, etc. Letting teenage workers know about these resources can benefit them - and their employers. What's not to like?

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.

Non-traditional voluntary employee benefits are becoming increasingly popular with workers because they address their real-world lifestyles and financial needs. If you'd like to offer your workers a benefit that can help them invest in their future, advance their careers - and make them more productive - all without costing you a dime, consider online learning programs. According to a recent nationwide study by Harris Interactive, more than half (53%) of workers and their spouses surveyed would be at least "somewhat likely" to use educational services for themselves or their families through an employee purchase program. While higher education has become essential to get ahead in today's high-tech world, skyrocketing costs have made it increasingly difficult for workers to afford. More than nine in ten college students have taken out loans to earn their bachelors degree - and the value of student loan debt has topped $1 trillion ($300 billion more than credit card and auto loan debts combined)! Many employers currently offer some form of tuition assistance for the continuing education of their workers. However, online learning can provide a more affordable and convenient alternative for your employees to fund their education and that of their family members (through tutoring programs and SAT/ACT preparation programs) while learning at their own speed. Workers would pay through convenient pain-free payroll deductions, providing a responsible way to budget, together with the opportunity to graduate free of debt. What's more, the program won't burden your employee benefits budget. To learn more about how you can offer this creative benefit to your workers, just give us a call.