Sentry Achieves Impressive A+ Rating for 30 Years

Author, Megan Lockhart, Surety and Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa congratulates Sentry Insurance in achieving an A+ rating by AM Best for the 30th year straight.

AM Best is the world-wide leading credit rating authority specializing in the insurance industry. Less than 15% of property and casualty insurance companies in the U.S. receive the A+ status. According to AM Best, this rating is assigned only to companies who have “a superior ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.”

“Being assigned this rating for 30 years running is a truly remarkable achievement,” Pete McPartland, Sentry chairman of the board, president, and CEO said.

Sentry and its subsidiaries offer property, casualty, and life insurance, as well as annuities and retirement programs for their business and individual clients throughout the nation. 

“It’s a testament to the dedication, industry experience, and high level of customer service our associates and retirees have brought to the table day in and day out,” McPartland said.

The achievement is especially exciting for the company considering the challenging year COVID-19 caused for businesses in the country.

“Despite the challenges of a nationwide pandemic, our sound business practices allowed us to achieve positive results this past year,” Todd Schroeder, Sentry chief financial officer and president of life and annuities, said.

Sentry maintains high standards for its broker partners, thus maintaining a limited number of appointments. Rancho Mesa is honored to work with a financially superior insurance company.

“We at Rancho Mesa are very proud to have been chosen to be a part of that exclusive group and represent one of the top rated insurance carriers in the nation,” David Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, said.

Sentry plans to continue its impressive success as the company moves on from the pandemic and into a bright future.

“Through the development and use of industry-leading technology, we’ve provided our customers a better overall experience [which] has been invaluable to our success. We’re poised to exit the pandemic as an even stronger company and provide our customers the protection and services they rely on.”

Rancho Mesa Earns “Best Practices Agency” Designation for 15th Consecutive Year

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., a leading Southern California commercial insurance brokerage, has been recognized by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) as a Best Practices Agency for the fifteenth consecutive year.

Of the roughly 35,000 independent insurance agencies in the U.S., only about 120 are chosen each year for this distinction.

In order to participate, an agency must first be nominated by the Big “I.” Then, it must submit detailed financial and operational information which is analyzed, scored, and ranked objectively based on operational excellence, including: outstanding customer services, growth, stability, and financial management. The top agencies in six revenue categories are included, notified and deemed "Best Practices Agencies."

Each year, the Big “I” publishes its "Best Practices Study" using financial and operational data collected from agencies throughout the United States. The 2021 Best Practices Study will be available later this year. It will include a list of all the Best Practices Agencies by state and the results of the study.

To learn more about what it takes to be a "Best Practices Agency," visit www.independentagent.com/best-practices.

About Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big "I") is a national alliance of more than a quarter million business owners and their employees who offer all types of insurance and financial services products. For more information, visit www.independentagent.com.

Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ Podcast Publishes 100th Episode

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

StudioOne™, Rancho Mesa’s media productions team, is very excited to announce the publishing of the Safety and Risk Management podcast network’s 100th episode!

In January 2020, the podcast originally launched as a way for industry professionals to share safety and risk management knowledge with their peers. What started out as the release of one to two episodes a month, soon became two episodes a week. StudioOne broadened their audience and began recording weekly industry news insights, law updates, and episodes to get to know the Rancho Mesa team and industry partners.

The 100th episode is close to Rancho Mesa’s hearts because it discusses how the podcast came to life, the motivation to start interviewing guests, how we are able to record, edit, and release content, and even includes some fun behind the scenes content.

Rancho Mesa could not do this podcast without our team, carrier partners, and listeners like you. We want to thank our sponsors Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, CNA, CompWest, ICW Group, Nationwide, Sentry, and Zenith for believing in Rancho Mesa and supporting our efforts to educate our clients and community.

Subscribe to the StudioOne™ Safety and Risk Management Network podcast on your favorite platform to never miss an episode. Episodes can also be listened to from your computer by visiting the StudioOne webpage.

Rancho Mesa Named CompWest Southern California Agency of the Year

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance is thrilled to announce that we have been named the CompWest Southern California Regional Agency of the Year!

“We are excited and honored to be recognized with this prestigious award by CompWest,” commented Dave Garcia, President of Rancho Mesa. “I know CompWest works with many other agencies, so to be singled out and given this award really means a lot to me and speaks to our outstanding business partnership with them.”

Gene Simpson, Regional President of CompWest, agrees with Dave, “you’ve built an amazing agency and truly set the bar for partnership.”

Thanks to all of CompWest Insurance Company. Here's to a great 2021!

About CompWest Insurance Company
CompWest Insurance Company is a dynamic provider of workers’ compensation insurance in California and select Western states, targeting customers in health care, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, retail and wholesale services and construction. To learn more, visit compwestinsurance.com.

Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ Podcast Hits 5,000 plays

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications & Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurances Services, Inc.

I love StudioOne, so click another play on our podcast, hey, hey! I love StudioOne, we hit 5,000 plays so dance with me!

That’s right, it’s been a year since the launch of our StudioOne podcast, and we are celebrating 5,000 plays. With over 75 episodes recorded, produced and published so far, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve had the pleasure of talking to a wide variety of people ranging from insurance carriers, industry professionals, safety advocates, COVID-19 advisors and even our own Rancho Mesa team, making our podcast a great resource for just about anyone in any industry.

StudioOne is Rancho Mesa Insurance Services' Media Communications department. This innovative and talented team is responsible for producing the company’s marketing materials, newsletter, podcasts, social media posts, videos, and website.

The media communications team uses its nearly 20 years of combined experience in communications,   graphic and web design, marketing, and new media to develop OneofOne® creative materials that showcase Rancho Mesa’s commitment to stand out from the crowd.

The StudioOne podcast is available on most major streaming platforms. New episodes are released weekly so head over to your favorite podcast platform and subscribe today!

Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa Welcomes Account Coordinator, Mel Chibende

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services is excited to announce the hiring of Mel Chibende, as an Account Coordinator with the Employee Benefits Department.

Mel brings with him several years of administrative and benefits experience, as well as a positive essence and energy that will add to Rancho Mesa’s dedicated team.

Mel was born in Zambia and moved to the U.S when he was 5-years-old. He has lived in Michigan, Texas, Nebraska, Florida, Washington, and now California.

Mel currently resides in Mira Mesa with his wife, Jojet, and their son, Judah. Mel enjoys reading, playing basketball, soccer and has recently gotten into hiking!

Rancho Mesa is thrilled to welcome Mel Chibende to the RMI family!

Employee Spotlight: Rancho Mesa Welcomes Account Executive, Trevor Frank

Author, Lauren Stumpf, Media Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services is pleased to announce the hiring of Trevor Frank, an Account Executive for Plumbing and HVAC contractors.

Trevor grew up in San Diego East County. He recently moved back after seven years of playing baseball in over half of the United States and three different countries. In his free time, Trevor enjoys many outdoor activities.

Trevor’s background in management, customer service, and teamwork make him an ideal fit for Rancho Mesa’s growing team. He specializes in Risk Management for plumbing and HVAC contractors.

Trevor played seven years professionally in the most stressful job there is in baseball, a closing pitcher. Being in that role, he had to understand the meaning of teamwork, goals and plan of attack. When things were on the line he had to study the situation at hand, relax and get the job done for the team. In the off-seasons, he worked to perfect his communication and customer service skills, while building strong relationships. As a pitching coordinator for a very successful player development facility, Trevor used his skills and knowledge to inspire and fine tune the potential within his pitchers. His team-focused attitude and dedication translates well into coaching his construction clients with their insurance needs.

Rancho Mesa is excited to welcome Trevor Frank to the RMI team!

A Day at Petco Park

Rancho Mesa employees Daniel Frazee and Shane Medlin shared in a wonderful afternoon playing a new type of golf at The Links at Petco Park. Hosted by LISI Insurance’s Regional Sales Manager Tommy Gaffney, the foursome also included Stacy Moskowitz, Kaiser Permanente’s Senior Sales Executive.

The group immersed themselves in the nine-hole course which featured a combination of signature holes throughout the stadium. Golfers were escorted by their own dedicated caddy for the entirety of the course and finished their day on the Western Metal Rooftop, which was transformed into a socially distanced “clubhouse” with the opportunity to relax with additional food and beverages.

No Tricks by Rancho Mesa, Just Treats for the Boys & Girls Club

Author, Emily Marasso, Media Communications Assistant, Rancho Mesa Insurances Services, Inc.

Over the last few weeks, as we’ve heard more and more about what a different Halloween this is going to be for children everywhere, we wanted to try and help put a few smiles on children’s faces. “With COVID-19, we all feel a sense of fatigue and desire to go back to life as it once was. But, for now that isn’t possible,” said Dave Garcia, President of Rancho Mesa. “We thought, as the Rancho Mesa family, we could maybe bring some joy to a few children this Halloween.”

So, we came up with the idea to package 500 trick or treat bags; loaded with candy, a gaiter facemask, and mini hand sanitizers donated by Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, and distribute them through two of our clients: the Boys & Girls Clubs of both East County and South Bay.

Rancho Mesa team members, Kim Vasquez, Lori Stone, Alyssa Burley, and Sierra Stone ordered all the goodies and for the last four weeks have been filling the treat bags during lunch. 

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the four of them stepping up and finding the time to make this happen – and I can’t wait to see pictures of the smiles on those children’s faces,” says Dave.

Beginning this week, the Boys & Girls Clubs will begin handing out the trick or treat bags to all the kids that visit the clubs. With each bag, there is a printed card asking them to take a picture of themselves and send it back to us so that we can post their smiling faces for everyone to enjoy.

Be sure to check back next week as we post all those smiling faces. Happy Halloween from the Ranch Mesa family!

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Ghosts, goblins and pumpkins, oh my! 

Witches flying on brooms through the sky. 

Halloween is particularly spooky this year,

Thanks to the Evil Dr. COVID we had extra to fear.

But fear not, our RMI team quickly got to work,

On a special surprise that would surely bring a smirk.

Bags filled with candy, toys and masks,

Even some hand sanitizer for those everyday tasks.

Then off to the Boys & Girls Club 500 bags went,

For all the sweet little ones whose days are spent,

With the amazing staff and team at the Boys & Girls Club,

So of course, we couldn’t help but want to spread the love.

From all of us at the Rancho Mesa Team,

We want to wish you all a fun, and safe, Halloween!

Rancho Mesa Named "Best Practices" Agency in National Competition for 14th Consecutive Year

Author, Alyssa Burley Media Communications and Client Services Manager, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Santee, CA, August 2020 - Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., a leading Southern California-based commercial insurance brokerage firm, has been awarded the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (Big “I”) Best Practices Agency designation for the fourteen consecutive year.

An elite group of agencies endure a comprehensive analysis of their methods, practices and financials to determine the best agencies in the industry. Of the roughly 36,500 independent insurance agencies in the U.S., only about 250 across the nation are chosen each year for this distinction. In California, Rancho Mesa is among about a dozen agencies to earn the Best Practices status.

The data collected from these Best Practices independent insurance agencies is studied and used to establish benchmarks in which other agencies can measure their performance and adjust their businesses based on the best practices guidelines established through the study.

In order to participate, an agency must first be nominated by the Big “I.” Then, it must submit detailed financial and operational information which is analyzed, scored, and ranked objectively based on operational excellence, including: outstanding customer services, growth, stability, and financial management.

Each year, the Big “I” publishes its "Best Practices Study" using financial and operational data collected from agencies throughout the United States. The 2020 Best Practices Study will be available later this year. It will include a list of all the Best Practices Agencies by state and the results of the study.

To learn more about what it takes to be a "Best Practices Agency," visit www.independentagent.com/best-practices.

About Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa was founded in 1998 and is regarded as a leading Southern California insurance agency with recognized expertise in construction, landscape and nonprofit/social services. The company provides its clients with risk management services, comprehensive insurance programs, bonding, employee benefits, and industry specific training.