Rancho Mesa Hosts Workers' Compensation Anti-Fraud Workshop

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa clients gathered at the Fraud Within the CA Workers' Compensation System Workshop on Thursday, August 10, 2017 held at the San Diego Christian College campus in Santee.  ICW Group’s, Christopher Dill from the Special Investigations Unit, gave an informative presentation.

ICW Group' Special Investigations Unit has been nationally recognized for its significant contribution towards the prosecution of, what California Department of Insurance deemed to be, one of the largest cases of Workers’ Compensation health care fraud in state history.  

Christopher provided an overview of the elements of the cases which made up “Operation Back Lash,”  the role of advanced analytics in the identification of patterns associated with the criminal schemes,  and what can potentially be learned from those patterns.

To learn more about Fraud within the CA Workers' Compensation System, contact Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. at (619) (619) 937-0164

Employee Spotlight: Debbie Milburn Returns to Rancho Mesa

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa is excited to announce Debbie Milburn’s return to the Rancho Mesa Team as Senior Account Manager for Employee Benefits.

“She’ll be working for us primarily from Austin, TX, although she’ll be visiting us regularly, and as needed, to support the agency and to continue to take care of our clients,” said Brian Armstrong, Director of Employee Benefits.

Beginning her career in the health insurance industry in 1990, Debbie brings more than 25 years of experience to our health benefits department.  She has joined Rancho Mesa to team up with Brian Armstrong, to focus on enhanced service and expertise we deliver to our clients.

Employee Spotlight: John Parker Promoted to Account Manager

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa is pleased to announce and congratulate John Parker on his promotion to Account Manager.

"Through his determination to succeed and hard work, he has demonstrated to us the expertise and understanding necessary to take the next step," said Kim Vasquez, Vice President of Account Services.

In college, John worked summers at his mom's insurance agency.  In 2014, he started his official insurance career at Willis in Irvine, CA.  John then moved back home to San Diego and began working at Rancho Mesa in 2015.

John will be supporting Jeremy Hoolihan's book of business.

Client Spotlight: UCP Annual 35th Golf Classic Raises $57,000

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

For the 35th year, golfers rallied their support at the annual United Cerebral Palsy Golf Classic on Monday, July 10th, 2017 at the El Camino Country Club in Oceanside, CA.  After a challenging day out on the course, participants raised $57,000 for United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. was honored to be the title sponsor for the event and would like to thank all of the associate sponsors for their support: The Land Stewards, Rose Munns and Chin, Location Edit, Enterprise Truck Rental, and Bob Stall Chevrolet – La Mesa.

Visit the event's facebook album for pictures from the event.

^{Video courtesy of United Cerebral Palsy of San Diego County}

Rancho Mesa Offers Specialized NonProfit Risk Management Center

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Image courtesy of The Nonprofit Risk Management Center

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., specializing in Nonprofit and Human Services since 1989, recently added The Nonprofit Risk Management Center, headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, to its already strong compliment of Nonprofit and Human Services risk management resources. This unique tool allows Rancho Mesa to identity its clients’ exposures within their individual missions and address potential shortcomings in existing risk management plans.

“The cost of an insurance claim to a nonprofit often extends beyond repairing property or medical bills”, notes Sam Brown, Vice President Human Services Group at Rancho Mesa.  “Exhausted employee capital, damage to decade’s worth of goodwill in the community, and the slowing of private donations can all happen in a matter of days. The Nonprofit Risk Management Center helps Rancho Mesa clients avoid claims and unforeseen costs.”

“We enable nonprofit leaders to identify and manage risks that threaten their missions and operations, while empowering them to leverage opportunities and take bold, mission-advancing risks,” according to NonprofitRisk.org.

Rancho Mesa now offers its clients the following resources:

• My Risk Assessment: Each question and answer module identifies risk, notes gaps, and offers specific advice.
• Risk Help: Unlimited risk management advice by phone or email,
• My Risk Management Policies: Online access to 100+ customizable risk management templates.
• My Risk Management Plan: Online access to customizable modules; includes employment practices, harm to clients, transportation, alcohol service policy, volunteer management and financial management.
• Webinar vault (150+ videos): Sample topics include Legal Risk, Financial Risk, and Children & Family Services

Please contact Sam Brown or Chase Hixson to learn how Rancho Mesa Insurance Services and the Nonprofit Risk Management Center can protect your organization’s interests.

Employee Spotlight: Yvonne Gallagher

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Photo courtesy of Family Health Centers of San Diego

Rancho Mesa Account Manager, Yvonne Gallagher, recently attended the Spirit of the Barrio luncheon, a bi-monthly fund-raising event benefiting the Family Health Centers of San Diego, on July 21, 2017 at the Logan Heights Family Health Center.  Yvonne won a gift card at the raffle drawing and her photo was featured in the event's September invitation. 

The Spirit of the Barrio event serves to bring awareness about the organization's mission to the community and raises funding to support its programs.  

About Family Health Centers of San Diego
Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) is a nonprofit organization rich in history and tradition. In 1911, the San Diego Industrial School was built on the site where our first clinic now stands. This school was originally a settlement house that provided Barrio Logan’s immigrant residents with social services. The community grew around this location, and by 1940, Barrio Logan had become one of the largest Mexican-American communities on the West Coast.

To learn more about the Spirit of the Barrio luncheon and Family Health Centers of San Diego, visit: www.fhcsd.org.

Rancho Mesa Hosts Payment Remedies Workshop

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa clients gathered at the Payment Remedies Workshop on Thursday, July 20, 2017 held at the San Diego Christian College campus in Santee.  Failure to know and comply with requirements can result in a forfeiture of your statutory payment remedies.  Over 30 people attended the important event to learn how to avoid payment pitfalls.

Rancho Mesa's Matt Gaynor invited Kevin R. Carlin, Esq. from Carlin Law Group, APC to give the hour-long presentation.  The workshop covered various topics including:

• Preliminary Notices
• Lien Waivers & Releases
• Mechanic’s Liens
• Stop Payment Notices
• Payment Bond Claims
• Retention Reduction
• Prompt Payment Deadline

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Attendees were provided with a copy of the detailed presentation slides, along with a cheat sheet to assist them if they have payment issues in the future.

Contact Rancho Mesa at (619) 937-0164 for questions about your bonding or payment remedies.

About Carlin Law Group, APC
The Carlin Law Group, APC's construction and surety practice provides experienced and effective counsel in project management, claims and litigation involving owners, sureties, contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers. The firm prides itself on its knowledgeable and personalized service, striving to achieve results in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The Carlin Law Group, APC is also one of the few law firms where its attorneys have personal and professional construction experience providing them invaluable insight and first-hand knowledge into how projects are built and specific industry needs. 

Rancho Mesa Supports Family Health Centers' Mobile Medical Unit

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance is pleased to support the Family Health Centers of San Diego's (FHCSD) Mobile Medical Unit (MMU). Donating nearly $1,000,000 to various community organizations throughout San Diego, Rancho Mesa continues to support local nonprofits like FHCSD.

"For over 20 years, Rancho Mesa Insurance has continually supported the mission of FHCSD, particularly our pediatric exam rooms, homeless healthcare services and multiple capital campaigns for new clinics. Recently, they pledged to support our Mobile Medical Units to keep them operational and providing quality health care to those who lack transportation," wrote the Family Health Centers of San Diego in the June 2017 issue of Adelante. "We thank Rancho Mesa Insurance for their continued support and commitment to helping the patients of FHCSD!"

Family Health Centers of San Diego
For more than four decades, Family Health Centers of San Diego’s (FHCSD) mission has been to provide affordable, high-quality health care and support services to all people, with a special commitment to the uninsured, low-income and medically underserved. Annually, the staff provides care to more than 190,000 unique patients—a third of the region’s low-income patients—through more than 800,000 encounters. For more information about the Family Health Centers of San Diego, visit www.fhcsd.org.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. Named "Best Practices" Agency for 11th Consecutive Year

Author Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc., a leading Southern California-based commercial insurance brokerage firm, for the eleventh consecutive year, has been included in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's (IIABA) elite group of “Best Practices” agencies. 

Of the roughly 38,000 independent insurance agencies in the country, only 241 retained their “Best Practices” agency status in 2017. In California, Rancho Mesa is one of only fourteen agencies to earn the distinction.

An agency must first be nominated by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (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 IIABA publishes its "Best Practices Study" using financial and operational data collected from agencies throughout the United States. The 2017 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," read the article "Characteristics of a Best Practices Agency Explained" published by the IIABA.

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 and nonprofit/social services. They provide their clients with risk management services, comprehensive insurance programs, bonding, employee benefits, and industry specific training.

Mobility & Stretch Program Workshop

Author, Alyssa Burley, Client Services Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Thursday, June 22, 2017, Rancho Mesa clients gathered to learn about the Mobility & Stretch Program designed to reduce employee injuries and workers' compensation costs at a workshop held at San Diego Christian College.

Drew Garcia, the NALP Program Director, introduced the crowd to the mobility and stretch program. He provided data to support the idea that prevention of injuries through a mobility and stretch program can reduce workers' compensation costs for employers.

Personal Trainer and developer of the program, Collin Dawson, was on site to demonstrate the program and answer questions from the participants.

The Mobility & Stretch Program is offered in both English and Spanish.

Watch the Mobility & Stretch Program Instructional Video.