10 Tips to Save Money on Long Beach Car Insurance

When’s the last time you reviewed your auto insurance policy? If you live in our area, you probably signed-up with a Long Beach car insurance company, began paying the monthly dues, and then essentially forgot about the policy. After all, how many of us really think about our car insurance policy unless we get in an accident and it all of a sudden becomes invaluable?

If you don’t review your policy regularly and stay in touch with your car insurance company, you may be missing out on some significant discounts. Take a moment to review these ten tips to save money on your Long Beach car insurance:

1. Bundle other policies: Having all of your insurance with one company not only makes it easier to keep track of your policies. It will likely save you money as well. You can typically save 10 to 15 percent if you buy your renters insurance or homeowners insurance from the same carrier.

2. Request higher deductibles: One of the best ways to save money on your Long Beach car insurance is to increase your deductibles. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay before your insurance company picks-up the rest of your tab. Assuming more risk by increasing your deductible from $500 to $1,000, for example, can save you as much as 30 percent on your car insurance.

3. Consider the value of the vehicle: Expensive cars cost more to repair and, consequently, cost more to insure. In addition to evaluating the value of the car, you should also do research to see which vehicles are popular with thieves and whether the car you’ve had your eye on has a good safety record. All of these factors can increase insurance premiums.

4. Prepay your insurance: Many car insurance companies charge up to 3 percent of the policy when you setup a monthly payment plan. You can avoid this extra expense by prepaying your insurance at the beginning of the year or at least every six months.

5. Ask about low mileage discounts: Many Long Beach car insurance companies offer low-mileage discounts if the vehicle gets driven a lower-than-average number of miles every year. For example, if you have a short daily commute and typically only drive your car to run errands around town, you may be eligible for a discount. This discount may also apply to a secondary vehicle that is rarely driven.

6. Maintain a good driving record: Many car insurance carriers will begin to offer discounts after three years of being accident and ticket free.

7. Ask about a renewal discount: You should also inquire about renewal discounts, which are typically given to policy owners who have a long history with the car insurance company. Most carriers are happy to provide a renewal discount if you haven’t had an accident or otherwise cost the company money for an extended period of time.

8. Ask about discounts for safety features: Many Long Beach car insurance companies offer discounts on vehicles with safety features such as anti-lock brakes, automatic seat belts, and air bags.

9. Opt-out of coverage you don’t need: You may want to drop collision or comprehensive coverage on older cars that have a low market value. This extra coverage probably isn’t worth it if a claim won’t likely exceed the cost of the insurance and the amount of the deductible.

10. Ask about discounts for teen drivers: Teens who pass a driver’s education course and maintain good grades can often receive reduced rates, as long as they are insured on your policy.

It’s important to keep in mind that reputation, service, and quality of coverage are the most important factors when selecting a Long Beach car insurance company, but we hope these tips will help you save money as well.

Learn more about purchasing the right type of car insurance for you and your family by visiting www.KellyWilliamsIns.com or calling 562.498.8661.

Kelly Williams is the president of Kelly Williams Insurance, an insurance company specializing in all lines of insurance including auto, home, life, health, and business. Kelly Williams Insurance was founded in 1895 and is based in Long Beach, California. Visit www.KellyWilliamsIns.com or call 562.498.8661 to learn more about the company’s personal and business insurance products.

Orange County Homecare Services Ensure Medication Compliance

Medication compliance is important for everyone taking prescription medications, but it is especially crucial for the elderly who generally have more difficulty with adherence. Why? Because the elderly are far more prone to noncompliance due to overuse and abuse, forgetting, and altering schedules and doses.

As a parent or other loved one, it can be difficult to be available every day to monitor adherence to medications, so hiring an Orange County homecare services agency to oversee medication compliance can ensure the daily safety of your loved one. This is critical, because decreased compliance to prescribed medications almost always leads to symptoms worsening, health declining, the need for additional treatment, hospitalizations and, most drastically of all, death.

The prevalence and consequences of noncompliance are alarming:

• Approximately 125,000 Americans pass away every year due to poor medication compliance
• As many as 25 percent of hospital and nursing home admissions are due to people being unable to take their prescriptions as directed
• As many as 40 percent of people do not follow their prescribed treatments and up to 20 percent of all new prescriptions go unfulfilled

An Orange County homecare services agency can make sure loved ones avoid becoming a statistic and enable them to live happily and safely in the comfort of their own homes. Proper medication compliance involves:

• Seniors understanding which medications they are taking and why they are taking them. They must also understand that their medications need to be continued as ordered by their doctor regardless of whether they feel better. Adherence is important for every medication, but especially for high cholesterol medication, antibiotics, and high blood pressure medication.
• Ensuring medications are refilled on time and throwing out expired prescriptions. Expired medications lose their efficacy and can cause toxic side effects.
• Making sure all medications are correctly labeled. If the senior is taking several prescriptions, it may be easier to remove the pills from their containers and put them in a daily pill organizer. An Orange County homecare services agency can refill the pill organizer each week and monitor daily use.
• Establishing daily routines, such as taking the first medications of the day with morning coffee, taking midday medications at lunch, and taking evening medications before bedtime. Knowing when they need to take their medications is often one of the biggest barriers for seniors to overcome.

The bottom line? All medications must be taken as prescribed, at the dosage prescribed, at the time prescribed, and for the length of time prescribed. Some seniors can manage prescriptions themselves. If they can’t and if family members are unavailable, the easiest and most cost-effective solution may be to hire an Orange County homecare services agency to ensure safety and medication compliance.

Visit www.CambrianHomecare.com or call 877.422.2270 to learn more about homecare services and medication compliance.

Rhiannon Acree is the founder and president of Cambrian Homecare, a homecare agency started in Long Beach, California in 1996. Cambrian Homecare serves Long Beach, the South Bay, Orange County, Palm Springs, Riverside, San Bernardino, and the San Gabriel Valley, employing professional caregivers that provide customized, flexible, non-medical homecare services seven days a week. Visit www.CambrianHomecare.com or call 877.422.2270.

Orange County Elderly Assistance Agencies Are Senior Advocates

Orange County elderly assistance provides seniors with a broad range of homecare services, including personal care, companionship, medication compliance, light housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation, and other services to provide support and enable them to live at home independently.

In addition to offering typical homecare services, an Orange County elderly assistance agency can be a senior’s advocate to look out for her best interests in the event of a hospital stay. When family members aren’t close by or are too busy to be available 24/7, a homecare agency can ensure the best possible care during a hospital stay.

Hospitals are overcrowded, nurses are overworked and, even though it isn’t intentional, compassionate patient care is often overlooked. More than anyone else, seniors need and deserve an advocate from the moment they enter the hospital until they safely return home.

A dedicated Orange County elderly assistance agency is acutely aware of a senior’s medical history, insurance, medications, personality, and daily needs. He or she also has a unique understanding of the senior’s condition that hospital caregivers will likely not know. This results in improved communication and a decrease in errors because the home caregiver is at their bedside throughout the duration of the hospital stay.

In addition, since the agency already has a trusting relationship established with the senior and her loved ones, it can be proactive and take charge in the event of an emergency. The Orange County elderly assistance agency can help ensure the senior gets to the hospital safely and quickly, provide the right information right away, and get her back to the comfort of her home faster and with better health outcomes. Since the home caregiver handles everything, family members—whether on the other side of town or on the other side of the world—can be confident that their loved one always receives the best possible care.

When your elderly loved one is in the hospital, an Orange County elderly assistance agency ensures:

• Regular, reliable communication between medical providers, the patient, and the family
• All treatment options are thoroughly discussed and all medical questions are asked and answered
• Companionship that improves comfort and quality of care
• Appropriate treatment by hospital staff
• Reduced levels of stress during the hospital stay and when she returns home
• Proactive hospital discharge planning
• Proper coordination of care for additional healthcare services when she arrives home

An Orange County elderly assistance homecare agency can be the difference between a problematic hospital stay and one that is controlled and stress-free. Visit www.CambrianHomecare.com or call 877.422.2270 to learn more about protecting your elderly loved ones and improving their quality of life.

Rhiannon Acree is the founder and president of Cambrian Homecare, a homecare agency started in Long Beach, California in 1996. Cambrian Homecare serves Long Beach, the South Bay, Orange County, Palm Springs, Riverside, San Bernardino, and the San Gabriel Valley, employing professional caregivers that provide customized, flexible, non-medical homecare services seven days a week. Visit www.CambrianHomecare.com or call 877.422.2270.

Professional Business Coaching Can Help Companies Leverage Conflict

Conflict is inevitable in business. We have different opinions and viewpoints, approach problems and solutions differently, and generally experience the world and the workplace in different ways. In a word, we’re “different.” And that’s a good thing, especially in business.

Conflict takes many forms. It can occur between coworkers, between managers and subordinates, and between employees and customers. Companies can either decide to view conflict as inherently negative, trying to avoid it whenever possible, or they can embrace and leverage conflict to create positive change.

Accepting conflict as the natural growing pains of your business can help you identify areas that need improvement and inspire creative solutions that propel the business forward. But in order to take advantage of conflict, it’s important to be able to manage it effectively. Professional business coaching firms can be instrumental in conflict management because they are objective and have proven strategies for using conflict to a company’s advantage.

Let’s look at the common causes of conflict and how it affects individuals and groups of employees. Here are a few reasons conflict occurs in the workplace:

• Disagreements about goals, priorities, and needs
• Different values, perceptions, and attitudes
• Not having enough people or financial resources to get the job done
• Poor communication
• An organizational structure that seems arbitrary and slanted to one individual
• A perceived lack of teamwork and/or a feeling that some people’s ideas are more important than others’
• Not having a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities

Professional business coaching firms generally segment conflict in the workplace into three areas: conflict between employees, conflict between groups of employees, and conflict within groups of employees. All of these conflicts are healthy in a growing company and, actually, are often necessary if the business is going to thrive.

Conflict between employees is often a result of differing personalities and styles of communication. Interpersonal conflicts can be volatile so it’s important for managers to recognize the signs of conflicts between individuals so they can be proactive in resolving disputes before they get out of hand. Typical signs include intentionally undermining one another and refusing to cooperate, needlessly contradicting each other, and ignoring one another completely.

Conflict can also arise between groups of employees. This often happens in departments where, for example, employees in the marketing department think they’re better than employees in the IT department. Professional business coaching firms will tell you that a little competition is healthy, but every department must work together as a team to achieve the goals of the organization. Just as with individuals, managers need to be keenly aware of their entire department’s behavior and have a plan of action to resolve conflicts before they become openly destructive. Signs of conflict between groups of employees include:

• Departments blatantly bad-mouthing other departments in meetings, on emails, or in other public ways
• One department being excluded from meetings or events that should include everyone, or even smaller groups within the department meeting separately to either directly or indirectly undermine the larger group

With the help of a professional business coaching firm, companies can learn ways to leverage conflict to create an environment where all ideas and opinions are valid, and everyone can be heard and respected. Whether between individuals, between departments, or within departments, conflict is almost always a positive thing as long as the corporate culture encourages lively debates. When employees know that their ideas will be taken into consideration, new ways of approaching challenges can inspire growth and, ultimately, produce a better product or service.

If you want to learn more about conflict management and innovative ways to turn conflicts into drivers of corporate development and improvement, contact a professional business coaching firm that specializes in successfully managing conflict for positive change. Visit www.ThinkBlueThinking.com or call 619.550.8052.


Bruno Raynal is the president and CEO of Blue Thinking, a business consulting firm based in San Diego, California. Bruno works with top level senior management to enhance their awareness of modern business practices and patterns so they can make informed choices, take the right action, and achieve their vision and goals. Learn more about Blue Thinking by visiting www.ThinkBlueThinking.com or calling 619.550.8052.