Educate Your Employees During National Cyber Security Awareness Month
This October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, an event co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) in order to raise awareness of the importance of cyber security issues. While the event is designed to highlight some of the nation’s cyber security precautions, as well as how to be prepared in the event of a national cyber security incident, much of the focus is on good cyber security practices for the average individual.
Specifically, the groups are trying to promote their “Stop. Think. Connect.” and Stay Safe Online campaigns—efforts that teach good cyber security in terms everyone can understand. In order to encourage your employees to practice good cyber security, review the following lessons with them:
- Password Security: More powerful computers have given criminals the ability to crack passwords easily. Passwords with a mix of capitalized and lowercase letters—as well as numbers, symbols and other special characters—are much harder to crack. And, though it should go without saying, make sure your employees don’t write their passwords down in plain sight in their work spaces.
- Phishing Scams: A number of different scams could fall into this category, but they all have commonalities that your employees should be aware of. Never open an email from an unknown source, and never click on a link in an email unless both the sender and the link can be trusted.
- Software Updates: Security patches are designed to fix known vulnerabilities. Make sure your employees download the latest security patches when they become available.
Those wishing to participate in this year’s activities can find a number of resources available online, or contact me for further cyber security materials.
-JK
Get Around So Cal on the Metrolink
If you live in Southern California, or have ever visited, you know that our transportation system is awful. More like non-existent. Uber, Lyft, and other ride sharing applications have made life better, but I am still jealous we don’t have a better way of getting around Southern California compared to most other metropolitan cities in the U.S.
Even though there’s the much needed improvement, you can get around various areas of Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire and Ventura pretty easily on Metrolink. I’m a huge fan and absolutely love to ride the Metrolink trains every chance I get. Considering we have family in south Orange County and a local Metrolink station a mile from our house, we ride the train often. Joanelle and I call it the No Stress Express. We took it down from Tustin to San Clemente on Saturday and back home again this past Sunday. Since the 5 freeway is always at a standstill, it’s nice cruising past certain sections of that freeway at 65 MPH while cars aren’t moving.
Here are a few pictures from our recent ride:
There are still some hiccups and minor delays at times, but it beats the stress of sitting in your car in traffic. Now if only the Metrolink can branch out in to the South Bay or Los Angeles somehow, life would be great! Just wish I could take it to work a couple days a week.
Connect with Metrolink here:
-JK
Tustin Chamber of Commerce Announces the Inaugural Tustin Hangar Half Marathon and 5K
The Tustin Chamber of Commerce, along with presenting sponsor Primo Fitness, announces the Inaugural Tustin Hangar Half Marathon and 5K. Both races will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at The District at Tustin Legacy. The Half Marathon will start at 7:00 a.m., with the 5K at 7:30 a.m.
Read more HERE
Living amidst the massive Tustin blimp hangars, I’m excited to sign up for this one. I get to see these every day driving BY them, but by signing up to race, I’ll actually get run THROUGH them.
Here’s the link to register: http://www.tustinhangarhalf.com
-JK
Can I Be Fined for not Carrying Workers Compensation Insurance?
Answer: Yes, you can be fined for not carrying workers’ compensation insurance and more. If the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (state labor commissioner) determines an employer is operating without workers’ compensation coverage, a stop order will be issued. This order prohibits the use of employee labor until coverage is obtained, and failure to observe it is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to 60 days, or by a fine of up to $10,000, or both. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement will also assess a penalty the greater of (1) twice the amount the employer would have paid in workers’ compensation premiums during the period the employer was uninsured, determined according to subdivision (c), or (2) the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per employee employed during the period the employer was uninsured. [Labor Code section 3722(b)].
Additionally, if an injured worker files a workers’ compensation claim that goes before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and a judge finds the employer had not secured insurance as required by law, when the dispute is resolved the uninsured employer may be assessed a penalty of $10,000 per employee on the payroll at the time of injury if the worker’s case was found to be compensable, or $2,000 per employee on the payroll at the time of injury if the worker’s case was non-compensable, up to a maximum of $100,000. [Labor Code Section 3722(d) and (f).]
Finally, as noted in answer to a previous question, failure to secure workers’ compensation insurance is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by both that imprisonment and fine. (Labor Code Section 3700.5)
If you need help with quotes for workers’ compensation insurance for your business, contact me today. We can market this with numerous carriers to find the best coverage and price.
-JK
Ballast Point Opens In Long Beach
Ballast Point, Long Beach’s latest brewery, officially opened Thursday Alamitos Bay Landing. The Ballast Point Tasting Room & Kitchen at the south end of the retail center (the former Khoury’s location). It’s their first location in Los Angeles County.
Joanelle and I met some friends for the Opening. This location alone is everything you could hope for and they did a great job with the design and set-up so you can enjoy the views. There are plenty of taps to serve but it was slammed for opening night at all 3 bars. This is a massive space and you can tell they plan to fill it daily. They have to fine tune the serving process, however and get used to the crowds. People aren’t going to want to wait 30-40 minutes every time they order a beer.
Nevertheless, I love the location. You can check out the waves inside the Seal Beach jetty, watch all kinds of sailboats glide in from the sea, and watch Hawaiian outrigger paddlers practice all within the cozy confines of the upper patio. We ventured downstairs for a bit to scope out the accommodations, but again being opening day, it was too crowded. I will be back, and soon. This is huge for Long Beach.
Here are some pictures from Thursday night:
-JK
Port of Long Beach Boat Tour
Along with the Long Beach Young Professionals we took a boat tour of the second busiest port in the United States tonight…..the Port of Long Beach. It was crazy to see the massive cargo ships front and center. It’s hard to convey how huge these behemoths really are. This video and picture don’t do it any justice:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHQ6SjOhIGU/
Each year, the Port handles:
- More than 6.8 million 20-foot container units (TEUs)
- Cargo valued at $180 billion
- 82.3 million metric tons of cargo
- 2,000 vessel calls
The Port’s loaded containers account for:
- 1/3 moving through all California ports
- 1/4 moving through all West Coast ports
- nearly 1 in 5 moving through all U.S. ports
Port-related employment
- 30,000 jobs (about one in eight) in Long Beach
- 316,000 jobs (or one in 22) in the five-county Southern California region
- 1.4 million jobs throughout the U.S. are related to Long Beach-generated trade
Thank you to the Long Beach Chamber and Long Beach Young Professionals for putting this on.
-JK
Insurance For Taco Bell Building
I post pictures of commercial buildings that I insure often here on my site. Of all the various commercial insurance risks I write, my favorite are commercial buildings, whether it be apartment complexes, retail strip malls, warehouses, or office buildings. I’d definitely consider it my main niche. I know all the best carriers for these and the appropriate coverage needed for building owners.
This is a building I insure in Lynwood, CA.
The owner was referred to me by a local banker in Palos Verdes a few years ago. They were in a rush to get the building insured practically on the spot to close a loan. As you can see, Taco Bell is the tenant of the building. The building is in beautiful shape and totally renovated. This allowed me to get coverage in place the same day.
It’s not a big flashy skyscraper, but it’s nice when you drive around town and see various businesses and properties that you insure.
The owner of this building and the banker who referred me couldn’t have been happier when we wrote this several years ago. We just renewed the property & general liability package policy in March. And hopefully we’ll be renewing for years to come representing the building owner.
-JK
Get Long Beach Emergency Info On You Cell Phone
During an emergency you need information in order to protect yourself, your family, and your property.
Alert Long Beach is a free service designed to keep everyone who lives or works in Long Beach informed – before, during and after a major emergency or disaster. And now, Alert Long Beach messages are now available in accessible formats for registered users who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and deaf/blind.
To get emergency alerts in American Sign Language, English, Spanish, or Tagalog, sign up at the City’s website: http://www.longbeach.gov/
-JK
Sharefest 13th Annual Community Workday
This past Saturday, April 30th, a small crew from our office participated in Sharefest’s 13th Annual Community Workday. Sharefest Community Development is an organization dedicated to creating an imprint of lasting positive change in the South Bay and Harbor areas of LA County. The organization does this by partnering with churches, businesses, civic leaders, schools, and residents.
The Sharefest Annual Workday is a community-building and service day that brings together volunteers of all ages to donate their time and talents to beautify and meet tangible needs at schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations in the South Bay and L.A. Harbor areas.
This year, 300+ projects were completed at 50 sites across the South Bay and Harbor areas. Posts were shared on social media from the various work sites using #SFWorkday.
Here’s a few pictures from our participation at Jane Addams Middle School in Lawndale, CA:
See more on the Sharefest Facebook Page
-JK
Participating On A Panel for Cyber Crime
This past Wednesday I was part of a panel for an educational workshop to discuss innovative ways to protect small businesses from cyber crime.
On the panel was an FBI Special Agent who shared FBI insights on fighting cyber crime. Akilah Kamaria from Blue Fields Digital Intelligence shared strategies organizations can use to prepare for and respond to a cyber incident. I shared information on cyber liability and data breach insurance and its role in helping to protect companies from cyber crime losses.
Special thanks to Akilah Kamaria for allowing inviting me to participate. Also, to Gal-A Photography for the professional photos:
Thank you for putting on such an important and great event!
-JK
About Me
I grew up in Fullerton, CA and graduated from Servite High School in Anaheim. I have my Bachelors degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. I currently live in Tustin, CA.
Please contact me if you need help with any of the following lines of insurance for your business:
-Cyber / Data Breach
-Commercial Property
-Commercial General Liability
-Products Liability
-Workers Compensation
-Commercial Auto
-Umbrella/Excess Liability
-Errors & Omissions/ Professional Liability
-Employment Practices Liability
-Directors & Officers
-Life & Disability Insurance
Jimmy Kinmartin, CPCU 