Happy Holidays To The Boys and Girls Club of Vista

Posted on December 15, 2022December 15, 2022 by Seth Arruda

All the gifts provided by our wonderful staff before we pack them in Santa’s sleigh. (Santa drives a Subaru Outback in this story)

The holidays are here! As Christmas approaches and the hustle and bustle of the year comes to a close, we reflect on the many things we’re thankful for and take some time to be with our family and friends. For some of us the true meaning of the holidays is not the gifts we “receive” but the gift of “giving” that leaves us with a warm feeling in our hearts like a batch of cookies right from the oven.

Every year at this time our agency participates in the “Adopt a Family” program with the Boys and Girls Club of Vista, a local charity right in our community that we’ve been working with since 2017. Each year we are assigned a family that are members of the Boys and Girls Club who are in need of support around the holidays. We get a wish list of presents for each child and some items and gift certificates for the parents to make their holiday season a little brighter.

This year we have a large family that we were paired up with and all of our staff stepped up and went above and beyond! Clothes, toys, games, puzzles, gift cards, are just of the few items the kids requested on their lists and our team at Alta Vista Insurance went out and picked up all the items and much more. The presents, gifts, and gift cards were stacked in Santa’s sack tightly, we almost needed to take two trips in our sleigh.

When we arrived at the Boys and Girls Club of Vista, California, the staff were overwhelmed by the amount of presents we brought. They were so excited to make this family’s holiday season one to remember. Knowing that we can make a positive impact right here in our own community around the holidays is one of the ways we like to give back and support our local Vista, California community. As a local small business, we work with our clients and customers here in San Diego, California helping them protect their assets as their trusted insurance advisor and there are so many people that need help and support you don’t have to look very far. There are people right in our own community that are in need and we are very thankful to work with such a great cause. Working with the Boys and Girls Club of Vista is such a wonderful organization to work with and this program is just one way we help to ensure that the youth who attend the club have the resources they need to prepare for great futures.

I’m so proud to work with a staff that values the importance of community service and takes time out of their busy schedules to support the local charities we work with and give back through our service projects and charitable donations. We always make an effort to take time each year to give back to our local Vista, California community. As we spend time with our family and friends around the holidays, it’s nice to know we were able to make a small impact to make another family’s holiday season a little brighter.

The Boys and Girls Club of Vista meets the needs of over 2,800 kids a year, many from families who are of lower/moderate income households that rely exclusively on the broad range of services the Club provides. our mission is to empower every Club member, though safe and impactful experiences to graduate high school with a plan for college and career, contribute to their community, and live a healthy life. We rely on community members who fill the gas so the Club can provide these services to Vista’s kids. Member pay $50 a year to join, but the actual cost is $702/child.

Donate To This Great Organization Here

National Insurance Industry Council – Spirit of Life Honoree – City of Hope Gala 2022

Posted on September 13, 2022September 27, 2022 by Morgan Hege

City of Hope Gala – Hard Rock Hotel San Diego

Paul Patterson along with Sandi Grigg from The Hartford Insurance invited my wife and I from Alta Vista Insurance along with our friends Brandon and Justina Strausbaugh from Pauma Valley Insurance to the 2022 City of Hope Gala.

National Insurance Industry Council | Spirit of Life Honoree | City of Hope

The Spirit of Life® Award is City of Hope’s most prestigious honor, presented to an esteemed community of industry leaders around the world who have made a significant commitment to support those in need. Honorees are selected for their notable contributions to the community in which they live and the profession in which they work. This year, the National Insurance Industry Council (NIIC) honors Joel Cavaness, President, Risk Placement Services.

We were able to “Rise our paddle” for Lung Cancer Research performed at City of Hope and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. Truly a special evening, for a very special cause.

Feeding School kids with the Food Bank North County Vista Branch!

Posted on September 13, 2022September 27, 2022 by Morgan Hege

We are back at it again!

Breaking the Rules! Beth Walls, Sandi Grigg, Vira Rodriguez, Jim Owen, Holly Bishop and Raymond Lowder fill over 500 meal bags! Recorded by Morgan Hege

Last Friday, September 9th, 2022 we shut down the office early at noon to go help our community by volunteering at the North County San Diego Food Bank again! We had a ton of fun back in June helping put together meals for those with food insecurity here in Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, that we decided to come back for round 2 and put together over 500 meals for students at risk from Valley Elementary in Poway and Cesar Chavez from San Diego Unified.

How was it George? He was perspiring, or as Geo likes to say; “perspering” The whole team with Vira Rodriguez, commercial lines account manager, Sandi Grigg – The Hartford Insurance, and George Francis all were “perspiring” after assembling more than 500 meals for youth in our community. Holly Bishop didn’t want to be on camera! But here are are few video clips from our adventure!

Also, we got Natalie, our Food Bank Volunteer Coordinator to smile “ear to ear” in her own words with all the work we did to help feed our community in North San Diego County Food Bank! The schools we Valley Elementary in Poway, and Cesar Chavez for San Diego Unified School District. 300 and change, and we did two orders of 500 each (so 1,000 meals to food insecure kid-o’s here in our community) Watch the clip here.

Thank you to everyone that came out for the event. We will do something else fun and of service some time late in 2022. Until then, stay safe, stay well, and have a great fall season!

Pacific Plastics was also on scene to serve! We were excited to give back to the community with them too. If you need injection molding here in Vista, they are your ticket! Fun folks, that know how to work the line!

ServPro of North Vista/San Marcos To The Rescue!

Posted on August 29, 2022September 13, 2022 by Seth Arruda

We wanted to give a big shout out to Servpro of North Vista/San Marcos for helping out one of our local elementary schools right here in Vista, CA.

Over the weekend there was a shed that was broken into and vandalized at T.H.E Leadership Academy, AKA Temple Heights Elementary. Luckily nothing was stolen but there was damage to the shed. The school was having a hard time trying to get the repairs completed so, we called up one of our clients, Servpro of North Vista/San Marcos to help out! They sent a team over to Temple Heights Elementary School and they repaired the shed at no cost to the school.

We love these types of success stories especially when our clients make a large impact in our community right here in Vista, CA. The students, teachers, and staff are so grateful for lending a hand. Thank you ServPro!

Brunch with The Hartford at Beach Break Café

Posted on July 22, 2022September 27, 2022 by Morgan Hege

Lisa and Sandi at Beach Break Cafe — Lisa and Sandi don’t think Morgan is that funny

Tandy Owen, Holly Bishop, George Francis order from the menu — Lisa and Sandi don’t think Morgan is that funny

We were excited to take a little trip to Beach Break Cafe Where we had lunch with Sandi Grigg, our carrier partner representative from The Hartford Insurance. We met to break bread and discuss business!

The food is really good at Beach Break Cafe. The coffee cake is home made, and really a special treat, I highly recommend it with any breakfast or lunch menu item, or just with a good cup of coffee. The portions are too big, even for me. I’m 6’5″ and 280 pounds!

For breakfast, if you like mexican food, I like the Huevos Rancheros with corn tortillias or the Chili Verde burrito (with extra verde sauce on the side!) and you won’t be disappointed with true Cali-mex style San Diego beach food.

The Hartford insures restaurants like Beach Break, and has competitive rates for workers compensation, general liability (slip and fall), and commercial property for your businesses building.

Gary and Zell started Beach Break Cafe as a great local go to spot after surfing, fire fighting, or just a great place to meet with your friends and family down by the beach. The Beach Break is now in the 2nd generation of family ownership!

Alta Vista Agency Community Service Project – Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank

Posted on June 24, 2022September 27, 2022 by Morgan Hege

Hi Clients, Friends and Family!

I wanted to share with you the great group of people I am blessed to work with. Did you know the San Diego Food Bank also has a North County location? The North County location serves over 10,000 families facing hunger in Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad and through out San Diego in need monthly with quality meals. We were excited to help our community!

North County Food Bank volunteers Raymond Lowder, Mark Lamb, Beth Walls, Morgan Hege, Tandy Owen, George Francis, from Alta Vista with Nancy Trejo from Safeco/Liberty Mutual *Thanks to Jim Owen too, not shown he was taking this picture!*

Our agency had a great time and a lot of fun on our recent community service project! We were happy to volunteer over 32 hours of our time today to help a great cause here in our community. During that time we moved over a thousand pounds of plums into five pound bags for distribution to those in need.

Raymond Lowder, Morgan Hege, George Francis waiting to get to work!

If you haven’t volunteered with the North County Food Bank before, I highly recommend it. We excited to help the North County Food Bank by sorting fresh plums into five pound bags for distribution to the community in Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido and throughout San Diego. Here is a great video about the people in our community benefiting from this program.

In addition to that, the North County location also servers as the Diaper bank for San Diego. Many young working moms are in need of diapers to send with their kids to day care to be able to get back into the workforce to make a difference. We at Alta Vista were excited to donate dozens of diapers, as well as our time this week! With 3 kids of my own (thankfully all out of diapers!) I know how expensive it can be to have kids in day care and keep them fed and in diapers. Here is the link if you would like to donate to this valuable community resource.

Vista Boys & Girls Club – Alta Vista Insurance Toy Drive December 2021

Posted on December 27, 2021September 27, 2022 by Morgan Hege

It was fun for everyone to support a local vista family in need for Christmas this year! For the past several years it’s been our pleasure to support a local family through the Vista Boy’s and Girls Club. We hope our our clients, friends and family enjoy this Christmas season. God Bless Us Everyone! ~ Morgan

Good morning! Boys and Girls Club Vista thanks you all for supporting a local family in need this Christmas!!! Here’s a couple of pictures of all of the presents you purchased in preparation for delivery at the office, and then as they were delivered to BGCV Although we aren’t able to see the family, I’m sure they will be ‘all smiles’ on Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

at the Vista Boys and Girls club. I am so happy to work with you all on these fun projects. My 2022 resolution is to try to get together quarterly as a group like we did at Caio’s and to do a service project together with all of you like this next year. It doesn’t always have to be money. Hopefully we can volunteer time at the food bank, solutions for change, womens resource center, Vista Boys and Girls Club, or some of the other excellent community service organizations we are blessed to have here in San Diego that need our support.

Alta Vista Insurance Was Chosen As One Of The Best Homeowners Insurance Agencies in Vista, California By Expertise.com

Posted on May 14, 2021May 17, 2021 by Seth Arruda

Expertise.com scored 65 agencies in Vista, California and selected the top 8 for 2021!

Recognition as a subject matter expert in homeowners insurance in San Diego, California shows how dedicated we are to helping our clients protect their lifestyles and their most valuable assets, their homes. So, when Alta Vista Insurance was selected as one of the top 8 personal lines insurance agencies in Vista, California for homeowners insurance by expertise.com we were very excited to be recognized for the amazing service we provide to our San Diego community and throughout California.

Our goal is to be an expert in real estate asset protection in San Diego, California. Focusing on property insurance is one of the cornerstones of our clients’ asset portfolios and that’s where we shine. Providing the proper education about the importance of financial protection gives our clients a solid foundation to build wealth and achieve financial freedom. Partner that with a subject matter expert that specializes in personal insurance like homeowners insurance, auto insurance, landlord insurance, flood insurance and earthquake insurance along with commercial property insurance, general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, workers compensation, and cyber liability insurance in California and you have a healthy ecosystem to protect your personal and commercial assets.

“We want to give our clients the personal guidance and advice, so they feel empowered to make educated choices about their insurance. Be the guide in their story. We want to guide our clients through their insurance protection and put a plan together that leads our customers to success, so they can reach new heights. We invite our clients into a story where they have peace of mind and all their assets are properly protected.”

This is another feather in our cap and award to put on our mantel. The last two years, 2019 and 2020 Alta Vista Insurance was selected as Agency For The Future with Safeco Insurance and Liberty Mutual!

“This group includes some of the most innovative agencies in the entire independent agent channel. While they are all unique – each with their own distinct value proposition, customer focus and company culture – what they have most in common is in just how prepared they were to tackle the challenges of 2020 head on. They quickly adapted to the changing market conditions brought about by the pandemic, fully embraced digital to ensure the customer experienced remained strong, and continued to cultivate great corporate cultures to keep their teams engaged.”
-Tyler Asher, President of independent agency distribution for Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance.

The “proof is in the pudding”. I could go on and on and tell you all about the great work we do for our clients but it’s better to hear their stories. Check out some our client testimonials on our Google Business Page.

Visit Our Google Business Page

As an independent agency here in Vista, California since 1978, we’re no stranger to the neighborhood. Ever since then we’ve focused on personal and commercial property in San Diego, California working with real estate investors, property owners, homeowners, and new home buyers to give them the right plan to protect their lifestyles. We also focus efforts on helping other strategic partners in San Diego, California grow their businesses through our expertise and knowledge as an insurance guide to help them reach new heights in their businesses and provide their clients with a personal risk manager. We form long lasting relationships throughout Vista, California and all of San Diego with real estate agents, commercial real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders, bankers, CPA’s and attorneys.

We work strategically with business partners, especially real estate agents, to help those individuals grow their businesses, save time, and save money. One of our main focuses is to help agents close their transactions smoothly and on time and provide their clients with the proper protection they need for their lifestyles so they can live their best life. Insurance is a relationship business. Our goal is to build long lasting relationships with our clients, business partners, and our community.”

Expertise.com based their selections on a number of different criteria. They also looked at our online presence and social proof. They even took the time to test our strengthens with their surprise “mystery shopper” calls to ensure their list of insurance agencies are of the highest quality. Let’s just say, we passed with flying colors! Our staff was friendly, accommodating and answered all questions about bundling personal insurance and available discounts. Their selection criteria consists of five major categories.

1. Availability

Consistently approachable and responsive, so customers never feel ignored.

2. Qualifications

Building customer confidence with licensing, accreditations, and awards.

3. Reputation

A history of delighted customers and outstanding service.

4. Experience

Masters of their craft, based on years of practical experience and education.

5. Professionalism

Providing service with honesty, reliability, and respect.

Recognition and awards tell a story that we’re doing things right and putting our clients in San Diego, California first and we’re just getting started. Leveraging technology and our systems to create a seamless positive customer experience is a big focus as we look at new ways to meet the needs of our customers in the 21st century. We’re using more video and social media to educate our clients throughout the customer journey. Text messaging alerts and automation to keep clients informed about policy notifications and upcoming renewals has been a great addition to our client experience. During COVID-19 we’re able to reach our customers through virtual meetings using Microsoft Teams and book appointments using our online virtual calendar. If you’re looking for a better insurance experience and a personal guide to keep you informed about how to protect your lifestyle, we’d like to welcome you to Alta Vista Insurance.

Book Appointment