| | | | Welcome to Allied Brokers' October 2011 Newsletter! |
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| | Client of the Month |  A-A Lock
Fine Residential and Interior Locks
(800) 422-5625
website@aalock.com
www.aalock.com
Menlo Park | San Jose | San Leandro
A-A Lock provides stylish elegance in traditional and contemporary designs for residential applications. Solid forged and cast brass are hand polished to produce lustrous, easily maintained finishes.
Dedicated employees | 25 Vehicle Service Fleet
Geographically Centralized Call Center Operations
4 Full Service Locations | Precise Record Keeping
State of the Art Communications System
24 Hour Service | Online Troubleshooting
We can put you on our website as 'Customer of the Month'. This way, visitors to our website will also see your advertisement. And if you have any discounts or special deals, we will gladly advertise them for you, thereby increasing your exposure to potential customers.
Do you want to be our 'Customer of the Month' or be included in our 'Client Referral Network'? Call 650-328-1000 or send us an email to abcosales@alliedbrokers.com.
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| Customer Appreciation Drawing for Sharks Tickets |  You have supported us all these years and we want to say thanks by offering you a chance to win a pair of 'Club Level' Sharks tickets.
 Winner from Sep 2011 Drawing
Bob & Marlene Belstock
Client since 2002
Winner from 92 client respondents
To participate in this month's (Oct 2011) drawing (for Sharks Tickets) send an email with subject "Free Tickets - October 2011 Drawing".
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| Blue Shield Keeps Its Promise | In June of this Year Blue Shield of California had announced that all income in excess of 2% of revenue would be returned to clients. This commitment begins from fiscal 2010 and in October the excess income for 2010 which amount to $180 million was returned to clients and local communities.
For 2011 the amount to be returned is expected to be in the range of $295 million. Of this, $ 283 million will be credited back to clients in December bills. Individuals and fully insured group clients will each receive a credit of 54% to be set off against one month's premiums or dues. CalPERS and other risk sharing clients will get s credit of 18% which will be applicable in the same manner. These credits will be applied automatically and eligible clients will receive letters from Blue Shield in November informing them of the credit amount and other related information.
$10 million will be given to provider groups that applied grants to enable them to be participate in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and $2 million will be provided to support future community investment.
From more information on this subject, visit the Blue Shield of California website.
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| The Big ShakeOut | In California, the possibility of a major earthquake happening is something we all have to live with. Technology has still not been able to develop a method to accurately forecast quakes and what little advance warning we do get often comes too late to do any real good. The best form of protection is to be prepared and to know how to face the hazards to protect your property and your family to the maximum extent.
That is why The Great California ShakeOut was held on the 20th of October. The event is organized by Arrowhead General Insurance. In 2010 nearly 8 million Californians took part and the number this year was estimated to be even higher. The exercise is designed to enable individuals and organizations to be better prepared for large earthquakes and so reduce the loss to both life and property. Participants included individuals/families, schools and colleges, local, state and federal government, businesses, non-profit organization, community groups and many more.
This realistic exercise is based on the occurrence of a 7.8 magnitude quake along the San Andreas Fault. If a nearly 8 magnitude earthquake seems to be an extreme occurrence, the happening all over the world in the last year and the California's own quake history proves otherwise.
Visit www.shakeout.org to learn more about this year's event and plan for your participation next year. Nothing can prevent an earthquake but with the experience and knowledge that ShakeOut provides, you will be equipped to prepare, survive and recover from a major quake - one that will happen, sooner or later.
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| Insurance Premium News | It is not too late to claim the Affordable Care Act's Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. The filing deadline for many small businesses has already passed, but qualifying employers that provided insurance in 2010 can still claim this significant assistance on 2010 tax returns:
1. Small businesses that have yet to file - for example because they took advantage of the automatic extension - can claim the credit on their 1040 series returns.
2. Small businesses that have already filed and want to claim the credit can amend their returns using Form 1120X for corporations or Form 1040X for others, including individual sole proprietors.
3. Eligible tax-exempt organizations can claim the credit on Form 990-T.
4. Small businesses without taxable income to offset should remember that the credit is part of the general business credit for Tax Year 2010, meaning they may be eligible to carry back the credit for five years or forward for 20 years.
The credit is worth up to 35% of the health insurance premium costs a small business incurred for insuring its employees in 2010. Eligible small businesses that do not yet provide insurance can start doing so to claim the credit for 2011 forward.
The credit remains available for several years, so small employers should check each year to see if they are eligible.
More information is available on the IRS website at:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html.
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| About Us | Allied Brokers has been meeting the insurance needs of Bay Area individuals, professionals and businesses for over 50 years. Our clients depend on us not only to provide them the kind of insurance coverage they need but also to guide them in finding the best insurance options. We represent the leading insurance companies of the country and our long years of experience and insurance expertise allow us to find the right insurance solutions for every client and every contingency. Our dedication to client service means that we do not limit ourselves to selling you insurance; we focus on giving you the best and most cost effective coverage so that you focus on your life and your business. Why not visit our website at www.alliedbrokers.com to have a look at what we can do for you? The 'Contact Us' page provided all the information you need to get in touch with us. Or call us (toll free) at 1-888-505-7988. It's often not possible to prevent the worst from happening, but with Allied Brokers, you can always protect yourself from the consequences in the most cost effective manner possible.
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