FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Publicity Contact:

Wendy Brickman

(831) 633-4444 or brickman [at] brickmanmarketing [dot] com

Onstad’s Insurance Agency’s 1st Annual CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday^™ event to focus on Earthquake and Disaster Preparedness Strategies for Families on April 16, 2016 at its San Ramon, California office.

San Ramon, CA. (March 2016) – Feel like you’re being shaken up a bit? Over the past 6 months, you have been rocking and rolling due to a swarm of over 600 small earthquakes centered in San Ramon and Danville that continue to occur in the region. What are the latest strategies to safeguard yourself and your family in the event of a major earthquake or other disaster? It’s smart to plan ahead!

There is an upcoming not-to-be-missed event that will provide valuable information to help you and your family better prepare for a larger earthquake that could occur as well as plan for other safety challenges. The 1^st Annual CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday^™ hosted by Onstad’s Insurance Agency will be held at their office parking lot at 3130 Crow Canyon Place in San Ramon, CA. CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday™ will take place on Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This fun, free family-friendly community safety event will provide important information about earthquake and disaster preparedness, and offer many more resources, demonstrations and important information to help keep the community safe.

You may only have seconds to protect yourself in an earthquake. Earthquakes, which cannot be predicted, are sudden rolling or shaking events caused by movement under the earth’s surface. Earthquakes happen along cracks in the earth's surface, called fault lines, and can be felt over large areas, although they usually last less than one minute.

According to Adena Reed, Associate Governmental Program Analyst and Outreach Liaison for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Earthquake and Tsunami Program, “California faces numerous risks and threats and is prone to earthquakes, floods, major wildfires, prolonged drought impacts, public health emergencies, school and cybersecurity attacks, agricultural and animal disasters, as well threats to homeland security. At Cal OES, we take a proactive approach to addressing these risks, threats, and vulnerabilities within our state.I have participated in many CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday events and I enjoy demonstrating how easy it is to prepare a preparedness kit that we can all keep in our vehicles and at home.”

Adena adds, “Preparedness is something you can practice with your family. There are four basic steps to better protect yourself and be prepared for a disaster:

1. Being informed
2. Making a plan
3. Building a kit
4. Getting involved.Check out these websites that have lots of helpful information on how to prepare and survive earthquakes and tsunamis:http://www.shakeout.org and http://www.tsunamizone.org.Darla Evers, a Principal of Onstad’s Insurance Agency, remarks, “During the first few hours or days following a disaster, essential services may not be available to everyone. Our community must be ready to act on their own and we are holding the CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday™ event to better inform and prepare ourselves.”CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday™, which was developed by CIG in 2010 and has been held throughout California and Nevada, features activities, demonstrations, and educational services designed to improve the safety and security of children, teens, families and communities. People of all ages will enjoy free games, prizes, food and a wealth of safety materials and resources from many different booths staffed by local and regional organizations.Parents can learn more about child car seat safety and correct child car seat installation at CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday.At Community Safety Saturday, parents and grandparents can take advantage of the complimentary child car-seat safety inspection station coordinated by California Highway Patrol with trained child car seat inspection technicians. National studies show that 80 to 90 percent of children are not properly restrained when in a vehicle, and about 90 percent of car seats are installed incorrectly. Experts will check for proper installation and give parents and caregivers critical information about installing car seats correctly for their child and particular vehicle. Certified technicians will check for proper installation and give parents and caregivers critical information about installing car seats correctly for their particular child and vehicle. California Highway Patrol will also provide information for its important Start Smart teen driver education classes. Start Smart classes attended by teens and their parents or guardians significantly increase traffic safety knowledge and better prepare teens for the road ahead. The CHP will bring information about their Impact Teen Driver program as well as talk to teens and parents about the dangers of distracted driving.Every parent has experienced the panic of not knowing where their child is, if only for a minute. Parents should always be prepared with child I.D. information. The KlaasKids Foundation Print-A-Thon is another important and free service that will be offered at Community Safety Saturday. The Print-A-Thon provides digital photo IDs and fingerprinting for every child. Parents receive a free DNA collection kit, child-safety tips, and a 9-point plan on what to do if their child disappears. KlaasKids is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to stop crimes against children by providing education and knowledge to the general public, and by promoting partnerships with concerned citizens, the private sector, organizations, law enforcement, and legislators. Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was abducted and murdered in 1993, advises, “The best way to avoid victimization is through education and knowledge.”KlaasKids will also present child-safety technology and programs including the Cocoon for KlaasKids, a browser that utilizes the Cloud to protect privacy and provide age-appropriate websites, Polly’s Guardian Angel, a missing-child alert system for iPhone and Android, and information about the KlaasKIDS National Search Center for Missing and Trafficked Children. Klaas remarks, “KlaasKids believes that technology has advanced to the point that certain applications can and do protect children from those wishing to exploit them.”Capital Insurance Group and the local Onstad’s Insurance Agency in San Ramon will be at the event’s main booth with additional safety information, giveaways and prize drawings. Prize drawings include exciting, family-oriented giveaways.John La Porta, Director of Sales and Marketing at CIG Insurance remarks, “Through our Community Safety Saturday events, we are deeply committed to helping the community learn how to better protect themselves and their families and become better prepared for earthquakes and other potential disasters.” Community Safety Saturday will feature the following attractions and more:• California Highway Patrol – Dublin Area will conduct a complimentary Child Car Seat Inspection Activity and have information about registering for their Start Smart Teen Driving Education Classes. • San Ramon Police Department will bring a squad car, McGruff the Crime Dog, safety giveaways, and information about traffic, bicycle and pedestrian safety.• Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department will do K9 demos and bring motorcycles, crime prevention information and more. • East Bay Regional Park District will provide information about trail hiking and bike safety, as well as bring coloring books and other giveaways.• East Bay Regional Park District Lifeguard Service will bring information about aquatic safety and life jackets.•California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services will provide educational materials about how to prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis. They will demonstrate how to make an earthquake kit for your vehicle.•FBI will distribute safety information for families.•San Ramon Valley Fire CERT will bring gas shut off valves to show the public how to use them during a disaster and will provide an example of an emergency preparedness backpack. They will bring fire prevention and CERT handouts.• KlaasKids Foundation will conduct their Print-A-Thon, a free service providing digital photo ID & fingerprinting for every child.• Contra Costa Crisis Center will bring information about the range of services the Crisis Center offers including their new Help Me Grow project of their 211 information and referral line as well as giveaways.•Street Smarts will provide information about their traffic safety campaign in the San Ramon Valley that educates educate drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians on issues related to traffic safety.They will have fun giveaways and books.• Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) will bring pet First Aid and emergency preparedness tips and information about their organization. • Contra Costa CAER will provide information about the Community Warning System. • Girl Scouts of Northern California and Brownie Troop 33249 will do face painting and share information about Girl Scouts and Brownies. •Boy Scouts Troop 834 will demonstrate how to make first aid kits and will provide safety information.• MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) will bring the MADD Crash Car plus information to prevent drugged and drunk driving.• The Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley will demonstrate bicycle safety and community emergency preparedness.• PG&E will have electrical and gas safety demonstrations and information. • The Restoration CleanUp Company will provide information about fire safety and water damage prevention Safety Whistle giveaways.• U.S. Forest Service will bring informational handouts and information about their One Less Spark and Drown, Stir and Feel fire prevention programs. 101.7 FM KKIQ Your Hometown Station! will be on site from 11 am – 1 pm with an on-air talent, live music, fun, games and prizes. For more information about CIG Insurance Community Safety Saturday, please go to www.CIGsafetysaturday.com or call (925) 866-1444. About Capital Insurance GroupCapital Insurance Group® (CIG) is the leading regional property and casualty insurer serving the Western U.S. since 1898. CIG insures Personal Auto, Homeowners, Farmowners, Condo Owners, Vacation Property, Renters, Apartment Building Owners, and many kinds of Commercial and Agricultural Auto and Property. The more-than-115-year-old company is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best, the independent financial monitor of the insurance industry. CIG manages personal, business, and agriculture risks underwritten by its affiliate companies: California Capital Insurance Company, Eagle West Insurance Company, Nevada Capital Insurance Company, and Monterey Insurance Company. Types of policies may vary from state to state. For more information, please visit www.CIGinsurance.com.CIG DELIVERS MORE. Continuously. ™About the KlaasKids FoundationThe KlaasKids Foundation was established by Marc Klaas in 1994 to give meaning to the death of his twelve-year-old daughter, kidnap and murder victim Polly Hannah Klaas, and to create a legacy in her name that would be protective of children for generations to come. The foundation’s mission is to stop crimes against children by providing education and knowledge to the general public and promoting partnerships with concerned citizens, the private sector, organizations, law enforcement and legislators. www.klaaskids.org