Part 3
Steve: Now, since quite a number of people who are listening to this interview and working on improving their English are people who live in B.C. and who may be fairly recent immigrants, and who may have not yet explored the interior of the province. They would be well advised to come and visit with BCAA. What are some of the popular destinations that people reach by car, and that you helped them plan their itinerary?
Colin: We have what we call "Tour Books" for different areas, and they outline the places you can stay and some of the attractions. Some of the most popular places for people in B.C. to go are over to Vancouver Island and Long Beach area, as well as into the interior, to the Okanagan, and doing wine tours, as well as to Jasper and Banff are very popular. Going down into the States to Seattle is very popular with our members. In the wintertime, we do a lot of package trips for people wanting to go to the ski [inaudible], to ski or just experience the snow culture.
Steve: Of course, whether they're in B.C., or in the States, or in Eastern Canada traveling by car, they would have the full range of service and roadside assistance and so forth, no matter where they are. Colin: Absolutely, and that's the big difference between us and some of our competitors, is that with some of our competitors, you break down, you have to find the tow truck yourself, and then they'll reimburse you for it, so it's like an insurance thing. With BCAA, we actually have our own drivers, our own trucks. We're going to be the one that shows up and helps you out if you break down or run out of gas, or even if you've locked your keys in your car. We're there to help. Steve: You know, that reminds me. I went skiing with my family-that is to say, my son and our grandchildren. We were at Big White, near Kelowna, and all of a sudden, the temperature dropped to about thirty below. My car would start, but my son's car wouldn't, and of course, there were a lot of cars that wouldn't start. My daughter-in-law was a member of the BCAA, and that's the only reason I think we ever got out of there. We were able to get a truck in to get us started early in the morning. We couldn't get anyone that night, but the following morning we did. So I can certainly vouch for the usefulness of having that connection. Insurance-now how, again, do you just function as an insurance agency, just like any other private insurance agency, or do you have your own special policies that you've developed? How do you operate in the insurance area?
Colin: We're actually both an insurance agency selling other people's products, as well as an insurance corporation with some of our own products. We have our own life insurance, our own medical insurance. For example, we do some innovative stuff. We just came out with our own product called "Identity Theft Insurance," which is a new thing for BCAA, and BCAA is the first one to have it. So by having our own insurance corporation, we're actually able to create some new insurance products that are designed for the needs of our members.
