Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Who were the founding members of the BCCI?
A. The founding members of the BCCI were British car enthusiasts from the Southwestern area of Ontario. Jon Rosenthal, Bruce Stewart, Ed Moodie and Kim Chevalier all saw an opportunity to implement a liaison mechanism to spread British car enthusiasm and provide help to British car clubs and individual participants of member clubs.
Q. When exactly was the BCCI formed and incorporated?
A. The BCCI was formed in 1991 and registered as a Corporation in Canada that same year. Official Corporate laws were created and submitted along with the request for incorporation. These Corporate laws cover a multitude of topics such as: The Board of Directors and Officers and their powers and duties. These Corporate laws also cover meetings and minutes of meetings and financial aspects, including periodic reporting and auditing. They also cover: Conditions of Membership and member voting and, of course, the corporate seal. These Corporate laws have served the BCCI and it's member clubs very well and only one change has been made to the original incorporation papers since the start-up of the BCCI, and that was to change the Fiscal Year End to April 30th from the previous end of calendar year.
Q. Why was the BCCI created?
A. The BCCI was created to help British car enthusiasts in Canada. Although the initial thrust was one of communications announcing events from individual member clubs to all member clubs; providing timely information about the British car scene and sharing personal experiences for parts acquisition and service locations, the BCCI expanded its offerings to other areas. The BCCI instituted a Long Distance Award (LDA). The LDA is a dash plaque presented to each individual member in member clubs who drive their British vehicles a minimum amount in a specific time frame (See Long Distance Awards elsewhere on this web site). The BCCI also instituted an Insurance program for member clubs - to help them when they conduct regular meetings or car shows or cruise nights or other displays or events and the like (See Insurance Program elsewhere on this web site). The BCCI also made connections with the Specialty Vehicle Association of Ontario (SVAO).
Q.- What type of British car should I buy?
A.- You can see from the Historical Review of British vehicles on this web site there is a wide variety of British vehicles to choose from. And of course, an individual‚s selection criteria are usually guided by personal preferences, initial purchase cost, vehicle originality, parts and service availability, ongoing operating expense and ultimate value. Personal preferences can range from sturdy, all-terrain vehicles or sporty, low-cost roadsters to elegant, excellent value saloon vehicles or handsome, rare touring automobiles - with many variations in between and all kinds of options available (hardtop or convertible / compact or full-size / even 3 wheels or 4 wheels). And the other criteria of initial purchase cost, vehicle originality, parts and service availability, ongoing operating expense and ultimate value have a wide range of values that can only be determined by doing some research.
So one of the best ways to help make the decision, What type of British car should I buy, is to visit a local British Car Club and chat with the members. Take a look at the list of BCCI members clubs on this web site to find one close to you. Visit their web site to learn more about the club. Attend a meeting to speak to people who can help you make an informed decision.
Q.- Where can I go for parts, repairs and other services to my British car?
A.- Parts and repair services for almost every British car are still available, in some fashion or another, from resources all over the world. Some in your own hometown, some in not-to-distant cities and others across international boundaries. Many parts are readily available from reliable sources, both local and long-distance, across the sales counter, by telephone order, or over the Internet. Qualified repair shops and responsible special service locations can be found in the Yellow Pages or by browsing the world-wide-web. Care and caution are needed in any material or service transaction to be sure satisfaction is guaranteed.
The British Car Council is not able to provide an extensive list of well-stocked parts suppliers or competent repair shops. The development and maintenance of such a list would be a massive undertaking. The BCCI does suggest speaking to the members of a local BCCI member club where specific information may be gathered on parts suppliers and service providers in the local area. And with contact at the local club level, those people seeking parts and service help can gain important knowledge from those people who have had direct experience.
Q.- What events are being held for British cars and where are they being held?
A.- The popularity of the Internet has given local and distant British car clubs a great communication tool to offer information about regular meetings and special events for British car enthusiasts. A visit to just about any British car club web site will often lead to a Calendar of Events for that club and also links to multi-club / multi-marque meetings and gatherings. Browsing through the web sites of BCCI member clubs will help locate meetings or events for almost every British car enthusiast.
To attempt to build and maintain a fully comprehensive Calendar of Events would be an arduous task and so the British Car Council helps member clubs announce their meetings and events by providing the web link connections from the BCCI web site to the web sites of the member clubs. To see what the various member clubs of the BCCI are up to, just click on a link to the member club of your choice.
Q.- I own a British car and live in an area of Canada where there does not appear to be any local British car clubs. By searching the Internet I have found a British car club, but it‚s too far away for my periodic participation. Can the BCCI help me find a British car club, which probably doesn't have a web site, closer to me?
A.- The Internet has opened communication channels for many varied industries and organizations, but not all are on-the-world-wide-web. Most of the BCCI member clubs have web sites, but some do not. Member clubs that do not currently have a web site are often contactable by e-mail or via traditional mail or phone facilities. The BCCI can provide this contact information to interested British car enthusiasts. For other situations, where enthusiasts are seeking a club that has neither web-site nor e-mail, the BCCI can query it‚s current member clubs to see if there is any contact information available for the specific region in question. Of course, if a British car club is not a member of the BCCI, its members cannot take advantage of the communications, insurance and award programs offered by the BCCI.
Q- Are individual members of British car clubs able to get discounted insurance for their vehicles through the BCCI?
A- No, the British Car Council does not offer any form of individual vehicle insurance and does not liaison with any insurance companies to obtain discounted insurance rates for the members of the clubs that belong to the BCCI. As a member of a British car club, British car enthusiasts may be able to obtain information from other members about local insurance companies and member clubs of the BCCI are able to easily exchange communications about insurance related topics.
Q- How does the British Car Council count the number of members in each of the BCCI member clubs? (Some British car clubs arrive at a membership count using a 'one car, one owner, one member ' method. Other British car clubs include the vehicle owners' spouse or partner, which may make the membership count appear to be almost double. And what about individual owners with multiple cars? Which method should be used for the BCCI membership count?)
A- The British Car Council needs to know the individual member club membership counts for insurance purposes. The BCCI holds a Canadian Commercial General Liability Policy that covers it‚s member clubs for events such as meetings and car shows and cruise nights. To spread the cost of this insurance fairly among the member clubs, as an additional cost to the regular annual membership fee in the BCCI, the total cost of the annual insurance is divided by the total number of members in the participating member clubs of the BCCI. The method used by the BCCI to count the number of members is a version of the one owner, one member‚ method.
For example: If a person owns one (or more) British car(s) and/or is a paid up member of the member British car club, this counts as 1 member to the BCCI (whether or not a spouse or partner is included at the club level, and, whether or not the car(s) are currently licensed and/or are in drivable condition). What might be considered a family membership in some automobile clubs, perhaps a married or otherwise couple, with two or more British cars owned by the same individual, is considered 1 member to the BCCI; however, if in this same „family membership, the multiple vehicles are owned by two different people, this would be considered 2 members to the BCCI. The individual member clubs of the BCCI are responsible to identify their membership count for the BCCI using this method. No other specific details of membership are required for the BCCI Canadian Commercial General Liability Policy; no names, no addresses, no vehicle data or other personal information is required.
Each year, at membership renewal time, the BCCI asks the participating British car clubs to provide a count of its members using the method described above and this count becomes part of the insurance cost calculation.
Q. - How does a British car club join the British Car Council Inc?
A. - Any British car club based in Canada may join the British Car Council.
It is strongly recommended that the British car club appoint a member of the club as the BCCI Representative to act as a communications contact between the British car club and the BCCI. There is a form to be completed and a fee to be paid annually for club membership in the British Car Council. The form can be obtained and printed from the BCCI web site as a PDF file. The membership fee and the completed form must be sent to:
For a Membership Form Click Here.
British Car Council Inc.
Bayview Village Post Office
Box 91135
Willowdale, Ontario
M2K 2Y6
Q. - Why does my British car club need insurance?
A. - Respected and recognized insurance agents and brokers agree that British car clubs in Canada, whether incorporated or not, should be covered by some form of a general commercial liability policy. The suggested specifics for coverage and the limits of the insurance may vary from one broker to another, but the need for the club to be protected by a general commercial liability policy is of the utmost importance.
As well as the usual work that is associated with organizing and running regular meetings or car shows or cruise nights, there comes a responsibility to ensure the people who attend, or are close to these functions are protected from harm and loss (both club members and non-club members). Even with all kinds of protective measures in place, there are circumstances where incidents may occur that put the people in and around the meeting, car show or cruise night at risk of being harmed or suffering a loss. For example: a club sign might fall over and hit a passing spectator at a cruise night; or, one of the viewing public might trip over a loose Public Address system cable at a car show; or, a restaurant patron sitting nearby a club meeting table may be inadvertently caused injury in some unanticipated fashion. In any of these cases, the harmed or loss stricken person could choose to sue the British car club. Further, if meetings or events are conducted on or in public locations (such as restaurants or parks or community centers or other buildings), there are risks that losses could occur to the owners or managers of these facilities. Those club members who represent the club (directors, executives and other leaders) could be placed in a serious situation where great personal loss may result - even the loss of financial resources and / or property resources. All British car clubs in Canada need to look after their liability.
The British Car Council Inc. does have a currently in-force commercial insurance policy, from a recognized general insurance company, through a well established Ontario based broker. This policy has a variety of specific coverages with defined limits of insurance and defined deductibles. It is a Canadian Commercial Policy with some broad coverages for property (including contents), some financial coverage aspects (eg: accounts receivable), crime loss coverage (forgery, theft and the like), and liability coverage to help cover legal, medical and personal injury issues. The property coverage, financial coverage and crime loss coverage aspects are specifically for the BCCI premises as a corporation. The general liability coverage aspects apply to all locations under the policy - which includes all member club meetings and events organized or hosted by member clubs. So by being a paid-up member in the British Car Council Inc. the British car club is covered by the policy.
The insurance company determines the insurance premium annually. This cost is recalculated by the BCCI on a 'per participating member' basis. The 'per participating member' amount is part of the annual fee paid by each BCCI member club, over and above the current Basic Annual Club Membership To BCCI. (See the FAQ - "How Does A British Car Club Join The British Car Council" /Membership Form)
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