a

° ‘The Insurance Corporation of

-. BG. broke through a barrier it
- didn't:really want ‘to encounter :

in 1988. ~~ last: week ICBC’s

public information department .

announced that insurance claims .
for the year came to more than

$1 billion. If the trend continues
‘in’ 1989, premiums for B.C. -

motorists are going up again in
1990. es
The company’s 1988 annual

report .shows. 649,000 claims.

paid out for a total of $1.045

. billion, Premiums had increased

that year by an average of 22
percent, but ICBC still paid out
$101 in, claims for every $100 it
collected in premiums. In order
to pay out the claims and cover
‘administrative expenses and

- Other costs of business the com-

pany had to spend $213 million
in.investment income.

dollar mark

Businéss Beat 22
_ Points to consider in”
becoming an inn-keeper

during 1988 -

',. Claims were divided between
accident. benefits and bodily in-

61 percént —. and property-

million, or 39 percent.
“ICBC increased premiums an

the 1988 trend abates B.C. driv-

ers could be in for a jolt when
they pay their 1990 insurance 7m

premiums,

ICBC president Tom Holmes ff
stated,““ICBC can control oper-

ating costs, it can influence rea-
sonable claims settlements and it

is committed to ongoing traffic |:

safety initiatives. to reduce the

frequence ‘and severity of acci- .

dents... But it cannot drive the
province’s vehicles safely,’*

The prospect of owning a motel or inn

cessful,

"by Phill Hartl,

_”” Manager, Terrace
Federal Business
Development Bank

ture or

As with other small businesses, there .
are two ways to become owners: by hav- |
ing an existing business or by starting .

is frequently an attractive one for Cana-
dians looking for ways to enter-business
-for themselves. Such a business, if suc-

can offer many rewards other

than simply financial ones.

- Those entrepreneurs choosing this
route should be warned, however, that
being the owner of a motel or inn,is;a
full-time occupation and ‘is often best —
undertaken as a husband and wife ven- |

ih partnership with others.

_ from scratch. In this column, we'll confine ourselves to the first

approach. —

Suppose you find a motel or inn for sale which, at first glance,
appears to be just what you want. Your first step'should be to
‘find out why it is for sale. Owners of successful business do not

usually put them up for sale unless for pressing personal reasons.

If you are satisfied with the owner’s reasons for selling, your |
hext steps should be to determine the market the business serves:
and the potential it offers for future growth. You will also want

to know what sort of competition you face. Do not be misled by
_high seasonal occupancy rates; you still have to exist through the

slack periods.

A rough rule of thumb is that anything higher than an average
_ 70 percent occupancy rate is promising, anything below it is not.
There is always the possibility that the innovations you plan, such

as adding a quality dining room

or pitching your trade towards

special groups, will boost the occupancy rate, but the higher the
rate, the less risks you will incur at the beginning,
. . The principal advantage of buying an existing business is that
‘it’s there for you to see and assess. You will want financial rec- .
- ords dating back at least three years. You will want an expert
survey of all physical facilities, the basic structures and their ser-

'. vices. You will want to talk to the permanent staff.

You will also want to ascertain if any developments are pend-

“ing such as highway re-routing,

tax or regulatory changes, plans

_ of-your competitors to expand or diversify, which will affect your

_ business, :

‘Determining an acceptable price requires the advice. of a good

. accountant. The-rough rule of an on-going motel or inn is three

to five times gross room revenue, depending on age of the
buildings, furnishings and so on. Your price should also take into

account your expected return on investment and

the possibility

for a profitable resale if that is indicated in the future,
The principal disadvantage of buying an on-going business is
_ that you inherit the original owner’s mistakes. You should deter-
mine in advance what those mistakes may have been and be in a

position to correct them.

4

A word of warning: Owning a motel or inn can be a risky
business, particularly when overly dependent on seasonal de-

_ mand. A business catering to skiers, for example, is vulnerable to
the weather, A mild winter or two can be damaging, Would-be
motel or inn owners should make sure they have the financial

_ Tesources to carry them over a bad season.
In out next column, we'll look at what is involved in starting

, from scratch,

jury claims — $578.9 million, or
related: claims. totalling 374.9
average of. eight percent for |
1989, a move the company presi-.

dent called “optimistic”. He. :
‘ warned, however, that unless.

TERRACE — A conference on

“mining: scheduled to take ‘place

here April 20 and 21 is develop-

ing a substantial list of authori-’
tative guest speakers. a
_ Confirmed to appear. at the.

conference to date are: Jack
Davis, B.C, Minister of Energy,..
Mines and Petroleum Re-
sources; Dave Lefebure, the

bea
et

government's district geologist;
Tom Waterland, -president of
the Mining Association of B.C.;

Northcoast’ Minister of State

Tetry. Huberts; Don .McLeod,
president of Newhawk Gold;

Denis Gregoire from Cominco |

Metals, and Garth Elsdon from

_Westmin Resources.

The conference is under joint

- qTerrace Review —

ra hendlas . Laat .
BO se Ba dog Fo

Wednesday, March 29, 1989.13:

‘Starcastlined up
for mining conference _

sponsorship of the. Kitimat- -
Stikine Regional District, :the
City of Terrace, the Terrace
Tourism and Economic Ad--

.visory Commission,’‘and the
local chamber of commerce.

Further information is’ avail.
able from Andy ‘Webber at
635-7251. |

Py ow

- Condominiums for sale — Jim Irvine and F
racently to promote the Seniors’ affordabl
Site in Terrace. Over 20 of the 32 first phas
units range in size from 930 to 1,170 squ

red Berghauser set up shop at the Skeena Mall
6 housing project soon to be built on a 7.1-acre
e units have been sold to date. Twin River Estates

Changes to premium rates for
British Columbia’s Medical Ser-
vices Plan (MSP) will come into
effect. April 1, 1989, Health
Minister Peter Dueck ‘also an-
nounced changes to the MSP
premium assistance plan which
will help 20,000 more British
Columbian families with their

‘premium payments. ;

On April 1, monthly MSP
premium rates will increase by
an average of about 6.5 percent,
as follows: for an individual, by
$2 to $31 per month: for a cou-
ple, by $3 to $55 per month; and
for families of three persons or
more, by $4 to $62 per month.

The new premium rates are
based on projected budgetary re-
quirements by the Medical Ser-
vices Commission for the
1989-90 fiscal year. ““We have
made every attempt to hold the
premium increases to a level

British Columbians will find
Treasonable,’’ Dueck said, poin-
ting out that revenues from MSP
premiums cover only about 15
percent of B.C.’s total health
care budget,

The April 1 increases are in
keeping with the government’s

- decision last year to set the MSP

premium rate at a level which
will recover 50 percent of the
cost of all fee-for-service billings

_by physicians, and 100 peréent

of the costs of enhanced health
benefits, such as services by
chiropractors, physiotherapists,
massage therapists, podiatrists,
optomotrists and naturopaths.
The health minister also an-
nounced that the MSP premium
assistance plan had been altered
and expanded, with the result

that an additional 20,000 British

Columbian families will be eligi-
ble for premium assistance.

are feet and soll for $50,500 to $60,500.

_ Medical premiums up again —

When applying for premium
assistance, an individual or
family unit’s net income, as
defined on the new federal tax
form, may be reduced by the
following deductions: $3,000
each for: (1) a spouse; (2) for
each child; (3) for being age 65
or older; or (4) for having a
disability as defined by the in-
come tax regulations.

“We have designed the new
system first of all to ensure that
if you qualified for premium
assistance last year — and your
income has not changed — you
will be. eligible for premium
assistance this year,’’ Dueck -
said. ‘Equally. important, we
have tailored the adjusted family
net income concept to enable an
additional 20,000 families to
become eligible for assistance.’’

Terrace Travel is pleased to
the appointment of Terry Lamond C.T.c.
to the position of office manager

| Terry was formerly the manager of a
major Regina Travel office and has 19
years experience In the Travel
Industry. Terry is also a member of the
Institute of Travel Counsellors.

Terry looks forward to meeting and
assisting all of our clients with their
travel requirements.

635-6551 or 635:2281

FRAVEL..

announce

wo