Insuring Your Small Church

There are so many churches out there, but often, the hardest churches to quickly insure are the smallest. Carriers and coverage is often pointed at large churches, at some point in time, your agency is going to be hard pressed to place a small church quickly. It could be “John’s Church of God” or “The Baptist Church of Main Street.” These churches are usually very small but the impact they have in the community is huge. Your agency's good service can be the difference in whether you write this and many other affiliated risks in your area. Churches of the small size are susceptible to the same problems as even the biggest churches in America and their ability to pay for a claim is significantly limited.

                There are all kinds of liabilities that churches face but start-up tenant based churches may not realize their exposure. Pastoral professional liability is a big exposure for these small churches. For example, a pastor gives a sermon that challenges the faith of many of its member. Half of the small congregation falls into a deeply depressed state and a claim is filed alleging verbal abuse and mental anguish. In addition, the pastor was also accused of making sexual advances on several church members. The small church became liable for the pastor’s actions which had already been reported to the church directors. The church closed after defense costs mounted. The church had not purchased a policy which included pastoral professional, defense costs with abuse and molestation coverage.  

                Thankfully, Gateway Specialty has the ability to insure the “Mary’s House of Worship” out there. There is no need for your small church to be discouraged by large church writers since we offer access to A++ insurance coverage with automatically included abuse, molestation and mental anguish coverage. However, there are a few guidelines that need to be followed. These small churches can have up to 1000 members. The building can be up to 30,000 square feet; slightly less than half a football field. The churches also have to have less than $5 million TIV (Total Insured Value).

Click here to view our church product or call (877) 474-7868 to obtain a quote.