Ministries are often faced with issues that can cause disruptions, loss of resources, and heartache. While it can be difficult and time-consuming to focus on every area of concern, the primary issues can and should be addressed. Practicing risk management helps to increase safety and security for children, families, church workers, and leaders, while helping your church avoid costly disruptions.
Our Church Risk Management Guide can help you recognize areas of risk and learn how to proactively address them. From establishing a church safety and security team to financial protection to emergency preparedness, this guide can assist you in protecting your church and congregants.
Download Risk Management GuideRISKMGMTLIVE is a video series featuring Dr. Richard Hammar and Jerry Sparks, leading professionals on risk management for churches and ministries.
Watch their conversation with a panel of church business administrators, discussing top church risk management issues, and find more episodes on our Church Risk Management Resource page.
Mission Assure provides coverage for mission trips, camps, youth outings, retreats, and other events a church or district may have. With low per-person, per-day premiums, Mission Assure keeps costs to a minimum while offering superior protection.
Domestic Coverage: $1.25 per-person, per-day
International Coverage: $4.50 per-person, per-day
Every church needs two types of insurance: property and liability (casualty). Property insurance covers the things the church owns and should be calculated based on what it would cost to replace them (replacement cost value). Liability insurance covers actions that could leave the church liable for damage to others, including injuries, possessions, and reputations. In our experience, it is crucial for churches to have at least the following liability coverages:
For more information, visit our Insurance for Churches page.
Learn MoreMost churches should secure coverage based on the replacement cost value. This will provide enough coverage to rebuild facilities or replace property with new items of like kind and quality. Make sure your agent secures an appraisal to determine the replacement cost for your building.
Every church should have workers’ compensation insurance. It is not subject to a deductible and includes medical payments for all employees as well as disability payments until the employee can return to work.
Risk management is the process of assessing the likelihood of an accident and its potential financial impact on your church—increased insurance premiums, damaged reputation, financial settlements, legal fees—and then taking steps to help prevent the accident before it happens. But more than just helping you avoid an expensive lawsuit, risk management is about protecting those to whom you minister. You’ve been entrusted with providing a safe place for people to learn and worship. Comprehensive risk management policies both maximize the safety of your congregation and minimize liability for your church.
Coinsurance is the percentage of insurance to the property value. Most companies require that a coinsurance rate of 80% or 90% of the property value be in place at the time of a loss. If this percentage is not met, a coinsurance penalty may result in the event of a claim. For example, if your property is worth $100,000 and the coinsurance requirement is 80%, there would need to be at least $80,000 of coverage in place to pay a claim without incurring a penalty. This penalty could be costly. It is determined by taking the amount of coverage you have and dividing it by the amount of coverage you should have according to the coinsurance requirement. Continuing with the above example, if you have $40,000 of coverage instead of $80,000 (50% of the amount required), the insurance company may penalize you by paying only 50% of your loss.
To avoid a coinsurance penalty, ask your agent for an Agreed Value endorsement on your policy, in addition to insuring your property according to its replacement cost. This endorsement waives any potential coinsurance penalty. There is a small additional cost with most insurance carriers to add this endorsement.
Key man insurance is a life insurance policy for one or more lead pastors, administrators, etc. A key man policy is owned by the ministry and is meant to help compensate the ministry for the death of one of its key leaders. The death benefit can help a church show financial strength to creditors, conduct a proper search for a replacement without worrying about immediate financial needs, and promote a general succession plan.
Ministries should consider a key man policy for the following reasons and circumstances:
To see how much coverage you need, check out our article "Losing a Leader: How Key Man Insurance Can Help a Church Recover".
Read the ArticleAgreeing to be named as an additional insured splits your liability with the other party. As a result, your insurance may have to provide defense if the other party is negligent.
For Standard Group Life Insurance questions, call Innovo Benefits Administration at 800.829.5601.
For Church Mutual policy holders, call 800.554.2642 and select option 2.
For all other billing questions, contact us at 866.621.1787 or info@agfinancialinsurance.com.
Email UsFor Church Mutual policy holders, call 800.554.2642 and select option 2.
For all other claims, contact us at 866.662.8210 or info@agfinancialinsurance.com.
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