Church Insurance Services

Church Insurance: Protect Your Ministry and Build a Stronger Community with The Insurance Connection

As a pastor or church leader, it's crucial to ensure that your ministry is protected at all times. Investing in church insurance can help you maintain a safe and comfortable environment for your community while dealing with the financial aftermath of disasters. At The Insurance Connection, our experienced agents specialize in finding the right church insurance policy for you at a great price.

We offer a variety of church insurance policies, including property and liability coverage, with the option to customize your policy with additional coverages and endorsements. Our property coverage includes protection for buildings, signage, fences, and contents, while our liability coverage protects against claims of property damage or bodily injury. Optional coverages include flood coverage, computer fraud coverage, and lost wage coverage.

Why Did My Insurer Increase My Deductibles?

Many churches are noticing changes in their church insurance policies, particularly increases in deductibles. This is part of a nationwide trend as insurers adapt to rising costs and more frequent severe weather events. For wind and hail damage, you might see your deductible change from a fixed dollar amount to a percentage of your coverage. For instance, if your church is insured for $1,000,000 and you have a 1% wind/hail deductible, you'd be responsible for the first $10,000 of storm damage. While this might seem high, it's a strategy insurers use to keep overall premiums more affordable for churches. This trend reflects the growing challenges in insuring properties against increasingly unpredictable weather patterns across the country. Understanding these changes can help your church better prepare for potential out-of-pocket expenses in the event of a claim.

Why did my insurance carrier cancel or nonrenew my church insurance?

The church insurance market is going through big changes, making it harder for many churches to keep their coverage. Here's why this might be happening:

1. Insurance Companies Leaving: Some big insurance companies are stopping coverage in certain states. For example, GuideOne Insurance, which used to insure many churches in Texas, has stopped offering church insurance policies there (Hoodline)​​ (Business Insurance)​.
2. More Extreme Weather: With climate change, we're seeing more storms, floods, and wildfires. This makes it riskier and more expensive for insurance companies to cover church buildings in some areas (Religion Unplugged).
3. COVID-19 Effects: When churches had fewer people attending during the pandemic, they received less money in donations. This often meant less money for building upkeep, which insurance companies see as a higher risk (Religion Unplugged).
4. New Ways of Checking Buildings: Insurance companies are now using things like drone photos to look at church buildings from above. This helps them spot problems they couldn't see before, which might make them decide a church is too risky to insure (Religion Unplugged).
5. Financial Struggles for Insurance Companies: Some companies that specialize in church insurance, like Church Mutual, have lost a lot of money due to storm damage and expensive lawsuits. This makes them more careful about which churches they insure (Business Insurance).
6. Changes in Laws: Some states have changed their rules about insurance, making it harder for insurance companies to make money. This has led some companies to stop offering church insurance in those states (Religion Unplugged)​.
7. Problems with Their Own Insurance: Insurance companies buy their own insurance (called reinsurance) to help cover big losses. It's getting harder for them to get this insurance, so they're being more selective about the churches they cover (Religion Unplugged).

All of this means it's getting harder and more expensive for churches to get insurance. Some churches are seeing their church insurance costs double or even triple. In Texas, for instance, hundreds of United Methodist churches suddenly lost their insurance and had trouble finding new policies (Hoodline)​​ (Business Insurance)​.

It's important to understand that even if your church is in good shape and hasn't made any insurance claims, you might still have trouble getting insurance because of these bigger issues in the insurance world.

If you're having trouble with your church insurance, it's a good idea to talk to an insurance agent who knows a lot about insuring churches like the agents at The Insurance Connection. They can help you find other options or give you advice on what to do next.

Don't wait until the next renewal (or *yikes* nonrenewal) to make changes to your policy - switch your insurance at any time. Contact The Insurance Connection today to learn more about our church insurance policies and get a quote. We work with reputable carriers and have been insuring churches in the Southeast since 2015.