Insurance For Churches & Religious Organizations
If you run a church, synagogue, temple, or other religious organization or institution, it is important to make sure your organization is insured properly.
Types Of Church Insurance Coverage
When your church is insured, you can continue to operate your organization smoothly. It is less likely there will be interruptions in your services since you can weather the damages you owe.
The government may also set regulations for certain types of insurance. For example, you must pay for worker’s compensation insurance if you have employees. That is the law in every state.
Here are some of the types of insurance for religious organizations that you may want to consider getting for your business.
- General liability insurance: This type of insurance covers costs if a third party is injured or their property is damaged. This is the type of insurance that would apply in our first example with the worker dropping the tool. Liability insurance for churches is the most basic type of insurance to get. Start with this type of coverage, and then figure out what else you need.
- Professional liability insurance: Also called “clergy counseling professional liability insurance,” or “pastoral professional liability insurance,” this type of insurance covers costs if congregants sue over pastoral negligence.
- Commercial property insurance: You can use this type of insurance to cover the religious organization’s own property in case of theft, vandalism or damage.
- Commercial vehicle insurance: This type of insurance protects your church’s vehicles. Note that if you drive a personal vehicle on church business, you also need commercial vehicle insurance. Your personal auto coverage will not apply during business activities. So, it doesn’t cover church van insurance requirements.
- Business owner’s policy: This is a type of policy that bundles together a couple types of coverage. Exactly what they are can vary from policy to policy. An example would be general liability insurance plus commercial vehicle insurance, or general liability insurance plus commercial property insurance.
- Business interruption insurance: Let’s say that a storm damages the roof of your church, so you have to pause services and other business activities until the roof is repaired. Business interruption insurance covers lost revenue during such a time.
- Directors and officers insurance: If members of your church board get sued, you can cover their assets with this specialized type of church insurance. Both paid staff and volunteers can be covered by directors and officers insurance.
- Church building insurance coverage: You will need to insure the church, temple or synagogue building itself against damage. Depending on where you live, you might also need to purchase add-ons such as flood insurance.
- Employment practices liability insurance: Sadly, abuses by church staff and volunteers toward young people or other congregants are not uncommon in today’s world. However confident you are in your hiring practices, you can never be sure that nothing will happen. If an accusation is made, your organization can receive legal coverage through this type of insurance.
- Worker’s compensation insurance: Any business that has employees is required by law to pay for worker’s compensation. If a worker gets sick or injured on the job, this insurance can cover their lost wages and medical treatment costs.
Why Your Church Needs Dedicated Insurance
There are so many different scenarios where you might need insurance to protect your religious organization. Here are a few examples:
Jessica C.
Youth Director of Eastside Christian
“We couldn’t be happier with the coverage options for our rapidly growing youth group. They helped us set up a robust insurance policy that meets our growing needs.”
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How Much Does Dedicated Insurance For Churches Cost?
Church insurance costs can vary considerably. Here are some of the factors that can impact the prices you are offered. There may be additional factors as well that we have not considered. You can ask your prospective insurance company what went into their quote when you speak with them.
Our team of dedicated insurance professionals are well versed in your institutions insurance requirements and can help you navigate coverage options and premiums.
Here are some of the many factors that will go into determining your costs
- Size of your organization: If you have a small church with only a few employees and volunteers, your insurance will be less expensive than if you have a large religious organization with many employees and volunteers to insure. Higher payrolls also can increase the cost of worker’s compensation insurance.
- Number of structures: Insuring just one structure will cost less than insuring multiple church buildings, all other things being equal.
- Types of structures: There is quite a bit of variation in the sizes and designs of houses of worship. An especially large or ornate church (see below) may cost significantly more to insure than a more modest structure.
- Features of structures: Some houses of worship, particularly older ones, may have special architectural features of note. If your structure features detailed carvings or stained glass windows or other artistic features, it may cost you more to insure.
- Vehicles: Insuring a larger fleet of vehicles and/or more expensive vehicles will cost you more money. Those that carry larger numbers of passengers could also potentially be more expensive to buy commercial auto insurance for.
- Property: The types of commercial property you need to insure and their value will impact your insurance costs. Perhaps you have expensive electronics to insure, or musical instruments such as a pipe organ. Or maybe your house of worship has some valuable religious antiques. Items like these may drive up your insurance premiums.
- Location: The risk factors in your geography will influence your insurance costs. If your house of worship is in an area that is high in crime, that could increase your costs. So could your church being located on a flood plain, in a hurricane zone, or so on.
- Activities: When you put in your church insurance application, you may need to list specific activities that your organization is involved in. For instance, your costs could be higher if, say, you routinely drive congregants or youth to other locations, host summer camps or retreats, etc. Activities like these entail a lot of additional risks beyond what is involved with simply holding services in your church building.
- Types of policies: The more types of policies you decide to get, the more your church insurance will add up to. But your business will also be better-protected. If you are on a tight budget, you can start with the basics and add more types of coverage later.
- Deductibles: Your deductible is the amount you have to pay before your insurance starts paying out. If you choose a higher deductible, then your monthly premiums will be lower, and vice versa.
- Maximum amounts: The maximum cap for your coverage is another factor that will affect your monthly premiums. If you want a higher cap, then you will pay a higher monthly rate. Whether or not it makes sense to do this depends on how you assess your own risks, as well as your organization’s budget. The same goes for deciding on your deductible amount.
- Bundling and discounts: Bundling together multiple policies from the same insurance company is a way you can sometimes save money. There may be other discounts that you qualify for as well. When you apply for insurance, ask the agent working with you what discounts exist.
- Underwriting guidelines: Every insurance company has to assess risk through the underwriting process. The way one company assesses risk may differ from how another does. So, even if all other factors are equal, you may receive a more competitive quote from one insurance carrier than you do from another.
Where To Get Coverage For Your Church
We recommend churches and other religious organizations shop for church insurance through Tivly.
At Tivly, you can quickly and easily compare personalized quotes from carriers offering solid coverage and competitive rates.
Click below to request church insurance quotes.