How to Buy Church Insurance: Insurance Basics

As a ministry leader, your primary focus is and should be your congregation's well-being. Buried underneath weekly sermons, visiting sick and elderly members, and spreading your message, several administrative responsibilities exist that can cause some stress, confusion, and general overwhelm.

We're here to demystify at least one of those concerns for you - church insurance.

This article will deal with the basics of insurance for churches and ministries in Georgia. We will also explain some of the key concepts and coverage options that any church leader should be familiar with.

First of all, make sure that you work with an insurance advisor whom you trust and will provide you with a property/liability package that is customized not only for churches, but for your specific ministry. Every organization has different needs and risk exposures, so each coverage package should address those points.

Second, you'll need an automobile policy for church-owned vehicles. You also need hired and non-owned auto liability coverage, even if your church doesn’t own any vehicles, as there are many cases in which transportation may be provided for church-related events or trips.

Workers’ compensation policy - if your church employs any full-time staff, which it most likely does, you'll be required to provide workers-compensation insurance, should there be an accident on the job.

Umbrella/excess liability policy (for high-limits protection) - this is a policy designed to provide protection against catastrophic losses, meaning it will pay any excess costs beyond the limits of your other policies.

Church accident policy - this provides extra coverage for medical expenses resulting from an injury during a church activity. If, for example, a student were to incur an injury during a youth trip, this policy would pay hospital, ambulance, or surgery bills, should there be a need.

Automobile, workers’ compensation, umbrella/excess, and accident policies have many similar traints, however, property/liability package policies vary widely, so you need to carefully evaluate each of these with your church insurance advisor.

Any insurance carrier can offer coverage, but it is important to make sure that carrier is familiar with and experienced in the unique dealings of churches and their various governing bodies. You'll want to make sure that your church's policy is comprehensive enough to protect your specific ministry goals.

It is for this reason that we have made it our mission to serve churches and religiously-affiliated organizations. We have worked with hundreds of them across nearly 30 years in business. Contact us today for a free consultation or a policy review.