Operating a place of worship has a unique share of complications and challenges beyond all the general liability threats that any other entity faces. It is extremely important that religious institutions understand the various types of coverage, add-ons and endorsements available to make sure your place of worship is properly covered. Here are the eight most important types of insurance for religious entities:
General Liability
General liability covers all the basics you’d expect: A visitor slips and injures themselves on your property, a broken pew causes an elderly person to fall, or a former church employee defames the institution are all examples where general liability insurance will come in handy. It’s important for operators to make sure they have 1st party and 3rd party liability to ensure proper coverage. In addition to those very generic examples, operators should make sure they clearly understand whether their general liability policy covers violent assailant and active shooter events. Unfortunately, these events are becoming increasingly common in America, and religious entities need to be prepared to handle these scenarios if they arise.
Catastrophic Violence Coverage
More specific than any aspect or clause of general liability insurance, catastrophic violence coverage specifically pertains to situations where multiple people are violently attacked at a church-sponsored event. As previously mentioned, these attacks are becoming more prevalent throughout America, and having catastrophic violence coverage will ensure your religious entity will be able to properly handle the aftermath of such a tragedy. Additionally, insurance policies are very strict about what constitutes an event that is covered under the policy. Getting catastrophic violence coverage seals many potential coverage holes that could linger from only having a general liability plan.
Minister/Pastor Counseling Liability Insurance
This coverage is not optional if you operate a place of worship and have other people involved in the facilitation of services on the property. This policy usually covers clergy, church leadership, staff, and official volunteers at your location. Spiritual counseling liability protection is usually an extension of this same policy, and is vital if anybody working in an official capacity is giving personal advice or feedback to congregants.
Places of worship have many obstacles and hurdles to deal with in areas of liability, so don’t find yourself in a situation where you learn your organization doesn’t have enough coverage after something’s already happened.
Religious Freedom Insurance
Protecting your place of worship from a discrimination lawsuit will be extremely costly, whether the allegation has any validity or not. Additionally, the reputational damage will cause harm that can take years to repair. Having a religious freedom policy can help protect your institution from these types of lawsuits, so you won’t be starting from scratch when attempting to fight these allegations.
Employee Theft Coverage
Unfortunately, places of worship are low hanging fruit for theft and embezzlement. Think of employee theft coverage as covering yourself and your institution for the institution’s own losses, as opposed to covering yourself and the institution for someone else’s losses. Collection basket circulations, fundraisers, and periodical donations from congregants make for an extremely liquid atmosphere, making it easy for a member of clergy, an employee, or a volunteer to commit financial crimes against your institution. Employee theft policies cover financial losses in the event an employee or official volunteer steals or embezzles church funds or property.
Sexual Abuse Liability
We never think this could happen in our place of worship, but as we know too well, sexual abuse happens in all aspects of life, including religious organizations. Even just one of these cases will cause catastrophic damage to your organization’s reputation, future goals, and existence at all, so make sure you have your bases covered.
Non-Owned Auto Liability
Occasionally, religious organizations utilize vehicles they don’t own for organizational purposes. This might include busses or vans to take congregants to and from an off-site event, to pick up elderly folks to come to weekly service, to make a delivery, or any number of other potential needs. This exposes religious entities to major liability if something were to happen involving the vehicle. A non-owned auto liability endorsement can add coverage for vehicles loaned to, or rented by, your organization to your existing policy.
Employment Practices Liability
This is standard coverage for any business or organization that has employees, whether full-time or part-time. This coverage protects your institution from lawsuits related to employment-related inappropriate behavior allegations, such as wrongful termination, workplace discrimination (gender/race/etc.), or sexual harassment.
Places of worship have many obstacles and hurdles to deal with in areas of liability, so don’t find yourself in a situation where you learn your organization doesn’t have enough coverage after something’s already happened. The team here at Basin Pacific Insurance is ready to ensure your place of worship is properly covered, so your staff doesn’t have to worry about worst-case scenarios. For more information on types of coverage available for religious institutions, click here.
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