HOW TO INSURE CHURCHES & RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONSA Church Is More Than a Building Used on Sunday Morning.A Producer’s Practical Guide to Understanding, Insuring & Winning Religious Organization AccountsA prospect says:
“We just need insurance on the church.”
But what exactly are you insuring?
The sanctuary?
Fellowship hall?
Children's programs?
Daycare or preschool?
Church vans?
Kitchen?
Playground?
Cemetery?
Mission trips?
Counseling?
Food pantry?
Community events?
Employees?
Volunteers?
Musicians?
Rental of the facilities to outside groups?
A church may appear quiet during most of the week.
But when you begin looking at everything that happens there, you discover something very different.
You're not simply insuring a building. You're insuring an organization, its people, its activities and its mission.

THE PROBLEM WITH “IT'S JUST A CHURCH”Two churches can have nearly identical buildings and completely different exposures.
One may hold worship services twice a week.
Another operates seven days a week.
One has no employees.
Another employs pastors, administrative staff, musicians, maintenance workers and childcare personnel.
One has no vehicles.
Another owns three vans and a bus.
One serves coffee after Sunday worship.
Another operates a commercial kitchen, hosts weddings and rents its fellowship hall.
One has twenty members.
Another has two thousand.
And then there may be:
Children's ministries.
Youth activities.
Nurseries.
Playgrounds.
Counseling.
Athletic programs.
Schools.
Daycare.
Mission trips.
Community outreach.
Food distribution.
Special events.
Volunteers.
The name on the sign tells you almost nothing about the complete risk.
The producer has to discover what actually happens there.

WHAT THIS MANUAL WILL HELP YOU DOAfter working through this guide, a producer should be better prepared to:
✓ Conduct a professional church discovery conversation
✓ Identify buildings and property exposures
✓ Investigate activities beyond regular worship services
✓ Ask better questions about children's and youth programs
✓ Explore employee and volunteer exposures
✓ Identify church-owned vehicle exposures
✓ Recognize kitchen, fellowship and special-event concerns
✓ Ask about daycare, preschool, school and educational activities
✓ Explore counseling and pastoral-care exposures
✓ Identify potential abuse and molestation liability concerns
✓ Discuss Directors & Officers and organizational liability considerations
✓ Recognize Workers' Compensation exposures
✓ Identify cyber and financial exposures
✓ Explore umbrella and excess liability needs
✓ Prepare more complete submissions for underwriters
✓ Compare proposals beyond premium alone
✓ Conduct stronger renewal conversations
✓ Prospect for religious-organization accounts more intelligently

WHO SHOULD HAVE THIS MANUAL?How to Insure Churches & Religious Organizations was created for:
• New commercial-lines producers
• Producers who occasionally encounter church accounts
• Personal-lines producers moving into commercial insurance
• Experienced producers looking for community-based commercial niches
• Agency owners training producers
• CSRs and account managers who service religious organizations
• Independent agents who want to better understand nonprofit and ministry-related exposures
You don't have to understand every denomination or every ministry.
You do need to understand what the organization does.

WHAT'S INSIDE?Learn the Ministry Before You Quote the BuildingChurch DiscoveryLearn to move beyond:
“How many square feet is the church?”
The building matters.
But so do the people and activities inside it.
Buildings & PropertySanctuaries.
Fellowship halls.
Educational buildings.
Parsonages.
Storage buildings.
Signs.
Playgrounds.
Equipment.
Musical instruments.
Audio/video systems.
Church property can extend far beyond the main sanctuary.
General LiabilityCongregants, visitors, volunteers and members of the public regularly enter church property.
Learn to identify premises and operational liability exposures associated with the organization's activities.
Children & Youth ProgramsNurseries.
Sunday school.
Youth groups.
Camps.
Trips.
Recreation.
Children's programs create important supervision, safety and liability considerations that deserve careful discovery.
Abuse & Molestation ExposureThis is a difficult subject.
It is also one that cannot be ignored.
Producers need to understand that organizations working with children, youth and vulnerable individuals may face serious allegations and liability exposures.
The conversation should include appropriate underwriting questions regarding screening, supervision, procedures and available coverage.
Employees & VolunteersChurches frequently rely on a combination of paid staff and volunteers.
Understanding who performs the work—and under what circumstances—is an important part of developing the account.
Church VehiclesA church van may transport:
Children.
Senior adults.
Youth groups.
Mission teams.
Members attending events.
The producer needs to investigate vehicles, drivers, usage, passenger capacity and transportation procedures.
Kitchens & Food ServiceSome churches occasionally serve refreshments.
Others operate full kitchens and regularly prepare meals for large groups.
Those are not necessarily the same exposure.
Daycare, Preschool & SchoolsEducational and childcare operations can materially change the risk.
Never assume these activities are included simply because they take place on church property.
Counseling & Pastoral CareChurches may provide counseling and other services that create exposures beyond ordinary premises liability.
Learn to recognize when additional investigation is appropriate.
Weddings, Funerals & Special EventsChurch buildings are often used for activities beyond routine worship.
Ask what events take place—and who conducts them.
Facility Use by Outside OrganizationsWho else uses the property?
Civic groups?
Recovery groups?
Schools?
Community organizations?
Private parties?
Another congregation?
Facility-use arrangements deserve their own questions.
Directors & OfficersChurches and religious organizations are governed by people making decisions on behalf of the organization.
Learn why management and organizational liability should be part of the broader insurance conversation.
Workers' CompensationPastors.
Office staff.
Musicians.
Maintenance personnel.
Teachers.
Childcare workers.
Other employees.
A producer needs to understand who is working for the organization and how.
Cyber & Financial ExposuresChurches collect donations and may maintain personal information about members, employees and donors.
Online giving, electronic records and financial transactions can create exposures that didn't exist for many churches a generation ago.
Business Income & Extra ExpenseWhat happens if a fire makes the sanctuary unusable?
Where will the congregation meet?
What expenses continue?
What additional expenses might be incurred?
Property restoration is only part of the recovery conversation.
Umbrella & Excess LiabilityTransportation, youth programs, large gatherings and other activities may create reasons to discuss additional liability limits.
The Underwriter SubmissionHelp the underwriter understand the organization.
Don't merely send:
“Church. Built 1987. 12,000 square feet.”
Describe the operation.
The people.
The property.
The programs.
The vehicles.
The activities.
Tell the story of the risk.
Proposal ComparisonA lower premium doesn't necessarily mean a better church insurance program.
Help the client compare coverage, limits, deductibles, endorsements, exclusions and important differences.
RenewalsChurches change.
A new pastor arrives.
A daycare opens.
A van is purchased.
A youth program expands.
A building is added.
A kitchen is renovated.
A new outreach ministry begins.
The renewal should rediscover the organization, not merely reproduce last year's policy.

REAL-WORLD PRODUCER THINKINGA church representative says:
“We have a small daycare during the week.”
Ask another question.
“Volunteers usually drive the van.”
Ask another question.
“We let community groups use the fellowship hall.”
Ask another question.
“We just started livestreaming and taking donations online.”
Ask another question.
“We're taking the youth group on a mission trip.”
Ask another question.
Throughout the manual, practical situations help producers develop the habit of:
HEAR IT
What did the client actually tell you?
ASK ABOUT IT
What additional information does that statement create?
VERIFY IT
What facts need to be confirmed?
DOCUMENT IT
What belongs in the agency file?
TAKE THE NEXT SAFE ACTION
What should the producer do next without exceeding his or her authority?
The producer doesn't need to have every answer.
The producer needs to recognize when another question needs to be asked.

DON'T WAIT FOR CHURCHES TO FIND YOUChurches and religious organizations are among the easiest prospects in your community to identify.
Their locations are public.
Their websites often describe their ministries.
Their calendars reveal activities.
Their social-media pages may show programs, vehicles, events and outreach.
You can learn a surprising amount before ever introducing yourself.
But don't approach a church with:
“Can I quote your insurance?”
Start by understanding the organization.
Learn about its ministries.
Learn about its people.
Learn about its facilities.
Learn about its community involvement.
Then have an insurance conversation based on what the organization actually does.
Don't become another agent trying to sell a church policy.Become an insurance professional who understands the ministry.
YOUR 30-DAY CHURCH PROSPECTING PLANIdentify churches and religious organizations in your market.
Build a prospect list.
Visit their websites.
Review publicly available information about their programs.
Do they operate a daycare?
Own vehicles?
Run a school?
Host community events?
Operate food programs?
Maintain multiple buildings?
Then begin conversations.
Learn something from every organization.
Develop relationships with underwriters who understand religious institutions.
Follow up.
Ask for introductions.
Become increasingly knowledgeable about the niche.
Church leaders often know other church leaders.
A good relationship with one organization can lead to introductions throughout the community.

WHAT COULD ONE CHURCH CLIENT BE WORTH?Think beyond the sanctuary.
A religious organization relationship could potentially involve:
• Buildings & Business Personal Property
• General Liability
• Business Income & Extra Expense
• Commercial Auto
• Workers' Compensation
• Abuse & Molestation coverage
• Directors & Officers Liability
• Cyber Liability
• Crime and financial protection
• Umbrella or Excess Liability
• Other specialized coverages
The organization may own multiple buildings.
Multiple vehicles.
A daycare.
A school.
A parsonage.
Other ministry property.
And if you serve the organization well?
The relationship could continue for years.

THE ENTIRE MANUAL IS ONLY $25Buy It Once. Use It From Now On.No monthly subscription.
No expensive seminar.
No travel.
Just practical producer development you can return to whenever a church or religious organization asks your agency for help.
HOW TO INSURE CHURCHES & RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONSDigital Producer Guide
$25 — One-Time Purchase
Immediate Access
GET HOW TO INSURE CHURCHES & RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS → 
COULD ONE ACCOUNT PAY FOR THE MANUAL?You're investing $25 to become better prepared for the next religious organization that asks your agency for help.
One account could pay for the manual.
One building could pay for it.
One commercial vehicle could pay for it.
One exposure you remember to investigate could pay for it.
One referral to another church could pay for it many times over.
$25.One-Time Purchase.A Resource You Can Keep Using.GET THE CHURCHES & RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS GUIDE → BUILD YOUR COMMERCIAL LINES LIBRARYChurches & Religious Organizations are only one opportunity.
The FYI Express How to Insure Commercial Lines Library gives independent agents and producers practical guidance for understanding and pursuing real-world commercial accounts.
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