Insuring a church or place of worship can be complex, from knowing which policies are legal essentials to deciding what extra covers you require.
Resources are precious, which is why it is important not to waste money on unnecessary cover while still ensuring your protection would react when you need it to.
We’ve broken down the legal essentials and debunked the jargon to help you make informed decisions.
What is a legal requirement?
There are some policies which all churches need to have.
Employers’ Liability (EL)
It is a legal requirement that any church that employs staff (either paid or voluntary) must have Employers’ Liability Insurance. This covers the church’s legal responsibility for bodily injury or disease to employees caused by work, as well as any costs to you such as legal defence fees in court.
Public Liability (PL)
Another “must have”, this covers the church for losses/damage to third parties or their property, caused by your activities or premises due to your negligence. This could include injury to a member of the public, damages to leased, hired or rented premises, or problems with anything you sell. Church insurance will also provide cover for “church activities”, even those taking place in the community, so it is important to list all activities when arranging cover.
These sound like Business Insurance policies?
There is a lot of overlap between the types of cover a church needs to have, and those required by businesses. That’s because some of the same laws apply to churches as commercial organisations, for example, employment law.
However, when you arrange insurance for a church, make sure you choose policies fit for places of worship. These will have dedicated policy wordings and will understand the risks you are likely to face. As specialist church insurance brokers, we will pair you up with cover that understands your needs – such as our package policies, which include Trustees Indemnity, exhibitions or events organised solely by the church and items taken away from the church, for example.
What else might we need?
As well as the essential covers above, it is sensible to insure any other valuable assets your church owns or operates or things that could potentially cause claims to arise.
Buildings
Protecting any buildings you own from damage, such as fire and flood, this cover can also pay for a full rebuild. Our advisers will help you determine the rebuild value of your property, as the cover limit must reflect this.
Contents
From replacing lost or stolen assets to repairing damages, this works alongside your Buildings Insurance and other extras such as Money Cover.
Landlords or lessees
If you rent your buildings from the owner, insurance provisions will be laid out in the lease. You may be responsible for insuring buildings and carrying out repairs, or just to cover certain risks. On the other hand, if your church rents out its property you will need a specialist Landlords policy.
Trustees’ indemnity
Under some circumstances, the trustees of your church could be held personally liable for claims, such as bad management or corruption. This cover can help them avoid having to pay defence and settlement costs from their private funds.
To find out more about any of the policies mentioned here, talk to Edwards Insurance Brokers’ specialist team today.