Church Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, church insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your church enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your church business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to explain what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your church business?

What this means, for any church business owner, is that if some company claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your church business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sued for.

When you are running your church operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does church insurance protect you from?

For your church business, the most important types of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some official kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any church business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your church businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any church business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your church business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your church business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your church business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single submission and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your church insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your church business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your church business for them, you can quickly face a law suit.

Even if the case against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be high, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Almost all small church business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of church insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your church operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that customers may claim that the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for injuries caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for church

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your church business

Take care! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your truck is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your church business needs specific and costly equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your church business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your church business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any church business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your church business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of church business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of church insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your church business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your church business

Is your church business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for church – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having reduced premiums but still having identical risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a specific date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your church business

You have the option to combine most of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized church businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

In addition, you must separately take out the mandated worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your church business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your church business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits provide for medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s regulations in this regard can leave you as the employer obliged to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation charges are computed based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every church insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your church businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your church operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small independent church businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like New Mexico, they will be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your church business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for church operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect church business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my church business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Certain other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small church business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for church insurance.

How much will church business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for church, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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