Learn why church property insurance is affected by consistently volatile weather.

Read about three restrictive coverage shifts in the church property insurance market.

The good news is 2026 winter weather in Ohio is not a phenomenon, that is, if you were alive in the 1930s and/or through the Great Blizzard of 1978. For those born in the 1980s and after, winter 2026 may be a first installation in your memory banks of prolonged, extreme cold. Weather varies. What’s different in the 21st century are extreme variations in weather, cold and hot, that reflect consistent volatility. The entire property insurance market, including church property insurance, is disrupted because consistent weather volatility makes loss prediction a high-risk gamble.

Throughout the last two years or so, I have seen more impactful changes in the church property insurance market than at any prior time in my 30 years of serving churches as an independent insurance agent. More recently, Richey-Barrett Insurance has received numerous calls from churches desperate to obtain insurance coverage. The familiar pattern is the current insurance company is non-renewing or significantly increasing the premium due to property exposure. While we do our best to obtain competitive terms for both our current and potential church customers, the entire property insurance market is contending with a consequential awakening.

Consistent volatility in weather is a long-term constant.  Anyone alive throughout the 21st century will experience ramifications, which will disrupt everything from food and energy production to infrastructure and financial markets. While this blog is addressed specifically to churches, much of the content applies to the overall property insurance market.

Insurance companies have tightened up on both underwriting and pricing. For illustrative purposes only, the following three areas highlight huge shifts Richey-Barrett Insurance is continuing to notice, as of February 2026, in the church property insurance market:   (NOTE:  Actual policy limits, terms, and conditions apply.)

  1. Roofs
    Some insurance companies are declining new business churches with roofs aged 20-25 years. Many companies, whether the church be new business or a renewal, are limiting coverage for roof damage to older roofs due to any insured peril to actual cash value (ACV), rather than replacement cost. From a practical standpoint, an ACV loss payout leaves the church responsible for a much greater cost to repair or replace.

    Example: Assume a total roof loss due to any insured peril. The cost to replace is $600,000. An ACV loss payout by the insurance company may be as low as 50%, which would be $300,000. in this example. The insured would be responsible for paying the remaining $300,000. itself.
  1. Wind, hail, or storm damage to exterior siding.
    Depending on loss history, some churches are approaching uninsurability. That means companies do not want to write them, or the premium quoted is unaffordable for some churches.Regardless of loss history, many companies are either substantially raising the deductible for wind, hail, or storm damage, or are requiring loss due to these named perils be paid out on an ACV basis only. As noted in 1. above, the practical result of an ACV loss payout is the insured must absorb a much higher cost to repair or replace damaged siding.
  2. General condition and maintenance of church property.
    Insurance companies are paying more attention to the entire church property(ies), scrutinizing everything from tree-trimming to clutter to neglect.  One specific item some churches overlook is failure to repair interior ceiling and/or wall damage following an exterior water loss. Companies view this as inattention to and/or neglect of property, i.e. not a risk they want to insure.

In general, property risks are not what they used to be. The familiar cycles of hard and soft property insurance markets are evolving, not repeating. Predictable loss models have been supplanted by an environment of unpredictability, which is inescapably accompanied by uncertain and unsustainable insurance claims.

Richey-Barrett Insurance is a Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency experienced in the church insurance marketplace.

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