Read why maintaining church property(ies) is a must for insurance purposes.
Learn why a church might possibly receive a cancellation or non-renewal notice.
Look out for your church property(ies). There is no practical way to avoid routine maintenance, scheduled walkarounds, and impromptu checks to assess the state of your church buildings. Churches that ignore or continue to put off reasonable maintenance jeopardize their ability to keep or obtain property insurance coverage.
By and large, insurance companies honor their policy obligations and treat insureds fairly. However, an insurance company is not an auto withdrawal to satisfy every property loss that an insured church experiences. With respect to property insurance, the first rule of thumb is that damage associated with wear and tear and neglect of property is excluded. For example, an aged roof that has worn shingles due to no particular weather event is the church’s responsibility. Interior water damage caused by a hole in a worn roof will not be covered by your church’s property insurance policy, nor will the need for a new roof or roof repair.
Another property insurance rule of thumb is that damage must be the result of a covered peril. To that end, insurance companies investigate claims. Suppose the aged roof with worn shingles in the example above was ripped off due to severe winds. Wind is a covered property peril. That said, each claim is unique and subject to the terms, conditions, and limits of the property insurance policy. Absent any limiting terms and conditions*, the damage to the roof and interior would be covered up to the policy limits, subject to the deductible. Even so, any paid loss by an insurance company would become part of the church’s loss history. Loss history is part of underwriting considerations for that particular church going forward 3 to 5 years. Churches with adverse claim histories are more likely to receive a non-renewal notice from their insurance company.
Investigation of a property claim is not limited to determining whether or not the damage was caused by an insured peril. Continuing with the aged roof and worn shingles example, adjusters are trained to notice detail and general property condition. The adjuster would have noted the worn shingles that existed prior to the severe wind, as well as possible other areas in poor condition, such as cracked window panes; ceiling and/or floor tiles stained or warped due to long-term water exposure (not from a single severe wind event); jam-packed storage spaces that are a fire hazard. These are all neglected property issues, which raise the risk level of the church from the standpoint of both property and liability insurance. A church jeopardizes being cancelled or non-renewed for neglected property issues.
*An example of a limiting policy condition is an insurance company agrees to renew a church’s insurance coverage, but endorses the policy to exclude any damage to the roof and interior damage resulting from a comprised roof. This condition might be an accommodation by the insurance company to continue insuring the church, subject to the roof exclusion. As a practical matter, the church would likely be allowed one year to fully replace its roof. If not done, a notice of non-renewal would be issued by the insurance company for non-compliance.
Richey-Barrett Insurance is your Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency for church insurance. We are available to discuss your insurance needs and guide you through the process of claims handling.
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