By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The first meeting of the Church Insurance Advisory Committee, Jan. 11, resulted in an agreement to develop a communication plan to urge congregations to participate in the data collection phase of the effort to establish a church self-insurance program in Louisiana.
“Pastors need to know that submitting the information is as easy as calling their insurance agents and asking them to send a copy of their present policy and a five-year history of claims,” said Kyle Acklin, Monroe-area president with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance, risk management and consulting firm.
The documents may be mailed directly to:
Louisiana Churches
Self-Insurance Trust
2003 Tower Drive
Monroe, LA 71201
Alternatively, the forms may be sent via FAX, (318) 322-3172.
The participants in the inaugural meeting included pastors, attorneys and others with a wide perspective on the insurance crisis that has plagued churches after the state was pummeled in 2020-2021 by Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and Ida.
BACKGROUND
In 2023 congregations began to receive nonrenewal notices or to see exorbitant premium hikes from the three largest insurers of faith-based organizations in the state (Church Mutual, Brotherhood Mutual and GuideOne). In response, the Louisiana Baptist Convention launched a successful effort with the state legislature to establish a church self-insurance trust that is open to congregations of all faith traditions.
Former state Sen. Robert Mills, with co-sponsor Sen. Katrina Jackson, championed Senate Bill 147, which was signed into law as Act 259, that authorizes churches and other faith-based organizations to form a self-insurance cooperative. There are no doctrinal components to the program and churches will not be tied to each other religiously. Each will be an individual member of the self-insurance trust, like a customer of any insurance company.
LOOKING FORWARD
Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn said the self-insurance trust offers hope for churches to obtain coverage, secure complete protection of property and the likelihood of reduced premiums.
“Many of the churches in Louisiana face the real threat of not being able to build back when, not if, the next hurricane comes,” Horn told the Baptist Message. “I’m not willing to sit back and let that occur. So, we are at work to create a viable alternative to traditional insurance that will remove this threat to sharing the Gospel in our state.
“Please make sure your congregation submits your insurance data to help us craft a risk profile for the state and move forward in launching this critical assistance to churches,” he added.
