By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
WOODWORTH, La. (LBM) – In response to the church insurance crisis that is pressing on congregations across the state, Executive Board members approved, during its Sept. 24 meeting, a motion that would loan $250,000 from the Disaster Relief Restricted Fund to help cover initial costs of a newly-formed church self-insured organization.
The money would be used as a loan for establishment and administration of the self-insurance trust, also known as the Fellowship of Louisiana Churches and Non-Profit Religious Organizations.
“We have continued to take the lead to take steps so that this will become a reality,” Louisiana Baptist Executive Director Steve Horn told Executive Board members. “I have met on many occasions, in person and in conference calls, with individuals in the insurance industry and government officials who can hopefully assist us.”
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 LBC 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.
Gallagher Risk Management of Monroe has helped guide efforts to bring the program online, with a projected start-up date in the second quarter of 2025.
A state source of $3 million of initial funding has been tentatively identified by Gov. Jeff Landry. These funds would cover costs for catastrophic modeling and other steps needed to establish a premium schedule for participants. But the process for transferring the funds has yet to be determined.
Horn said there is a $500 million shortfall in the state’s upcoming budget, but that this money ($3 million) is not part of that discussion.
“The money that (Landy) has earmarked for us is already in a designated, restricted account,” Horn said. “They might have different terminology than we have, but basically it is a designated account that is actually holding money that legislatures from years ago allocated to a very similar project to ours that has never materialized. And it’s the recommendation of the commissioner of insurance to the governor that that money is sitting there and can’t be used for anything else, and so that makes us a prime target for it. So, I take that to be good news.”
PRAYERS NEEDED
Horn asked for prayers as Louisiana Baptists and other faith-based organizations strive to help provide an alternative to traditional property and casualty insurance for cooperating churches.
“I ask your continued prayers and support as we try to make this idea a reality,” he said.
