Alabama Church Liability Insurance

Most of Alabama church liability insurance is to protect your church from lawsuits. There are two kinds of church liability; general liability and excess liability. Both kinds protect the church in case of law suits. This article will cover the general liability of churches in Alabama.

General church liability is sometimes called Special Multi-Peril General Liability. This is the most important liability coverage your church can get. It includes coverage for personal injury, property damage, ministers counseling, sexual misconduct, hired & non-owned auto, directors & officers, and other specialty coverage.

 

Personal Injury

Personal injury church insurance protects from 2 things; people getting hurt and defamation of character.

First, the obvious; if someone gets hurt on the church property, they may decide to sue. For example, a woman drops her teenage son off at a church for a youth group meeting. For whatever reason, he gets hurt. If she doesn’t have insurance and can’t afford the medical bills, she may decide to sue. Unfortunately in America, even hot coffee is a potential law suit.

Second, this coverage includes legal protection against defamation; ruining someone’s reputation, especially by making false statements. If spoken, it’s called slander. If written, it is called libel. If a church leader speaks out against a person or business, it may be considered slander. If they make social media posts, that is libel.

Property Damage

Property damage protection doesn’t protect the churches property! It protects others property from damage while at the church. Alabama church liability insurance really comes into play in the coastal areas. Wind damage is an all too common thing in the Gulf Coast. How might that come into play for property damage liability? For example, Bob’s car is parked in the church parking lot. Suddenly, wind blows and a tree fell on top of the car, totaling it. He could use his own auto insurance to cover the costs of repairs, or he could decide to sue. This also covers property that is leased or rented to the church.

Ministers Counseling

Ministers counseling liability is one of the most important types of church coverage. Degrees in counseling, theology, and divinity may affect eligibility or price for this coverage. Most pastors, rabbis, or clergy are not certified counselors. Yet, they take on a counseling role. How does ministers counseling liability protect your church? Let’s say a woman came to a pastor for marriage counseling. The pastor says, “You should divorce your husband”. So she divorces her husband and then cannot pay her bills. She could sue the church. Any advice given by a minister that has negative implications is a potential law suit.

Sexual Misconduct

This coverage protects the church from potential lawsuits claiming that a church employee or volunteer did anything inappropriate in a sexual way to another. Sexual misconduct can happen on or off church grounds. It includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, and any act of sexual nature. Touching, exposure, forcing, or intercourse especially without consent is usually what defines sexual misconduct. Unfortunately, all it takes is an accusation for a lawsuit.

Hired & Non-Owned Auto

Hired and Non-owned auto liability insurance covers property damage and bodily injury caused by a vehicle. Your church buses, cars, or other vehicles are not covered under this section.

Hired auto coverage covers the church when a rented vehicle has an accident and the church is sued. Do any of your employees rent, borrow, or hire vehicles for business purposes? If so, then you need hired auto liability insurance.

Non-owned auto coverage covers the church when a privately owned vehicle has an accident and the church is sued. Do your employees ever drive their own personal vehicle for business purposes? If yes, then you need non-owned auto liability insurance. There are many common situations where your employees may use their own vehicle for business purposes:

• Employee uses their own vehicle to go to the bank or post office for business purposes.
• You send an employee to pick up a client.
• You send an employee to pick up office supplies, pick up lunch, or drop off a package.

Directors & Officers

Directors and Officers liability protects the church from lawsuits brought against its directors & officers. If they don’t their job or not doing it well enough, they should be covered by D&O insurance. Examples of claims on directors & officers insurance are:

• Sexual harassment
• Discrimination
• Retaliation
• Defamation
• Failure to accommodate (Americans with Disabilities Act)
• Improper employee classification

The most common D&O claim is for improper employee classification. These claims most commonly occur when an employee is fired. An example of this is if a supervisor chooses to label an employee as exempt vs. nonexempt. A nonexempt employee must be paid minimum wage and receive times and ½ pay after 40 hours. An exempt employee won’t receive these benefits. Improper employee classification is especially common in non-profit circles like Alabama churches and synagogues. If an overworked employee who is labeled “exempt” is fired, they may sue. If they win, the employer would have to pay the difference of what they should have paid them had they been property labeled. D&O insurance may cover court costs, but it won’t cover the back wages owed.

Other Specialty Coverage

There are other coverage options to consider if your church has a school or daycare. Educators Legal Liability provides coverage for:

• First Dollar Defense
• Discrimination
• Failure to Educate
• Civil Rights Violations
• Unfair Employment Practices
• Wrongful Termination