Every church’s insurance policy should be tailored to the size of its ministry, with provisions for everything from computer fraud to mission trips to liability.

But, how much does a comprehensive policy like this cost?

First you have to find out the “premium,” which is the amount of money your church pays for coverage. Premium prices vary between insurance agencies. So, for this example, we’ll use a popular option from GuideOne Insurance – the Nation’s oldest church insurance agency.

Estimating Cost Based on the FaithGuard® Policy

To get an idea of what your church would pay for insurance coverage, we’ll use GuideOne’s FaithGuard® Church package policy as an example. It includes both property and liability coverage, so it will give us a good gauge of what your cost would be.

Of the 4 example churches below, one should should match up close to your ministry.

EXAMPLE 1 – Tenant church leasing from a school. 

Approximate Premium: $900 – $1,200

Whether your church is new or an established ministry a tenant church is one that leases their building either from a larger church or school or a storefront. If you do not own the building you are a tenant whether paying rent or not.

A tenant church we insure with a comprehensive liability package(always including coverage for Directors & Officers and sexual misconduct liability)  that has a minimum of contents  runs approximately $900-$1,200 depending on location. Usually your landlord or building owner will request a certificate of liability naming him as an “additional insured.”  This example would be for a church that does not have to tear down and set up each week. The amount of square footage and value of their possessions effect the premium the most.

EXAMPLE 2  – Church with building and daycare. 

Approximate Premium: $2,800 – $3,800

Church with small daycare, owns their brick building which is valued around $1,000,000 typically runs approximately $2,800 – $3,800.  Many times the county or Early Learning Coalition will be asked to be named an additional insured. Factors effecting premiums are the number of students, number of employees, location of building, year building was constructed, safeguards, i.e. built in sprinklers, monitored burglar and fire alarms, child protection guidelines and claims experience.

EXAMPLE 3 – Church with single brick building. 

Approximate Premium: $1,900 – $2,400

This would be a Church with a single brick building in good maintenance valued around $800,000. This church  has no daycare with minimal furnishings. Factors effecting premiums are year built, claims history, location (in town or in rural area).

EXAMPLE 4 – Large church with multiple locations. 

Approximate Premium: $18,000+

This would be a fairly large church with multiple locations and extensive ministries. This church would invest heavily in technology and have a large staff.  Be sure to cover items being taken by trailer from a storage unit to the satellite location. Factors effecting premium are square footage of satellite locations, value of contents (owned equipment) at various locations, value of items stored in trailer off-site, number of employees, child protection guidelines.

After reviewing your organization’s needs, we can select specific products for your consideration as you evaluate your insurance coverage.