Nashville, TN – Jeff Koch, President and CEO of United Methodist Insurance Program (UMIP) is announcing that the revised Minimum Insurance Requirements for local church property insurance coverage were approved by the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) board in November. The UMIP Board has notified its current insured customers of the change. Both these most recent changes, as well as changes made in May 2019, further enhance ways churches valuate their property and assure they have the correct coverages, limits, terms, and conditions.
The first change is that churches may purchase limits for sexual misconduct indemnification that are less than the stated minimum requirements if there is a legal cap on damages in that church’s state that is lower than the GCFA recommended limits. This assures that churches are not paying for more coverage than regional legal limits allow. The second change adds functional replacement cost as an approved method of property valuation. This change particularly helps older buildings, especially in certain instances where constructions methods are outdated and costly. These changes will not require any change in current policies, but it creates enhancements that could benefit both current and new clients. The church should also know that it may only do so with written approval of the annual conference.
The changes, coupled with the updates made in May 2019, help churches by assuring adequate and appropriate coverage is maintained for all church properties and personnel, as defined by ¶ 2533.2 of The 2016 Book of Discipline.
Koch said, “UMIP appreciates the input from people who deal with insurance issues for the Church. This feedback helps us work with GCFA to consider ways to address their concerns.”
Churches and other United Methodist properties currently insured by UMIP can contact Jeff Koch at 615-369-2317 or the Sovereign Insurance at 484-654-3380 or at UMI@sovinsurance.com with any questions on the revised requirements. To find out if UMIP can save your ministry money, receive a free quote at www.uminsure.org.
About United Methodist Insurance Program
UMI is a non-profit captive insurance company that fulfills its ministry by protecting the assets of the denomination through comprehensive property and liability insurance to ensure access to future generations of United Methodists. UMI’s mission is to protect the people and property of The United Methodist Church. Visit www.uminsure.org.