The Insurance for Texans Blog

Does Your Church Insurance Policy Actually Cover Your Needs Today?

Written by Amanda Minter | Oct 22, 2025 8:25:58 PM

 

Teddy is the kind of guy who just wants to do the right thing. As a local accountant and a dedicated volunteer on the finance committee for his Waco church. But he carries a heavy responsibility. Right now, that weight feels like a hundred pounds on his shoulders.

Teddy is currently sifting through the proposals for the church’s new property and liability insurance policy. He sees a massive 30% premium spike on the renewal for their old policy. This was on top of a 40% increase in last year's insurance costs.

One of the other finance committee members gave him a quote from a new, special insurance program specifically for religious organizations he has never heard of. Teddy was instantly intrigued and worried because they are offering suspiciously low insurance premiums given everything he had seen in the marketplace.

He knows this isn't just about dollars and cents. It's about protecting the aging infrastructure where people worship and where their busy community does so much good work. And that's why he now has doubts about what all of these policies do and do not protect.

  1. Does this old policy still cover the things that they do today?
  2. Does it protect the new daycare wing they opened last year?
  3. Does it cover the massive expansion of their online giving platform?

He realizes that his biggest fear isn't actually the price; it's that they have completely outgrown the current policy. He wonders if the new program is legitimate. He wonders if the next big hail storm could result in extensive and expensive repairs. He doesn't want to betray the trust of the entire congregation with the wrong choice.

The New Normal: Why Texas Churches Are Trapped in the Guessing Game

Teddy’s situation isn't unique. This is the new normal for churches all across Texas. The anxiety is the same whether you're in Waco or San Antonio. Massive premium spikes due to severe weather, and changing terms and exclusions on insurance policies are rampant. It has felt like the market trends for insurance coverage has been chaotic and forcing Texas churches to switch companies without knowing if they are actually even covered anymore. Many church leaders feel like they end up trading the devil they know for a new one they don't.

You’re forced to choose between a huge, faceless corporation that treats your church property insurance like a number or a low-cost, brand-new carrier that will likely vanish after the first bad storm rolls in. This is where the guesswork sets in, and no one likes it.

You don't have time to become a church insurance expert, but you feel all the pressure to vet a company you’ve never heard of. It’s this widespread confusion and fear of not being covered or having a claim denied that makes church leaders feel like they’re betting their organization’s financial future on a coin flip. The policy is built for the church they were five years ago, not the ministry they are today.

It's time to stop thinking about a policy renewal and start thinking about a risk update that protects your future, not your past. The solution to an outdated, obsolete policy is to adopt a future-focused assessment for risk management.

This is the core idea of our book, The Promise of Certainty. It details a specialized assessment process focused on where your church is now and where it's going. This three-phase approach helps you to reliably identify what you need and stop guessing.

  1. Where You Are
  2. Where You're Headed
  3. What You Need to Get There

To show you why this assessment is vital, let’s look at the three biggest reasons your current policy is potentially protecting a version of your ministry that no longer exists.

Problem 1: Your Property Valuation is Stuck in the Past

One of the biggest failures of an older policy is that it is often based on outdated valuations of your church buildings that simply do not reflect the current economic reality.

A policy purchased even just five years ago assumes material and labor costs from that time. Today, due to massive inflation, supply chain issues, and high demand across Texas, the cost to rebuild a church has surged dramatically.

If your current coverage limits aren't updated, you can be severely underinsured. This can leave your budget in a massive hole in a major event.

Beyond the brick and mortar, your church has likely added new technology, updated HVAC systems, or performed major renovations since the policy was written. Standard property insurance often a coverage limits for contents coverage as a percentage of your rebuild costs. That amount may not come close to those updated and new technology.

The "Where You Are" phase of The Promise of Certainty immediately identifies these property insurance coverage shortfalls. We don't guess the rebuilding cost; we calculate what it takes to rebuild your ministry today.

Problem 2: Ministry Activities and Digital Risks Are Uncovered

Churches today are not just quiet spaces for worship; they are busy community centers that host everything from daycare to athletic leagues. Your liability claim exposure has grown far beyond a standard Sunday service.

A few years ago, data security wasn't an insurance problem. Now, nearly every church handles sensitive data that can include donor records, membership lists, background checks for volunteers, and online giving platforms. An old policy has zero coverage for cyber liability insurance, leaving your religious organization completely exposed to a data breach or ransomware attack.

If you have experienced growth, that also means more people. More people mean more need for liability insurance coverage. If your church has added new mission trips, transportation services (vans/buses), or expanded youth church activities, your general liability coverage is probably insufficient.

The "Where You're Headed" phase of The Promise of Certainty looks at planned ministry growth, and not just what you do today. What you plan to do next year, or three years from now. The goal is to ensure future digital and physical church activities are covered before they become a liability coverage nightmare.

Problem 3: The Claims Process is Now a Texas Fight

The way you experience church insurance after a disaster has changed drastically. If your current policy is with a large, generic carrier, your expectations for claims service are likely too high.

The insurance market in Texas is much more volatile and litigious now. Insurance providers are much more aggressive about shifting more of the cost to cover your church over to you through elevated property deductibles, depreciating claim settlements, and exclusions and restrictions for coverage.

If you don't know these terms, you're not alone. But they can lead to massive friction and cost during a claim. If Teddy goes with that cheap new quote, he could be inviting an unnecessary fight.

A generic agent who does not specialize in church insurance may not understand the complexities of a church claim. They don't think about historical building restoration or liability for guest speakers. You deserve the support of a dedicated church insurance specialist who can advocate for the organization before and during the claims process.

The "What You Need to Get There" phase of The Promise of Certainty focuses on securing a policy with specialist advocacy. This ensures your church gets the support and policy structure needed to successfully navigate the current reality of Texas church operations and how to protect church assets.

Your Policy Must Reflect Your Future

This level of specialized, future-focused thinking is only possible because of the extensive experience gathered while providing True Texas Church Insurance to hundreds of churches all across this state. It is why we wrote The Promise of Certainty. It’s a dedicated, proven approach that removes the guesswork that any church community can use.

The key is to adopt this comprehensive, three-phase assessment to gain the complete clarity needed to protect your congregation and their mission. No matter where your church is in our phases of church growth, your church insurance policy must be right there with it.

Stop wondering if your church is using obsolete risk management and start building a plan that reflects your vision to help you get there. Teddy was glad he spoke with our agent to secure the best policy for his church.

Click the button to start your personalized risk assessment and start your journey toward The Promise of Certainty.