When Pastor Allen saw the dark Texas clouds rolling toward Waco, he knew the storm was serious. The sirens wailed, the winds roared, and within minutes it was over. It ended up being just another fast-moving Texas supercell. After the wind settled down, Pastor Allen went outside to survey the damage. From the ground, the church seemed fine except for a few missing shingles.

The next day is when the story changed. A roofing contractor climbed onto the church’s roof and assessed the damage. When he was done, he concluded that the entire roof was damaged and needed to be replaced.

Confident in their coverage, the church filed a hail claim. That’s when the church leadership was hit with the reality of what their church’s insurance policy actually covered. Pastor Allen learned that their policy carried a much higher deductible than the church leaders expected. In addition, since the roof was over ten years old, it was only covered for actual cash value instead of replacement cost.

This resulted in an insurance payout that would barely cover a few shingles, let alone a whole new roof. What started as routine storm damage turned into a hard lesson in fine print, deductibles, and the true meaning of stewardship.

In Week 5 of Faith, Stewardship, and Insurance, we explore other stories that are similar to what happened to Pastor Allen and his congregation. These stories highlight many moments when churches discover that “having insurance” and “understanding insurance” are not the same thing. Faithful stewardship means knowing the details of your church’s insurance policy. Details like deductibles, sublimits, exclusions, and coverage types determine whether your church will recover well or struggle to make it to the other side of an unexpected disaster.

Listen to Week 5 Episodes