This website is best viewed in a browser that supports web standards.

Skip to content or, if you would rather, Skip to navigation.

Listen Live
Donate
MARYVILLE

KXCV-KRNW


News Brief

July 26, 2024 |  By: Jeremy Werner

Natural disasters leave churches struggling with insurance

Natural disasters

An ongoing wave of disasters - severe thunderstorms and flooding in the Midwest, Gulf Coast hurricanes, wildfires in California - along with skyrocketing construction costs post-COVID have left the insurance industry reeling.

United Methodist churches in Iowa have also lost insurance, according to the Iowa Annual Conference, in the aftermath of severe weather in the area. The Reverend Ron Carlson, treasurer of the Iowa conference, said that both small rural churches and larger churches have been affected. Carlson said the conference reminded churches earlier this year to be proactive in checking on their insurance and not waiting for a renewal offer.

The UMC’s Book of Discipline requires churches to carry insurance for the full replacement cost of their buildings as well as liability insurance. For some churches, said Carlson, that’s just not possible. He said the conference is trying to sort out what happens to those churches. For struggling churches dealing with declining membership and giving, he said, rising insurance may be the last straw.