Catholic Church & Parish Insurance
Most Catholic parishes don’t buy insurance on their own. Their diocese insures them through a diocesan program, and the parish pays its share. Knowing how that program works tells you what’s already covered and where a parish, school or Catholic organization still needs coverage of its own.
How Dioceses Insure Their Parishes
Dioceses usually use one of three setups:
- A diocesan self-insurance program. The diocese pays claims from its own fund up to a set level and buys excess insurance above it for large catastrophes. Each parish pays a premium based on its exposure.
- A pooled program through Catholic Mutual Group. Catholic Mutual is a nonprofit, founded in 1889, that insures only Church-owned institutions and serves more than 125 dioceses and archdioceses. Many dioceses belong to its self-insured pools.
- Diocesan master policies with commercial carriers. Some dioceses place property, auto, workers’ comp or crime under master policies covering every parish.
These programs are broad. One diocesan program, for example, covers buildings and contents, general liability, D&O, employment practices, sexual misconduct liability, auto, workers’ comp, cyber, crime, flood and earthquake for all its parishes and agencies.
What Diocesan Programs Usually Leave Out
Even a broad program has gaps a parish should know about:
- Personal vehicles. Volunteers and staff driving their own cars need their own auto coverage; one diocese requires at least $100,000/$300,000 liability limits for private vehicles used on Church business.
- Deductibles. Parishes typically pay the first part of each loss themselves (one program excludes the first $2,500 of each property loss).
- Common property exclusions such as wear and tear, mold, settling, and mechanical breakdown.
- Outside groups using parish facilities. Renters and event hosts are generally expected to carry their own liability insurance and name the parish as additional insured.
Check your diocese’s insurance manual or ask its risk manager for the details of your program.
When Catholic Organizations Need Their Own Coverage
Some Catholic organizations sit outside a diocesan program and buy coverage directly:
- Independent Catholic schools and academies
- Religious orders and institutes, depending on how they’re organized
- Catholic nonprofits, charities and apostolates that aren’t diocesan entities
- Groups that rent parish halls or hold events on parish property
These organizations need the same core coverage as any church or nonprofit: property, general liability, abuse and molestation, D&O, workers’ comp and auto. An independent broker can compare carriers that write religious organizations.
Get Help
Integrity Now Insurance Brokers works with religious organizations of every tradition. Learn more about insurance for religious organizations, or see how we cover Episcopal churches and dioceses and Presbyterian parishes.
