What Could Go Wrong?

1. Let’s say you decide to finish the evening of your Fall Festival in grand style with a lovely fireworks display…only it was a bit more windy that evening than was planned for, and some of the fireworks were inadvertently blown into some dry grass and a fire breaks out. The windy conditions fan the flame and your neighbor’s property is damaged. The call to your insurance agent to file the claim goes a little like this: “Fireworks? Real fireworks? They started a fire? Did you notify us about the fireworks? Now that’s a whole different ball game…” Uh oh.

2. Perhaps your men’s ministry plans a skeet shoot to raise money for beautification of the church grounds…and you have a LOT of grounds, so no one bothers to think anything of heading out to the back acreage with all the manpower and firepower they can muster. Only there’s one amateur in the group, who also happens to have a faulty shotgun. Bad combination. Before you know it you have three injured men, one of whom is a guest who proceeds to make a call to an attorney. You immediately think that the church insurance certainly covers this. When you call your agent, he stutters, “Three people wounded at a skeet shoot? That’s a new one…why didn’t you call me before the event? ”

3. Here’s a good one: your very active Senior Adults decide to have some fun and take a hot air balloon ride! After a wonderful time, on the downward descent, the basket bumps against a group of trees, then makes a rather rough landing, jarring those inside. Your oldest church member has trouble getting out of the basket because the hard landing has actually fractured her fragile hip. You have a sinking feeling that your property insurance can do no good in this situation. You think surely your liability coverage will pick this up since the group was away from church grounds. You call your insurance agent, who can’t believe he wasn’t informed of this risky business beforehand. Not good.

Wonderful ideas for special activities seem to be quite abundant, especially when the weather begins to turn crisp and clear! As you plan for your holiday events and fundraisers, ask yourself this question: is this function we are planning out-of-the-ordinary? If you have even the slightest inclination that it IS, take a few moments to notify your insurance agent! Here’s why…

Each of the above examples might be covered in your church insurance policy. The real issue is that you don’t want to find out they are NOT after there has been a claim. Bottom line is, it takes just a few moments to pick up the phone or send an email to your insurance agent, give a brief description of your “high adventure” plans, and ask for their insight and recommendations. You’ll feel better, knowing that all your bases are covered and those involved in your activities will be better protected.

There’s no need to shy away form adventurous activities, however, it’s a great time to develop trust and practice good communication with your agent! After all, they have your best interest at heart.

This article provided to you by Strong Tower Insurance, Inc. Strong Tower Insurance is pleased to partner with All Pro Pastors in support of pastors and their congregations by offering a variety of insurance solutions to protect the mission of the church!