The Book of Discipline 2016 Par. 2533.2 requires local church trustees to annually review and report on the adequacy of local church property and liability insurance coverage “to ensure that the church, its properties, and its personnel are properly protected against risks.” Since 1797, the Book of Discipline has provided that the property and assets of local churches are held in trust for the benefit of the denomination. Inadequate insurance puts local church property and assets at risk, including the denomination’s trust interest therein. Therefore, the Minnesota Conference recommends the following minimum insurance requirements for local churches:
COMMERCIAL PACKAGE POLICY, including the following minimum limits:
DIRECTORS & OFFICERS (D&O) POLICY, including the following minimum liability limits:
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION POLICY, including supply clergy:
UMBRELLA POLICY (Excess Liability) – An Umbrella policy is suggested but not required.
This excess policy must extend over Commercial General Liability, Pastoral Counseling, Employee Benefits Liability, Owned Auto, Hired & Non-Owned Auto and Workers Compensation. A higher per occurrence limit may be appropriate based on specific risk characteristics such as church size and/or scope of operations and ministries.
Read the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) Minimum Insurance Requirements.
Workers' CompensationDo you know that all employers are required to carry workers compensation coverage on all their employees? Here are some common myths and the facts behind them:
Myth #1: “We don’t have any staff, just the pastor.” The pastor is paid by the church and therefore is staff requiring workers’ compensation coverage.
Myth #2: “We don’t need workers’ compensation since we pay this person less than $600 per year.” Workers compensation does not have a minimum threshold. If the person is paid staff, then he or she should be covered by your workers’ compensation policy.
Myth #3: “Since we give this person a form 1099, they are considered an independent contractor and we do not need to cover them.” There are rules governing who is considered an employee and who is considered an independent contractor. Just giving someone a form 1099 does not make them an independent contractor. If an independent contractor is injured on the job and it is determined that they should have been considered an employee, the church could be liable for higher claims, as well as fines and penalties.
Conference Group Policy: Do you know that the conference offers a group workers’ compensation policy through UnitedHeartland? Our group policy allows us to receive discounts on premiums, which are passed along to churches. In many cases, the conference group policy provides more coverage and is less expensive than a church’s single-policy rate. Contact Kathleen Keller (612-230-6127) to learn more.
If you are part of the Conference Group Policy, please see the section below on how to report Work Place Injuries.
Reporting Work Place Injuries: Please download and follow these instructions to report the injury or illness to the new Nurse Care Line. There is no additional cost to contact the nurse care line if you are in question whether employee should seek care. In life threatening injury or illness please call 911 or seek immediate care at ER/Urgent Care and supervisor will call the Nurse Care Line to report the injury or illness.
Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
122 West Franklin Avenue, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55404
(612) 870-0058