The Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church continues to take steps to address the pressing property insurance crisis in Louisiana, with a particular focus on its effects on churches across the state.

Recently, the Conference organized a webinar to delve into the future of insurance in Louisiana. This webinar featured Jeff Albright, the Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana. It highlighted several vital concerns, primarily the steep rise in insurance premiums and the overall cost increase.

During the webinar, the Louisiana Conference committed to conducting thorough research and finding a potential solution to address policy cancellations and the surge in insurance premiums.

Following our October webinar, we met with Andrè Comeaux, an insurance broker at McGriff, one of the top six commercial insurance firms in the U.S. with several offices in Louisiana. 

Andrè and his wife, Angie, are members of Asbury United Methodist Church in Lafayette, LA. 

McGriff has offered to help us conduct a feasibility study to determine if they could provide a single policy for all our churches, with shared limits and shared deductibles. This is not a self-insurance fund, nor is it captive insurance – two terms that were discussed extensively in the webinar.  

 

We Need Your Help

The first step in this process is to collect the details of all properties to be insured.

McGriff has customized a Statement of Values spreadsheet for the Louisiana Conference churches to use. The spreadsheet, along with the instructions for completing the SOV, can be found below: 

 

Download Statement of Values Spreadsheet

Instructions for the Spreadsheet

Other documents you will help your work, include:

ISO Roof Codes    Construction Codes

We expect that many churches will have compiled most, if not all, of this information. 

Please contact your current property insurance agent, who can quickly provide this information from your current or prior insurance policies. 

If you need assistance completing the SOV, McGriff will gladly assist you. 

Their contact information is below and can be found here:



André Comeaux, CPCU

Senior Vice President, Business Insurance Broker

Office: 337-314-8930

Cell: 337-278-0686

email: andre.comeaux@mcgriff.com

Joe Montgomery

Commercial Lines Producer

Phone: 318-381-3065

joe.montgomery@mcgriff.com

Gilbert Montgomery

Commercial Lines Producer

Phone: 985-226-7046

Email: gilbert.talbot@mcgriff.com

We understand that some may feel the insurance crisis does not directly impact their church. However, we emphasize that every church’s participation is invaluable. The collective data and insights gathered will be fundamental for McGriff and, in turn, the Conference to effectively address the issue.

 

Should you have any queries or need further information regarding this effort, please do not hesitate to contact your District Superintendent.

We appreciate your support and participation in this vital initiative.