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.
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Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.