Whether it’s employment practices, cyber liability, security, or financial protocols in a church, each risk must be viewed through a risk management prism — Reduce, Insure, Stop or Keep (R.I.S.K.)
The same is true for child sexual abuse, the No. 1 risk churches face right now.
President
James Greene & Associates
REDUCING the risk
Incidents of abuse in the Church (and the magnitude of the judgments against them) have increased sharply in the 30-plus years I’ve worked in the insurance space. In response, James Greene & Associates works with MinistrySafe to say: We know the risk of child sexual abuse in the Church exists. How can we help reduce it?
Together, we build awareness among our church clients; ensure proper screening and background checks at these churches; build effective policies and procedures for child protection; and help manage and oversee all these processes for our clients on a consistent, continual basis.
We also partner with Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company to provide resources devoted to proper screening and background checks, as well as awareness training, which — as the fundamental piece of abuse prevention — teaches workers to identify a predator’s grooming techniques and processes.
INSURING the risk
In many churches, the long-held ‘It can’t happen here’ mentality regarding sexual abuse still prevails. Recently, many have been surprised at how difficult it is to obtain the sexual abuse coverage limits they used to get. In the past, a premium was charged for additional coverage, and that was that.
Now, however, some carriers have stopped insuring churches due to the rise of abuse incidents. Other carriers are limiting the amount of insurance they’ll provide for houses of worship.
All of this is problematic, but it doesn’t get to the root problem.
Case in point: In talking with a ministry entity recently, the client kept insisting that his church needs a multi-million-dollar limit for sexual abuse. The point I reiterated is that the church needs to identify where the pipe is compromised, not get a bigger mop.
As a church, I’d much rather have a top-notch risk reduction / child protection policy in place than a super high limit of sexual abuse insurance. Why? Because insurers require proof of the policies, plans and procedures already in place at your church before awarding coverage, now. They want to know how you’re protecting kids in your ministry today.
Based on the responses, many ministries aren’t qualifying for insurance at all. Also, and most importantly, no monetary amount can overcome the negative impact of an abuse allegation for a ministry.
STOPPING the risk
About 20 years ago, I remember church leaders calling me to say they wanted to build skate parks to attract youth. I always responded: That’s awesome and great, but who’s going to build it? Who’s going to maintain it? Who’ll monitor it? How do we manage the inevitable injuries that will occur? Many hadn’t considered these questions. It’s one example of a risk that I’d elect to STOP before it starts.
Similarly, if the objective is to stop the risk of an auto accident involving a church vehicle, I’d advise the church client not to own one.
We don’t have that option with child sexual abuse protection. Churches can’t and won’t stop ministering to kids, and burying our heads in the sand isn’t a viable risk management approach.
So, can we eliminate this risk? No. Avoid it? Also, no.
Which brings us to …
KEEPING the risk
The “K” in R.I.S.K. asks the question: Do we keep the risk and mitigate it? I’ll pose a few different scenarios related to this question.
Our firm works in The New Madrid Seismic Zone, where an initial earthquake occurred in late December of 1811 with aftershocks into early 1812, creating massive destruction. It hasn’t happened to this magnitude since. Churches here can purchase earthquake insurance, but many don’t. Essentially, they’re opting to keep that risk. Or they’re ensuring that their deductibles for earthquake coverage are manageable, in case the unthinkable happens again.
Now, let’s transition over to sexual abuse coverage and the protection of kids. With the average lawsuit payout coming in at $2.5 million — not including the cost of retaining legal counsel — churches don’t have the luxury of keeping this risk. Many sexual abuse limits on an insurance policy are only $300,000 for damages awarded; this is far below the current average payout. Where would the church find the funding above the insurance limit? As we have seen, an incident of child sexual abuse could easily close a church’s doors for good.
Behind the 8-ball, but hopeful
Our agency insures more than 8,000 churches and related ministries. Among them, child sexual abuse prevention is the biggest blind spot we observe.
When asked what they are doing in the way of prevention, many tell us: “Background checks.” To this, Greg Love would ask, But are we building the right fence? If we need to keep the rabbits out of the garden, a 4-foot barbed wire fence will not be successful. Background checks are important but only one part of an effective fence of protection. And what do predators look for? Soft targets. Places that are exposed. Too often, this is churches and ministries.
Our team is unique in that we don’t just give you a plan to implement child sexual abuse prevention at your church; we walk you through the process. Then, we help you maintain that process by coming back around annually and asking important questions. Who’s handling your church’s child protection program this year? What difficulties are you running into? Do you need additional training for your staff?
We do it this way because we know that the point person changes. For example, a pastor might be a huge advocate for MinistrySafe and all it does to protect children; but if he’s called to another church in five years, who will “mind the store” on child protection after he’s gone? Having an agent who can help you keep your monitoring and oversight current is essential.
Someone once told me that arriving 10 minutes early is on time, arriving on time is late, and arriving 10 minutes after is unacceptable. When it comes to child sexual abuse prevention, the clock is ticking, and the Church is late.
That doesn’t mean we curse the darkness. Instead, let’s light a candle.
Kurt Hetherington, CIC, CRM, CPIA started his career with James Greene & Associates in 1994 and currently serves as president. He is the agency director for American Church Group of Texas and New Mexico; a past board member and president of Professional Insurance Agents of Arkansas; and served on the board of the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of risk management for ministries at conventions and workshops.
