The insurance industry has a direct role in helping churches acknowledge the spiritual, organizational responsibility to prevent abuse.
Founder / Managing Member
Ministry Pacific Financial Insurance Services, LLC
UNDERSTANDING THE CYCLE OF SEXUAL ABUSE
The “cycle of sexual abuse” can be understood through psychological and social dynamics that manifest in three ways: victimization, perpetuation, and long-term psychological impact. Breaking this cycle requires awareness, strong safeguards, and often professional intervention.
Churches, as trusted community institutions, must acknowledge both the spiritual and organizational responsibility to prevent abuse. The insurance industry, which provides financial and operational safeguards for churches, therefore has a direct role in addressing this issue.
THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY’S CURRENT APPROACH
Today, insurers often rely on stricter underwriting guidelines that require churches to implement internal policies, practices, and educational programs addressing abuse prevention. While these measures are important, they are not enough.
The industry must recognize that simply tightening regulations does not break the cycle of abuse. Instead, insurers must take a holistic approach — integrating uniform underwriting practices with the support of expert consultants who can provide transparency, integrity, and actionable solutions.
A GENERATIONAL SHIFT IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP
Churches themselves are experiencing transformational change. A new generation of leaders is emerging — one that values collaboration, technology, social media, and inspiring societal improvement. Unlike their Baby Boomer predecessors, these leaders seek counsel, welcome diverse opinions, and prioritize well-being.
At the same time, they inherit longstanding challenges:
• Declining attendance and giving, especially as Baby Boomers — historically the most reliable supporters — age
• Regulatory pressures, economic uncertainty, inflation, and the aftereffects of the pandemic
• An insurance hard market defined by higher rates, stricter underwriting, and policy cancellations due to property risks.
This generation will also need to reimagine church facilities — adapting aging buildings, addressing underutilized spaces, and aligning property use with community needs. Online worship will continue to expand, but churches must also balance this with the financial benefits of in-person gatherings.
LESSONS FROM LLOYD’S OF LONDON
During a visit to Lloyd’s of London, the oldest active insurance market, one veteran underwriter described the discipline and rigor of their process. He explained that Lloyd’s underwriters often know more about their insureds than the organizations know about themselves. Their philosophy, built on uberrima fides (“utmost good faith”), is simple: thorough understanding, complete transparency, and paying claims confidently because “we got it right.”
This principle of honesty and full disclosure is the foundation of trust in insurance contracts. Yet, when compared with American carriers, this trust is often undermined — not by lack of expertise, but by how information is gathered and communicated.
THE CREDIBILITY PROBLEM IN U.S. INSURANCE
American insurers employ highly trained professionals — actuaries, attorneys, senior underwriters — whose credentials rival those at Lloyd’s. The weakness lies not in underwriting expertise, but in the sales process.
Too often, insurance salespeople lack formal underwriting training. They rely on price-driven comparisons, stripping away unique coverages in favor of cheaper policies. Churches, often under financial strain, accept these changes without realizing the risks they assume.
SALESPEOPLE vs. EXPERTS
The insurance industry has allowed untrained salespeople to act as field underwriters, despite not being attorneys, risk managers, actuaries, or construction experts. Yet they sell legally binding contracts that determine whether a church can survive financial or reputational crises.
This is particularly dangerous with sexual misconduct claims, where insurers and courts demand clear evidence that a church exercised its duty of care — through policies, reporting compliance, and documented risk prevention. Without accurate applications, thorough documentation, and expert guidance, churches face denied claims and devastating consequences.
TIME TO LEAD WITH EXPERT CHANGE AGENTS
If the industry is serious about helping churches break the cycle of sexual abuse and navigate broader risks, it must replace sales-driven models with expert-driven models.
Insurance carriers should:
• Exercise greater discretion in who is allowed to sell their products.
• Require professional designations and formal training in underwriting and risk evaluation.
• Train representatives to interpret carrier financial ratings and explain them to clients.
• Position credentialed experts — not salespeople — as trusted advisors and change agents.
Experts can provide unbiased assessments, expand strategic options, and build risk mitigation strategies that salespeople are not equipped to deliver. They create urgency, momentum, and buy-in — helping church leaders steward resources wisely while upholding the principle of “do no harm.”
Below are some of these notable experts:
• Ministry Safe — Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Child Safety System
• AccuValuation — Building Valuations
• Strategos — Active Shooter Prevention
• Max Herr — Church & Ministry Compliance Consulting
• HR Ministry Solutions — Human Resources Compliance
CONCLUSION: COUNSEL AND STEWARDSHIP
The Church stands at a crossroads, with a new generation of leaders facing complex social, financial and spiritual challenges. Insurance carriers, too, must decide whether to cling to outdated sales-driven models or step into their rightful role as partners, advisors, and protectors of faith-based institutions.
The way forward is clear: more counsel, more expertise, and more good faith.
Fritz Hahn is the founder and managing member of Ministry Pacific and has three decades of experience in the insurance industry. Hahn founded Ministry Pacific in 2005 with the goal of providing churches and charitable nonprofits with a strategic approach to insurance markets that maximizes their coverage and purchasing power.
