Does Our Church Security Team Have Its Own Liability Coverage?

Usually not on its own. A church security team is covered by the church’s general liability policy only as far as that policy allows — and many policies limit or exclude armed security, contracted guards, or the use of force. Whether your team is covered depends on who is on it, whether they carry, and what your carrier has in writing.

Here’s the scenario I hear most often. A church north of Atlanta runs three Sunday services and a Wednesday night program. Two years ago a few men in the congregation — a retired deputy, a couple of concealed-carry permit holders — started standing in the lobby. Nobody wrote anything down. The administrator now has a board member asking a simple question: if one of those men has to act, are we covered?

Her incumbent agent’s answer was “you should be fine.” That is not an answer. Below is how to get a real one.

Who is on your security team changes the answer

The single biggest factor in whether your security team is covered is its composition. Unarmed volunteers watching doors and parking lots are ordinary volunteer activity under most church liability policies. Armed volunteers, off-duty police officers, and contracted security firms each sit under different coverage — and each needs its own paperwork.

Unarmed volunteers. Greeters who double as lobby watchers, parking-lot teams, the person who walks the children’s wing — most church liability policies treat these people as insureds while they’re acting on the church’s behalf. Screening and a written role description still matter, but the coverage question is usually straightforward.

Armed volunteers. This is the exposure carriers care about most. Some ministry carriers cover a screened, trained armed team under the church’s liability policy; some restrict or exclude armed security unless it’s specifically added; some won’t write it at all. You cannot tell which one you have by reading the renewal summary. Someone has to read the policy — or ask the carrier in writing.

Off-duty police officers. An officer’s department coverage often does not follow them into a paid off-duty job at your church. Without a written contract that spells out duties, supervision, and whose insurance responds, you may be relying on coverage that isn’t there. We wrote about this in why churches need a contract with off-duty officers.

A contracted security firm. The firm’s liability policy is primary for its own people. Your job is to hold a current certificate of insurance from the firm that names the church as an additional insured, and to make sure the contract’s indemnity language doesn’t quietly shift their risk back onto you. Legal Assist will review that contract for Brotherhood Mutual policyholders.

What “covered” actually means after a security incident

General liability responds to claims that the church is legally responsible for someone’s injury or property damage. After a security incident, those claims usually allege excessive force, or that the church was negligent in choosing, training, or supervising the team — or in failing to act. The individual team member’s own protection is a separate question with real limits.

Two things administrators tend to get backwards:

• The claim is against the church, not just the volunteer. Even a justified use of force can produce a lawsuit naming the church for negligent selection or supervision. That is the claim your liability policy is — or isn’t — built to defend.
• Volunteer protections are narrower than people assume. Idaho passed a statute giving civil immunity to volunteer church security teams. Georgia has not — we covered that in our note on the Idaho law. Federal and state volunteer protections have exceptions for gross negligence and willful misconduct, and none of them protect the church itself.

If your team is armed, ask specifically whether the policy covers a shooting by a team member, whether defense costs come out of the limit, and whether the carrier requires the team to meet stated screening or training conditions for coverage to apply.

What a written security plan needs to say — and why your agent wants it

A written security plan — the security piece of a broader church risk-management plan — is what turns “some guys stand in the lobby” into something a carrier can insure. Brotherhood Mutual urges every church to have a violence response plan, and recommends that only current or former law enforcement or military professionals — or a licensed firm — carry weapons. Your agent needs the plan to answer the carrier’s questions before a claim does.

At minimum, the plan should cover:

1. Who is on the team, and how they’re selected — an application, a criminal background check, an interview. Brotherhood Mutual’s volunteer safety and security team guide lays out a five-step process.
2. Who may carry, and under what credential — active or retired law enforcement, or a licensed firm. Brotherhood Mutual’s guidance on armed security team members is blunt that concealed-carry permit holders without professional training may be more liability than protection.
3. A use-of-force policy — in detail, with the levels of response for different situations, and what team members are not to do.
4. Training cadence and attendance records — scheduled, mandatory, documented.
5. Incident reporting — who is notified, what gets written down, when the agent and the carrier are called.
6. Coordination with local law enforcement — most Georgia departments will walk your building with you.

Keep the plan, the roster, and the training log where the administrator can hand them to the agent in an afternoon. That file is what a carrier asks for after an incident.

The questions to ask your agent — and get answered in writing

Ask your agent whether the policy covers your security team as it actually exists today — armed or unarmed, volunteer or contracted — and get the answer as an email or a policy citation, not a phone call. Then ask what conditions the carrier attaches. If the answer takes more than a week, that tells you something too.

• Does our liability policy cover our security team as it is today? Which policy section says so?
• Is armed security excluded, limited, or covered? Are there conditions — screening, training, credentials — we have to meet?
• If a team member uses force, are defense costs inside or outside the liability limit?
• Do our off-duty officers need a separate contract or their own coverage for the carrier to be comfortable?
• Have you seen our written security plan? Does the carrier want a copy?
• If we change the team — add an armed member, hire a firm — who do we tell, and how fast can you confirm in writing?

If you can’t get those answered, that’s not a coverage problem yet — it’s a relationship problem, and it’s one of the ten questions in our coverage-gaps check. Most of the churches we write in Georgia already had a security team when they came to us; what they didn’t have was anyone who had put it in the file. That’s part of what church insurance in Georgia should include, and it’s exactly what a coverage review looks at.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are church security volunteers covered under the church’s general liability policy?

Often yes for unarmed volunteers acting on the church’s behalf, because most church liability policies treat volunteers as insureds. Armed volunteers are different: coverage may be limited, conditioned on screening and training, or excluded outright depending on the carrier. Read the policy or get the carrier’s answer in writing rather than assuming.

Does a church need separate insurance for an armed security team?

Sometimes. Some ministry carriers cover a properly screened and trained armed team under the church’s liability policy; others require it to be specifically added, and some won’t insure it. The only way to know is to ask your agent to point to the policy language and confirm any conditions the carrier attaches.

Are off-duty police officers covered by their department when working church security?

Frequently not. Department coverage generally applies to on-duty conduct, and a paid off-duty assignment at a church may fall outside it. A written contract that defines duties, supervision, and whose insurance responds — and a certificate from the officer’s own coverage where available — closes that gap.

What does a church security plan need to include for insurance purposes?

Team selection and background screening, who may carry a weapon and under what credential, a detailed use-of-force policy, a training schedule with attendance records, incident-reporting steps, and coordination with local law enforcement. Carriers ask for this documentation after an incident; having it ready is part of being covered.

Does Georgia law protect volunteer church security team members from lawsuits?

Georgia has no statute like Idaho’s that specifically grants civil immunity to volunteer church security teams. General volunteer protections exist but carry exceptions for gross negligence and willful misconduct, and they do not shield the church itself from claims of negligent selection, training, or supervision.

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Not sure what your policy says about your team? Bring the roster and the plan to a coverage review — we’ll tell you what’s covered, what isn’t, and confirm it in writing. If we can’t help, we’ll say so and stop.