Church Insurance Guide
What Should a Georgia Church Look for in an Insurance Agency?
Most church administrators didn't choose to handle their church's insurance — it landed on their plate. Here are the ten questions that matter most before you trust an agency with your ministry.
By Matthew Campbell — Principal, MinistrySure · Brotherhood Mutual Agent of the Year
Choosing a church insurance agency isn't like choosing a general contractor or a payroll provider. The risks churches face are specific, the carriers that serve them are specialized, and the difference between a generalist agent and a ministry specialist can be tens of thousands of dollars in uncovered claims.
I've been insuring Georgia churches for nearly two decades. These are the questions I'd want every church administrator to ask — of us, or of any agency they're considering.
1. Does the agency work exclusively with churches?
The single most important question. An agency that insures restaurants, contractors, and retail stores alongside your church is using a commercial policy adapted for ministry use. That's a fundamental mismatch.
Ministry-specific carriers like Brotherhood Mutual build their policies around how churches actually operate — counseling liability, volunteer injuries, abuse and molestation coverage, and more. An agency that only writes church and ministry insurance knows these exposures before you have to explain them.
“Having an agent who understands the unique needs of churches is invaluable.”
— David Dumpe, MinistrySure client
2. Do they have access to Brotherhood Mutual or Insurance Board?
Brotherhood Mutual and Insurance Board are the two carriers built specifically for churches and faith-based organizations. Brotherhood Mutual has insured churches exclusively since 1917. Their policy forms include ministry-specific language — pastoral counseling liability, religious freedom defense, security team coverage — that standard commercial carriers don't offer.
Not every agency can access them. Ask directly. If an agency can't get you a Brotherhood Mutual quote, they're working with commercial carriers that have adapted their forms for churches — and those adaptations have gaps.
3. How quickly do they respond when you call or email?
This matters more than most church administrators realize — until they actually need something. A certificate of insurance request that takes three days. A claim question that goes to voicemail. A renewal question that bounces between staff members.
The agency you choose should be reachable — by phone, by email, and by the same person who knows your account. Ask what their response time commitment is. Then test it before you sign — send an inquiry before you've committed and see how fast they reply.
“Sent Matt a text after hours with a question and he got back to me within 5 minutes.”
— Tami Jordan, MinistrySure client
4. Do they understand the unique risks churches face?
A generalist agent will insure your buildings and hand you a general liability policy. A ministry specialist will ask about your counseling program, your armed security team, your mission trips, your van that volunteers drive, and your children's ministry.
Those are the exposures where Georgia churches get caught with gaps. If your agent isn't asking those questions during your first conversation, they don't know what they don't know. And you'll find out the hard way when a claim gets denied.
“They asked questions about our church that we never thought to ask ourselves. After the review, we realized we had gaps we didn’t even know about.”
— Edward Keen, Church Trustee
5. Will they tell you if your current coverage is already adequate?
This is the honesty test. A good agency should be willing to review your current coverage and tell you honestly if you're already in good hands — even if that means they don't get your business.
If an agency pressures you to switch without doing a thorough review first, or tells you there are problems before they've seen your policy, that tells you everything about how they'll treat you as a client. We tell churches when they're already well-covered. It happens. And those churches refer us to others because of it.
6. How do they handle claims?
Insurance is a promise. The policy is the contract. The claim is when that promise either gets kept or broken. Ask your agency how they handle the claims process — do they advocate for you, or do they step back and let the carrier handle everything?
A good ministry insurance agency stays involved from first notice to final settlement. Ask for a specific example of how they've helped a client through a difficult claim. If they can't give you one, that tells you something.
“They were fully involved in helping with hurricane damage recovery — far beyond just helping file the claim.”
— Larry Wiggins, MinistrySure client
7. How long have they been serving churches?
Experience matters in church insurance because the risks are specific and the carriers are specialized. An agency that has served Georgia churches for decades has seen claims that a newer agency hasn't.
They know which carriers exit the market, which underwriters to call when a church has a challenging risk profile, and what coverage gaps appear most often in Georgia church policies. MinistrySure has been serving Georgia ministries since 1989 — over 35 years. That institutional knowledge protects you.
8. Can they present options your board can understand?
Most church administrators don't make the final insurance decision alone — the senior pastor, board, or finance committee is involved. A good agency should be able to present a clear, side-by-side comparison that non-insurance people can read and act on.
No jargon. No pages of dense policy language. A clear recommendation with the reasoning behind it. If your agent can't explain your coverage in plain English to your board, you'll spend the next renewal season doing it yourself.
9. Do they serve churches your size and type?
A church with a $500,000 building and five employees has different needs than a church with a $100 million campus, multiple locations, a K-12 school, and a hundred staff members. Some agencies specialize in smaller churches. Others work primarily with larger, more complex ministries.
Ask who their typical client is. If your church is significantly larger or smaller than their norm, you may not get the level of attention your account deserves — or the expertise your specific risks require.
10. What do their current clients say?
Google reviews from real churches tell you what an agency is actually like to work with — not just how they present themselves. Look for reviews that mention responsiveness, claims experience, and whether the agency took time to explain things clearly.
Reviews that name specific staff members are especially telling — they mean clients had a real relationship, not just a transaction. MinistrySure has 74 Google reviews at 5.0 stars from real Georgia churches and ministries.
Church insurance isn't your day job. It's ours.
MinistrySure is an independent insurance agency in Loganville, Georgia that works exclusively with churches, Christian schools, and faith-based ministries. We've served 700+ Georgia ministries as authorized Brotherhood Mutual agents. Both owners are Brotherhood Mutual Agents of the Year.
A coverage review is free, takes about two weeks, and comes with no obligation. If your current coverage is already solid, we'll tell you.