Exotic 'minister insurance' protects against loss of leader, scandal

MIAMI, Fla. — When Rich Delaware, pastor of 7,000-member Christ the Rock church, bought a motorcycle for weekend fun rides, the church board got jittery. They bought a $15 million "loss of leader" insurance policy in case the pastor took a bad spill.

"We can't afford to lose him," says the board chairman. "If we do, the insurance money will get us through the transition."

Ministries of all sizes are buying increasingly exotic insurance policies to cover unforeseen events from accidents to moral failures. Many fear losing their superstar leaders. Others are bowing to the reality that an increasing number of pastors have risky hobbies.

A pastor in Arizona "scared the congregation stiff" by showing video of himself bungee jumping, riding down Class IV rapids and heli-skiing. "The only way to settle everybody down was to get the insurance," says the church's executive pastor.

Brad Denisson, a self-described "extreme pastor" who has built a church of 3,000 in western Montana, told the board he'd gone para-sailing on his vacation in Cancun. The board was speechless. "I thought, 'Para-sailing in Mexico? That can't be regulated,'" says one. Some were angry that Denisson had "put the eternal fate of thousands of souls here in Montana at risk to satisfy his derring-do."

The board asked him to refrain from risky activities, but also secretly shopped around for a "loss of leader" policy. They now feel comfortable that if Denisson has an unfortunate incident, the church will have enough money to conduct a "fairly robust nationwide search for his replacement."

Some nervous boards don't even tell the pastor they've insured him. "It's about us, not about him," says one board member. "It's really none of his business."

Don Thomas left his 9,000-member Kentucky church in the lurch when he decided to pioneer a new work — in Alaska. "We were devastated," says one church member. "Thomas was the heart and soul of this place."

Thankfully, the church board had taken out a policy in case Thomas left before 2010. The money allowed them to bring in well-known guest speakers until they found a fitting replacement. "I was surprised they'd insured me," says Thomas from Juneau. "It explains why some of the board members didn't seem too broken up at my going-away party."

Others churches are more interested in protecting against moral failure. Juniper Road Church in New Hampshire suffered two moral lapses on its staff within two years, leaving the church without key leaders for months and depressing weekly offerings. The church hired new pastors and took out a policy that pays in the event of "dismissal due to immoral conduct."

"It's a no-brainer," says the pastor. "I wish we'd had it before." Some churches take out scandal insurance on their entire staffs, though industry statistics show that youth pastors and worship leaders are the highest risk categories.

Other policies protect against "termination due to doctrinal differences," or sudden dips in tithes and offerings. "Every church has trouble. We help them get through it," says a State Farm broker who has sold hundreds of church policies in recent years.•