GuideStone offers churches insurance brokerage model

NASHVILLE (BP)—Changes are afoot in the church insurance world, and some congregations have borne the brunt.

“I’ve had a pastor cry in a meeting,” said Andre Krutainis, vice president of specialty portfolios at GuideOne Insurance. The pastor told him, “I have to make a choice between insurance and my salary.”

A combination of factors led to higher premiums for churches during the past five years, including weather, sexual abuse cases, changing state laws, and ballooning jury awards in lawsuits. The shifting church insurance market has forced congregations to think creatively about their coverages to avoid breaking the bank.

Tough decisions, Krutainis said, are “a reality out there with smaller churches” as insurance premiums rise.

Among Southern Baptists, GuideStone Financial Resources has launched a new way of helping churches purchase insurance. Starting this year, GuideStone’s insurance division has moved away from partnership with a single insurance carrier to a model that allows churches to shop for coverage across dozens of carriers.

“We’re really excited about this new model,” said Matt Cardwell, who leads GuideStone’s property and casualty insurance team, adding that the change should save churches money.

‘Hurting church budgets’

The spike in premiums for religious organizations is well documented. Houses of worship face the “church insurance market crisis” of 2026, according to one Massachusetts insurance agency. Churches have seen rate increases this year of 12 to 30 percent, according to the analysis of an industry journal.

What’s worse, churches may be an anomaly in the larger insurance market. Premiums for large commercial properties have declined steadily since 2023, according to Insurance Journal. Krutainis explained why churches have not experienced the same consumer-friendly market.

Beginning about 2006, “religious organizations were seen as profitable, and they were,” he said. “And the markets wrote more [policies] and did it very aggressively in a soft market that lasted up until the pandemic.”

Then, changes set in. The top three insurers of religious organizations—GuideOne, Church Mutual Insurance, and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance—all experienced “some level of financial distress,” Krutainis said, due to a combination of severe weather events, the #ChurchToo movement, and increasing jury verdicts that outpaced inflation.

The big three church insurers began limiting the coverage they offered and raising prices. Other insurance companies withdrew from covering religious organizations.

Bethel Baptist Church in Monticello, Miss., is among those hit by rate hikes. Pastor Adam Wyatt posted on Facebook: “One of the things that is really hurting church budgets is insurance. For example, Bethel Baptist Church’s insurance has increased 119 percent in 3 years.”

GuideStone’s new insurance services

Can churches weather the storm without transferring significant amounts of money from ministries to insurance premiums? Yes, says Cardwell, citing GuideStone’s new insurance services as a boon to ministry leaders.

Starting this year, GuideStone’s insurance division functions like an insurance broker for churches in 13 southeastern states, connecting those congregations with various insurance companies offering the coverage to meet their needs. GuideStone plans to expand the number of states it serves, beginning in the Southeast and branching out potentially to 48 total states.

New York and Hawaii are the only two states where GuideStone does not anticipate expanding because of their insurance laws.

Previously, GuideStone served churches through a partnership with Brotherhood Mutual. In Texas, Alabama, and Louisiana, GuideStone connected churches with Brotherhood Mutual policies. It referred churches in other states to Brotherhood Mutual agencies.

GuideStone’s changes, combined with a potentially improving market, should encourage churches, Cardwell said.

“Many churches are starting to see lower premiums across the board,” he said. The past three to five years “has been very challenging for churches, but over the past 12 to 18 months we have started to see the market soften a little bit.”

A Texas church worked with GuideStone on its policy renewal process.

“We helped the church look beyond premium alone and consider key factors such as ministry-specific liability protections, deductible structures, claims support, and property coverage differences,” Cardwell said.

“By moving the church from one admitted carrier to another, we were able to reduce its overall property and casualty insurance program cost by 17.5 percent while maintaining essential protections.”

Tips for churches

Regardless of what insurance company a church utilizes, some key steps can limit their costs and confirm they have the proper coverages, said James Brown, a vice president at PointeNorth Insurance Group in Birmingham, Ala.

• “Have someone that’s not your agent take a look” at your policy each year, he said. “That could be another agent. That could be someone in the church. That could be a committee.”
• A church also should consider “running their entire insurance program through artificial intelligence,” Brown said. Tell the AI model “who we are” and “what we do.” Then ask, “Do these policies address what we do, and are there any recommendations you would make?”
• “Know your operations and ask questions to your agent specifically about your operations,” Brown said. That might include asking if current coverage is sufficient for field trips taken by a church daycare, planned overseas mission trips, stained glass windows, or pipe organs.
• Find an agent “specializing in what you do,” Brown said. Insurance “is an enormous industry,” so churches should seek agents with experience in writing policies for churches.