Deductibles and Ways to Protect Your Church

As a nonprofit leader, you are likely to have a wide variety of tasks ahead of you that you must handle regularly. Therefore, understanding insurance and how to keep a watch over your nonprofit regularly may not always be the highest priority items on your to-do list.

But the truth is that these nuanced aspects are a critical part of nonprofit preservation. Remember that paying attention to details in insurance can enable you to have peace of mind and minimize potential difficulties from potential problems in your organization’s life. Nonprofit organization leaders can find that focusing in these regards can help denote great attention to detail in your congregation members' needs.

Your members' safety matters all the more in times of great upheaval and growth in criminal activity as it does during regular times. As such, creating a peaceful, secure, and the protected environment becomes a substantial priority.

Learn more about how deductibles work and how you can improve your organization's safety with this simple guide.

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How Deductibles Work

Not for profit organizations of all types are much better off with property insurance. Many of these organizations carry out their missions as a labor of love and run a very lean ship with minimal extra dollars to spend on unexpected events. As such, these organizations are some of the best candidates for property insurance and general coverage.

But many insurance firms require a bit of risk-sharing and will often need nonprofit organizations to take on a portion of the burden of potential unfortunate events. They do so to ensure alignment in interests and enact a deterrence policy enabling nonprofit organizations to take the necessary actions to minimize potential problems.

A portion of this risk-sharing component is the aspect of paying a deductible should an unfortunate event occur to your church. This deductible component of many property policies can seem anxiety-inducing at first but are simple to comprehend and make sense overall. But deductibles help foster trust and transparency between the insurance company and the claimant. As such, they have been a considerable component of the insurance policy for quite some time now.

Indeed, you have more control over your deductible, and you can choose how much of the cost you can take on if an adverse situation were to occur within your church—those who can understand how deductibles work can figure out how these property policies are feasible.

Now, recall that deductibles are essentially the portion of costs borne by the policy-holder in an insurance claim. The claimant will meet a certain deductible threshold before the insurance company will step in and take care of the rest of the expenses. 

For example, if your policy providers state that you can choose a $1,000 or $10,000 deductible and choose the latter, you will have to pay $10,000 worth of the damage before the insurance company enters the picture. If you have property damage that results in $20,000 worth of damages, if you chose a $10,000 deductible, you must pay the $10,000 before letting your insurance take care of the rest of the claim.

You and the insurance company are both interested in minimizing adverse situations from occurring. Let's take a look at how you can view this facet of insurance more comprehensively.

Managing Your Deductible And Policy Costs

Here's how you can manage your deductible to make it feasible overall for your situation. If you manage your deductible wisely, it can help you make a massive impact on your costs and maximize your insurance coverage.

Here are the aspects you will want to watch out for with deductibles:

  • Higher Deductibles mean less risk for the insurance company. If you choose higher deductibles within your policy, you are indicating that you will bear more risk. As such, you show that you are not a significant risk factor and will then have a more substantial potential of having minimal premium costs.
  • Deductibles will ensure you take care of small costs. If you choose higher deductibles, you will make sure that you don't claim small property damage costs. Further, you will opt for more preventative maintenance and procedures that decrease the chances of property damage. You don't want to be wholly dependent on your insurance provider and would instead make sure that you are taking on the right defensive measures to keep your organization safe.


The fact is that insurance companies want to make sure that they assess their risks appropriately. Remember that the higher chances of risks and payouts, the more they would have to balance that factor out with premiums. 

Insurance companies must make sure to minimize their risks and must find ways to deploy coverages without significant liability burdens. 

That is why deductibles matter a great deal.

As such, if you choose to go with higher deductibles, you indicate that your risk potential could be lower. Therefore, in most cases, you end up paying less in premiums and decrease your overall regular costs.

Now, as a nonprofit organization leader, it is in your best interest to realize regular savings but also take the right actions to minimize risks over the long-term. But of course, your ability to take on higher deductibles depends solely upon your specific situation and how you can prepare for the future.

That is where you must take a look at your comprehensive budget for operations and make your decision. Don't feel anxious if you can only opt for a reduced deductible option at the present moment as you can change it in the future. If you have questions in this specific regard, you can always reach out to us, and we will be pleased to help.

Security Steps To Protect Churches

Your organization might embrace the local community and be more relaxed when it comes to addressing the needs of those who visit your nonprofit organization.

As such, it may not always be simple to take defensive actions against those who mean to do harm and arrive on your property with malicious intent. You may be leaving yourself exposed to nefarious individuals who seek to come to steal or destroy your property in some form or fashion in different situations.

Of course, you may want to keep an open-door policy but still realize the pressing need to take defensive actions. So, what steps can you take to meet your nuanced needs? The answer here is quite simple, implement the right security mechanisms, and you can balance your warm presence with ensuring safety for all who enter.

Let's talk about a few of the ways to keep your nonprofit in good standing with the community and keeping them safe in the meantime.


  • Regular Assessments. Organizations that conduct regular assessments of their premises are likely to notice different risk factors and are more likely to mitigate them. If you can view vulnerabilities before others, you are more likely to have a more optimal setting. Remember to take the assessment seriously and have a minimal bias going into the situation. View your current security protocols, standards, and general security measures. You must view your property from different angles and think comprehensively about vulnerabilities. Have several people conduct an assessment so that you can have fresh perspectives.
  • Initiate Monitoring Systems and Alarms. Organizations can minimize risk by placing the right monitoring systems and alarms within their facilities. It doesn't have to be extensive, but it does have to be comprehensive and cover the critical areas.
  • Know the Key Members of Your Organization. Many people are well-meaning, but some don't have your best interests at heart. Always know the people who assist you in a wide variety of activities and their level of access within your organizational life.

These are a few of the main components and principles that will help you improve your safety and security standards.