Special Congregational Meeting – September 8

Zion is calling a special congregational meeting for Rally Sunday, September 8^th, following the Worship Service (starting around 11:15 am).

This will deal with urgent Church Insurance issues. We have been with Church Mutual Insurance company for over 20 years, with only 2 claims (the last one was hail damage to the roof over 5 years ago).

Church Mutual is dropping our coverage on October 31^st. So, the Church Council, with the much appreciated help from Les Mehrtens, has been scrambling to find Insurance coverage. 2 other companies, Brotherhood Mutual and Guide One, exist in the Church Insurance market. We are working with them to secure coverage.

We were required to have an electrical inspection, which was done by Jarvis Electric in Swansea. Changes are required that exceed the $5,000 limit that the Council has, so we are calling this Special Congregational meeting to present the information to you. This information is still being prepared.

In order to get Insurance coverage we will need to make these changes. Therefore, we urgently need your presence and vote at this Special Congregational meeting.

In addition to the costs, which will be spelled out at the meeting, we anticipate a large increase in our rates and deductible. We had budgeted $10,600 in 2020; $13,200 in 2021; $13,500 in 2022; $14,000 in 2023; and $17,559 in 2024. We are being told new rates will be between $25,000 and $30,000. In addition we have had a deductible of $1,000 with Church Mutual. We are told to expect much higher deductibles.

We are not alone in this. We have been contacted by other churches facing cancellation or very high rate increases. I have included a link to an article published by Christianity Today which tells of what is happening all across the country. Please read this article.

https://christianitytoday.com/news/2024/august/storm-church-insurance-rise-crisis.html

Please attend this special congregational meeting and bring your questions and concerns. And, pray as we and many other churches struggle to deal with the changing insurance market.