Australian churches face unique risks (property damage and public events to volunteer activities and cyber threats) that demand up-to-date insurance aligned with ACNC compliance, state regulations, and ministry realities.
Getting a church insurance quote isn’t a one-off; it’s part of an annual review to ensure sums insured reflect rebuilding costs (adjusted for inflation), limits cover liabilities (e.g., $20m+ public liability), and exclusions don’t leave gaps in core covers like management liability or abuse protection. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help equip leaders with a practical process to audit coverage deliberately.
Step 1: Set a review date and gather your documents
Start by locking in one review date each year, ideally 6–8 weeks before your renewal. Treat it like any other governance responsibility, not a last-minute admin task.
Before that meeting, gather:
- Current policy schedule and wording for all policies (property, public liability, contents, cyber, management liability, abuse cover, vehicle, workers compensation, volunteer accident)
- Last 12 months’ activities calendar and upcoming plans
- Asset register or at least a current list of major property, contents and equipment
- Recent financial statements and budgets
- Claims history or incident log from the past few years
This gives your team a full picture of what the church owns, does, and risks, so any decisions are based on reality, not assumptions.
Step 2: Map what has changed in the last year
Insurance must match what your church is actually doing now, not what it did when the policy was first taken out. So, you have to work through these questions:
- Buildings and property: Have you renovated, extended, installed new audio-visual or IT equipment, upgraded kitchens, or bought new vehicles? Did you add demountables or storage sheds?
- People and programs: Have you started new ministries (youth, playgroups, counselling, food banks, outreach events), hired new staff, or increased volunteer numbers?
- Use of facilities: Are you hiring out your buildings more often, running external events, or hosting community groups?
- Technology and data: Have you started livestreaming, online giving, new databases, or new software storing personal data?
- Governance and compliance: Have there been leadership changes, new boards/elders, updated constitutions, or higher regulatory expectations?
Every change is a clue that sums insured, policy types or limits may need updating.
Step 3: Check your sums insured and asset values
Underinsurance is one of the biggest practical risks for churches. If a major loss happens and your buildings or contents are undervalued, you may not receive enough to rebuild or replace.
Do the following:
- For buildings: Confirm the sum insured is based on current rebuilding costs, not market value or an old figure. Factor in construction cost inflation, accessibility requirements, professional fees, removal of debris and council conditions.
- For contents: Update values for sound systems, musical instruments, computers, livestream gear, projectors, furniture and kitchen equipment. Add anything new purchased during the year.
- For specialist items: Identify items such as organs, stained glass, historical pieces or expensive instruments and check they are covered appropriately (and listed individually if required).
If you are unsure, this is an area where a specialist broker such as ACS Financial can help you understand realistic sums insured for churches and ministry facilities, so you are not exposed to gaps.
Step 4: Reassess your core covers and limits
Next, check whether the types of cover and the limits are still appropriate for your activities.
Focus on:
- Public liability: Does the limit (e.g. $10m or $20m) match your size, events, and any requirements from councils, schools, or partner organisations? If you run camps, conferences, or large events, higher limits are often wise
- Property: Are all sites and locations listed? Does cover include flood, storm, theft, accidental damage and glass where realistic? Are portable items (e.g. instruments, laptops) covered away from the main site?
- Management liability / office bearers cover: Does the policy protect elders, board members, pastors and committee members for decisions they make in good faith? Consider this seriously if you employ staff, lease property, or manage significant funds.
- Abuse cover and people protection: If your ministries involve children, youth, vulnerable adults, pastoral care, or counselling, make sure relevant liability and people-protection covers are in place and you understand the conditions (e.g. screening, training, reporting).
- Cyber and privacy cover: If you use online donations, church management systems, email lists or livestreaming, consider what would happen if data were breached or systems were hacked. Check if cyber cover is included or should be added.
The goal here is to ensure the “shape” of your insurance matches the “shape” of your ministry.
Step 5: Review exclusions, conditions and risk requirements
This is the step many churches skip, but it is critical. A policy might look good on the schedule, but exclusions or conditions can limit payouts if something goes wrong.
Work through:
- Exclusions: Are there exclusions that directly affect your activities (e.g. certain events, activities, or building features)? If so, either adjust your activities or discuss whether another policy can cover them.
- Risk requirements: Many policies require specific risk controls (e.g. working-with-children checks, incident reporting procedures, regular electrical testing, fire safety maintenance, locked storage for cash and valuables). Check what your policy expects and confirm you are doing it in practice.
- Use and hire agreements: If you allow other groups to use your facilities, confirm your policy’s rules around hirers having their own insurance and what your policy does or does not cover.
Document any gaps or actions needed so you can fix them before renewal rather than discovering them at claim time.
Step 6: Align your risk management with your insurance
Insurance is only one part of wise risk management. A strong annual review connects your risk controls with your cover.
Take time to:
- Identify the top 5–10 risks from your incident log or near misses (e.g. slips and falls, youth events, vehicle use, online communications, cash handling).
- Check what risk controls are in place (policies, training, supervision, safety checks) and where improvements are needed.
- Confirm that your existing insurance aligns with these risks and that you are not relying on insurance for things that could reasonably be prevented.
This step shows your board is exercising due care and helps you justify decisions if something serious happens.
Step 7: Discuss options with a church insurance specialist
Once you understand your assets, activities, covers, limits, and risks, you are ready to talk to a specialist provider rather than simply accepting last year’s renewal.
In that conversation, you should:
- Explain any changes in your ministry and future plans for the next 12–24 months.
- Ask whether your current limits and covers still make sense or if adjustments are recommended.
- Request explanations in plain language so your board can clearly see the trade-offs between cost and cover.
A church-focused provider such as ACS Financial is familiar with Australian church regulations, risk patterns and ministry realities, which makes these discussions much more practical and tailored than a generic commercial policy.
Step 8: Prepare a clear summary for your board or congregation
Insurance decisions are governance decisions. After your review, prepare a short written summary to share with your board and, where appropriate, the congregation.
Include:
- What changed in the past year
- What you discovered (e.g. underinsurance risks, new activities, new exposures)
- What adjustments you are making to cover, limits or providers
- The cost implications and why these decisions represent good stewardship
This transparency builds trust and helps everyone understand that insurance is being handled deliberately, not automatically.
Step 9: Record decisions and set next year’s review
Finally, document:
- The date of the review and who was involved
Key decisions and reasons (especially changes to cover or limits) - Any actions to complete (e.g. valuations, updating asset registers, improving risk controls)
Schedule next year’s review in your church calendar now, ideally at the same time each year. Over time, this rhythm becomes part of your governance culture, and you avoid the common pattern of rolling over policies without thinking.
Conclusion
By following these steps each year, your church moves from “hoping we’re covered” to knowing your insurance is intentional, current, and aligned with your ministry. The process takes some effort, but it gives leaders confidence that buildings, people, and programs are sensibly protected, and it makes conversations with specialist providers far more productive.
