How can we help your church?
With 20+ years of experience working with churches and strong relationships with a wide range of church insurers, Access is in an ideal position to provide advice and arrange suitable church insurance.
Our church insurance policies typically include liability cover for your staff, volunteers and the public with options to insure church buildings, contents, equipment and money as needed. We also regularly arrange minibus insurance for churches.
Request a quote – it’s simpleStart today
Why Choose Access Insurance
- Specialist knowledge: over two decades of experience insuring churches across the UK.
- Strong insurer relationships: access to more than 40 church, charity and commercial insurers including Ecclesiastical, Ansvar and Congregational, plus our exclusive in-house scheme.
- Independent advice: as a Chartered Insurance Broker, we provide impartial guidance and build a programme tailored to your needs.
- Highly rated service: Feefo Platinum Award, with clients rating us 4.8/5 for customer service.
- Part of the Benefact Group: a family of financial services companies that gives all available profits to charity and good causes.
See what they say
They exceeded our expectations and have saved the church hundreds of pounds with an even more extensive policy than our our previous Insurers, Very courteous and extremely helpful during all our communications – especially in telephone contact.
Their knowledge of our context was excellent, their speed of service was superb and their personal manner was brilliant.
Very efficient and professional. Their agent, was very patient and paid attention to details. He was able to find us an insurance that meets the needs of our organisation.
…they provided a competitive quote and were courteous, friendly and professional in dealing with our enquiry …on the basis of our experience so far would recommend them to others.
I had a really positive experience both through the enquiry process and the quotation process.
What types of cover do we provide?
We understand the variety of activities your church may be involved in, whether it’s running weekly services, clubs, group and outreach events or other activities. With our specialist church insurance coverage in place, we can help you continue your mission. Below are just some of the covers we offer.
Liability Insurance for Churches
Your church faces certain risks such as slips, trips and falls.Your church could be held liable for negligence if a visitor slips during a service. Public Liability insurance will often be one of the first covers to consider to help protect you in the event of a member of the public being injured or third-party property being damaged.
Your church might also have safeguarding considerations if you have specific activities with young people. We can help advise you on your current and ongoing risks in this area.
Employer’s Liability is also mandatory if you have staff and highly recommended even if you just have volunteers.
This cover will work for you and aid you in your duty of care, in the case that a volunteer is injured or becomes ill whilst carrying out church activities. We can build insurance around risks such as running market stalls, meeting in a community centre or running children’s ministries.
Church Buildings Insurance
Church buildings come in all shapes and sizes, from halls to historical buildings, the risk of theft and material damage can vary.
Some churches may be targeted for external metal theft, particularly lead roofs, which can lead to severe water damage.
We can make sure your church buildings, halls, premises and contents are properly protected in the event of theft, fire, flood, vandalism and other unforeseen or subsequent incidents.
Cover can include buildings, fixtures, furnishings, equipment and musical instruments. We will ensure your policy is accurate and up to date, so you are not left underinsured when it matters most.
Church Vehicle Insurance
If you run activities, trips, social work or church groups you may have cars or minibuses that require church vehicle insurance. We can easily add this in when you purchase a minibus or vehicle.
Money Insurance
Money kept at the home of a church official or in transit can be covered as well as loss by the dishonesty of church officials.
Personal Accidents Cover
For church workers accidentally injured while engaged in authorised church activities.
Insurance for Child Care Activities
For after school care, nursery schools, playgroups or clubs managed by the church.
Pastoral Care Cover
For negligence in rendering pastoral care for injury to the public or damage to their property.
Publisher’s Indemnity
As well as trustee indemnity insurance, we can also offer churches indemnity insurance for libel, slander, infringement of trademark etc. arising from official church publications.
Abuse Cover
This cover is vital if you work with children or vulnerable adults. Whether you do pastoral care or run a Sunday School, abuse cover can help you if there are allegations of abuse. Dealing with allegations of abuse is distressing, so having the right legal support in place when allegations arise can be essential. Speak to our advisers about this cover, whether you have had this cover in the past, or will be covered for the first time.
Trustee Indemnity Insurance for Churches
Trustees Indemnity Insurance protects your church and its officers, trustees and management committee members in the event a claim is made against them for a wrongful act, error or omission in their management of the church.
Publishers Indemnity
As well as trustee indemnity insurance, we can also offer publishers indemnity insurance for libel, slander, infringement of trademark etc. arising from official church publications.
and many more…
We’ll help you get the policies that are needed to manage the risks you face as a church such as loss of income, legal expenses and liabilities.
Why churches need insurance
- Legal requirements: employers’ liability is compulsory if you employ staff.
- Financial security: a fire, flood or major liability claim could place your church at serious risk without insurance.
- Peace of mind: ensures your services, outreach and community activities can continue if something goes wrong.
- Contractual requirements: many landlords or local authorities require proof of cover before allowing you to use their premises.
Join thousands who are protected with our church insurance
Your church has a unique set of risks – get insurance designed to match. Insurance for churches, fellowships, groups and connected organisations.
Your questions answered.
As churches process more donations online and store congregation details digitally, cyber risks increase.
Cyber insurance provides a vital cover for situations such as when a cyber criminal compromises your email to divert a payment, or data breach occurs.
Cyber insurers help you in these events to restore your data and offer legal and financial support.
Our reputation of working predominately with churches and third sector organisations means we have excellent working relationships with 40+ specialist and commercial insurers, including well-known church insurers such as Ecclesiastical, Ansvar & Congregational, which is a great advantage when negotiating on your behalf. In addition, we run an exclusive in-house scheme for church insurance which isn’t available elsewhere.
Employer’s liability insurance is compulsory for churches which hire any staff, such as a pastor, or church administrators. If you church is run by volunteers you may also cover sickness and injury caused to them while volunteering.
Every church will be different, but churches typically need several types of insurance to protect their property, people, and activities. These include buildings and contents insurance, public and employer’s liability insurance as well as other covers such as trustee indemnity, event or abuse cover. Our advisers will talk through your activities and assets that you would like to insure, so you only pay for cover you need.
Even if you rent or share a church space, you may still need certain types of insurance, especially public liability, employer’s liability (if you have staff), and cover for any equipment or contents you own. You’ll also need to check your rental agreement, as some landlords require tenants to have buildings or liability insurance in place.
Even if you only hire the facility occasionally, one question that often comes up is whether the hiring facility has insurance that would cover you as a hirer. We would always advise that you have your own policy, as ultimately, it might be that the allegation you receive is from the organisation you hire a room from. This typically follows a suggestion that you have caused damage to their property during your activities.
If your church holds services, outreach activities, or events away from your main premises, you’ll need to ensure your insurer understands your off-site activities. This might include temporary event cover, equipment cover, and liability insurance for hired or public venues. Policies tend to have wide geographic limits and so if your event is modest and does not include anything unusual, often your existing policy may cover it. The best thing is to seek specific advice from a specialist broker.
Yes, churches in the UK are required to have a safeguarding policy. This policy is essential for protecting children, young people, and vulnerable adults involved in church activities. Churches must implement safeguarding policies that cover various aspects, including safe recruitment, communication, training, responding to concerns, and pastoral care. These policies will apply to all church officers, lay helpers, and volunteers, ensuring a safe environment for everyone involved in church activities.
Requirement for third party cover. Yes. Whenever external groups use your premises, you should ensure they are covered. Use this checklist before confirming a booking:
- Request a copy of their current Public Liability insurance certificate.
- Check the expiry date.
- Ensure the cover limit is adequate for their activity.
- Retain a copy for your church records.
Yes, buildings and contents cover can be extended to protect specialist heritage items. stained glass windows, pipe organs and historic artefacts.
It is important to get accurate reinstatement costs and have an inventory of these items so that they are fully protected against accidental damage, fire or vandalism.
The cost varies significantly based on the size of your congregation, the age and listing status of your building, and the range of community activities you run.
Small fellowships meeting in rented spaces might pay a modest annual premium, whereas large historic churches with extensive community outreach programmes will naturally have higher premiums to reflect their increased risks.
Some ways that costs can be kept low are to keep accurate valuations of buildings and contents, demonstrate good robust risk management, policies and procedures for things such as health & safety and safeguarding.
Having a broker to advise you and negotiate on your behalf will help you only pay for the cover you need.