Count What's Inside

Property inventory: you can't insure what doesn't exist

It was a Monday morning when Zach Mize, an insurance agent with American Church Group of Texas, received the call. One of the ministries he serves had severe storm damage. The roof collapsed, and a deluge of rainwater poured into the building. Almost everything was damaged or destroyed, from furniture to computers. Mize sprang into action and helped the mission organization’s business manager file a claim.

A couple of days later, Mize received a phone call that he remembers well. With their operations in tatters, the business manager was concerned about being able to continue their operations due to the damage and loss of income. Mize reassured the mission organization that their robust building and contents coverage, as well as coverage for lost earnings and donations, would fill the gap.

Within days, they received their first of several insurance payments.* A few weeks later, Mize received a phone call he’ll never forget. “They’d just received a large check from Brotherhood Mutual for their contents and property damage claim. The business manager told me that the insurance payment was going to help them keep their doors open.”*

Property Inventory

The immediate aftermath of a large building loss can be confusing and overwhelming. It can be difficult to process the impact to your ministry. Trying to remember all the contents inside your ministry, their quantity, value, make, and model numbers only adds to the stress and can prolong the claims process.

 Digital Download: Free Property Inventory Checklist

To get back to ministry operations as quickly as possible, you need a thorough, up-to-date property inventory. Not only does this help your ministry know what it needs to replace in case of damage, but you’ll know how much contents coverage you need. “Ministries are almost always surprised by the value of their building contents,” said Tom Lichtenberger, assistant vice president of property claims at Brotherhood Mutual. “Proper contents evaluation ensures you have the insurance coverage you want. Without it, your ministry may not have adequate limits to replace all of its inventory.”

Know What You Have

To help make the claims process as smooth as possible, Lichtenberger recommends having an updated contents inventory. While it might seem overwhelming to inventory the entire contents of your building, it doesn’t have to be done all at once, and it can help speed up recovery after a loss. “It’s impossible to overstate the significance of a current contents inventory. The day you file a claim isn’t the day you want to find out you didn’t have enough contents coverage,” said Lichtenberger.

1. Where to begin? Mize recommends breaking the inventory down into smaller, more manageable steps. “Start with one room every week. What’s important is knowing what you have by recording the items, model numbers, serial numbers, value, and quantity,” said Mize. To get started, take video or photos of each item, making sure to capture the model and serial numbers. Then, add each item to an inventory list. Store the images and inventory list in an offsite location so it doesn’t get destroyed by fire or water.

2. Don’t go it alone. Enlist the help of others to complete your inventory. Have your youth leader or youth group assist with their area of the building. Ask your worship leader to inventory things like instruments, audio/video equipment, sound mixers, or other related equipment. Ask others to work through each area of the building until you have a complete inventory. For schools, have the various stakeholders inventory their area. And don’t worry if you don’t capture every item. What’s most important is that you inventory items with high value or high quantity.

3. Keep up with your contents. Tell your agent when you purchase something of value. For example, if you purchase a new piece of landscape equipment, think about if you want to make sure it’s covered by insurance. This goes for other equipment, too, like computers, audio/video, or instruments. Once you’ve performed a full inventory, adding new pieces of equipment becomes much easier.

Mize works closely with the ministries in his care to help them understand how much contents coverage they need. “Thankfully, this mission organization had appropriate coverage. They were able to continue their ministry and keep everyone employed immediately following the storm,” said Mize. “Their insurance coverage made them whole again.”*

Don’t Forget About Personal Property of Clergy and Others

Your policy’s contents coverage may pay to replace items owned by the ministry, but it may not fully cover items owned by your pastors, staff, or congregation.* “If I see a pastor has a large collection of books in the church office, I want to make sure it’s protected,” said Mize. Organizational Personal Property coverage helps pay for damage or loss of items personally owned by ministry employees or the congregation. Your Brotherhood Mutual policy provides some coverage for property owned by clergy and others. Additional coverage can be considered if needed. Work with your insurance agent to verify if you have enough coverage to replace items owned by your people.

Posted May 26, 2022

* All coverage decisions and payment terms are subject to their terms, conditions, coverage limits, limitations, and exclusions. For precise detail of coverages and payment terms, please refer to actual policy forms.

The information provided in this article is intended to be helpful, but it does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for the advice from a licensed attorney in your area. We encourage you to regularly consult with a local attorney as part of your risk management program. 

Related Resources

• The Deacon's Bench Online - Precaution
• Property Inventory Checklist