Church insurance risk

You need to ensure that reasonable precautions are in place at your church to keep it safe for those who use it. To do this, you need to think about what might cause harm to people.

You will then need to decide if the precautions already in place are adequate. If they are not, you may need to identify further action to prevent any danger.  When done formally, this is known as a risk assessment.

Where you are an employer, you must complete these and they will need to meet specific requirements. In particular, they must identify the steps you need to take to comply with relevant health and safety regulations.

It is worth remembering that even if you are not an employer but own or control premises, you may still have to complete detailed risk assessments for certain hazards, for example, asbestos. These will have to meet specific requirements and in some cases you may need specialist assistance with this.

Watch the video below for advice and tips on carrying out risk assessments.

Church Health & Safety Toolkit - Risk Assessment from Ecclesiastical on Vimeo.

Completing risk assessments for your church

The level of detail in your risk assessment should be proportionate to the risk.

This means that for most small churches which present few hazards the risk assessment can be quite simple based on informed judgement and reference to appropriate guidance.

Small churches

A small church is one with a small building, typically set in a rural location, engaged in normal church activities, for example – usual weekend services, a small congregation, and hosting few – if any – community of fundraising events. Most small churches present few or simple hazards.

Large churches

A large church is one with a large building or that is very active, with a significant number of employees, volunteers and visitors or where there are many diverse activities.

Completing risk assessments is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork - it is about identifying sensible precautions for your church.

Of course, completing risk assessments on their own won’t prevent accidents happening.  It is important that you take the precautions you have identified as being necessary.

Risk management services

We understand how to help organisations manage and reduce their exposure. Our 50-strong specialist in-house team of risk managers offer practical guidance and proportionate solutions. We know that risk is always evolving, so we are constantly looking at different ways to meet today’s challenges to better support organisations.

We’re proud of our service and the team achieve outstanding levels of customer satisfaction, demonstrated by an “excellent” Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +73%.

Risk Capture

Risk management solutions that identify and appraise risks to your assets, people and strategy.

Risk appraisal

Organisations are constantly under strain from new challenges and threats whilst trying to manage the day job. That’s why we aim to make the process of identifying risk as easy as possible Our flexible risk appraisal approach means there’s an option for every organisation. From self-assessment and telephone-based video-enhanced services to face-to-face onsite evaluations – we offer solutions for every customer.

Strategic risk management 

We’re living in a volatile and uncertain world where change is inevitable. With all this uncertainty, how do organisations manage their strategic risks?

Our Enterprise Risk Management support ranges from practical tools, templates and checklists, running webinars and training events through to bespoke consultancy, tailored to meet individual customer needs. Our proposition also includes support with business continuity management. Learn more >

Risk Valuations

Our market-renowned insurance valuations help protect organisations from the risk of underinsurance.

Building valuations

Factors to consider when valuing your property.

With an in-depth knowledge of all building types, whether the construction is medieval or modern, we have the expertise to help organisations set appropriate sums insured to support repair and reinstatement in the event of an insured loss.

Building valuations are an increasingly rare service from insurers and ours are provided at no additional cost. Learn more >

Risk Mitigation

Risk management tools and resources to help organisations to mitigate risk.

Risk Advice Line

Sometimes organisations need to chat with an expert about a specific risk they may have. Our Risk Advice Line provides direct access to a team of risk management specialists who can answer questions, provide practical, tailored guidance and best practice advice. Learn more >

Preferred suppliers

We want to help organisations reduce or avoid risk so we’ve enhanced our Risk Management service by working with market-leading preferred suppliers that provide specialist risk mitigation services. Each one is vetted so you can choose from companies that we know and trust. As an Ecclesiastical customer, you may receive a preferential rate.

For more information about insurance in the church and heritage sector visit ecclesiastical.com

Article with the kind cooperation of Ecclesiastical Insurance

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