Kentucky and Southern Indiana’s largest church insurance agency
More than 1,000 congregations across Kentucky and Southern Indiana are insured here, and 99% of them renew every year. Reynolds has been writing church coverage since 1974, through carriers built specifically for congregations.
What a church policy covers
A church is not a small commercial building with a steeple on it. Reynolds writes a policy around what a congregation actually is, not around a generic square-footage rate sheet.
A sanctuary is not priced the way a modern commercial building is. Reynolds writes the actual cost to rebuild the structure, not what it would sell for today, so a fire or a fallen tree does not leave the congregation short of what the repair actually costs.
The same storm systems that bring Kentucky its severe weather warnings put roofs, siding, steeples and stained glass at risk. Wind and hail are named coverages on a church policy, not something a board discovers is excluded after the claim is filed.
A frozen pipe over a weekend, or a slow leak behind old flashing nobody has looked at in years, can do more damage than a single storm. Water damage cover responds to the kind of loss a building sits with quietly until someone notices the ceiling.
Offerings get counted by hand, moved between rooms, and held before a deposit is made. That is a real exposure, and most general commercial policies do not even ask about it. Church coverage treats cash handling as its own named risk.
A visitor who slips in the parking lot, a child hurt at a church event, a fall on the fellowship hall stairs. Personal injury liability covers the church when someone is hurt on its property or at something it hosts.
This pays the immediate medical bills for someone hurt at a church function, often before the larger liability question is even settled, so a minor injury does not turn into a dispute over who covers the emergency room visit.
Every decision a church board makes is a decision its members can be held personally liable for. D&O liability protects the people who made that decision, not only the church as an institution. It is covered in full below.
Nursery workers, custodians, musicians and office staff are employees like any other, and Kentucky law treats a church employer the same as any other employer when one of them is hurt on the job. Reynolds places this cover through KESA.
Directors and officers liability
Most church board members are not paid. They give up an evening a month to review the budget, weigh in on a pastor search, or vote on a new roof, and they do it as volunteers, not employees. None of that makes them immune from being named personally in a lawsuit. If a board approves a decision that a member, a visitor or a former employee later claims caused them harm, the individual board members can be sued alongside the church itself.
Directors and officers liability is the coverage built for exactly that gap. It responds when a board member is named personally over a decision made in that role, covering legal defense and the cost of a settlement or judgment, so a volunteer does not put their own house and savings at risk for showing up to serve their church.
Reynolds reviews D&O directly with boards as part of every church renewal, walking through what is and is not covered before the vote, not after a claim.
Church-specific carriers
A generic commercial carrier prices a church like any other large room with irregular hours. A church-specialist carrier prices the risk a congregation actually carries: a sanctuary empty most of the week, volunteers running childcare and sound, offerings counted by hand, and a board making decisions no rate sheet accounts for. Reynolds is appointed with 27 carriers overall, and places church business through three of them by name.
One of the carriers Reynolds places church business with directly, through its Safety Central program built specifically around congregational risk.
Placed through its SafeChurch program, another of the church-specialist carriers in the Reynolds panel.
Handles workers compensation for church staff, the coverage that protects a congregation’s paid employees, from custodians to musicians to office staff.
In their own words
When I started on staff here at our church, we were dealing with another insurance agent. After moving our business to Claude Reynolds, I have found that having to pick up the phone to deal with any sort of insurance need, is no longer a hassle or something to dread. Lorraine has been absolutely amazing to work with. She has quickly and efficiently taken care of all of my needs.
Our church switched to Claude Reynolds Insurance Agency approximately 4 years ago. As a Pastor, leading a board and congregation, I find it a difficult chore to understand all of the proper insurance coverages we need. Claude and his team met with our board, explained all of the coverages and gave us the best value. We are truly appreciative for their time and efforts.
Kentucky and Southern Indiana
Bring your current policy if your board has one, and Reynolds will walk through it with you honestly, coverage by coverage, before the next renewal comes due.
11820 Ransum Dr #201, Louisville, KY 40243 · Mon-Fri: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM