BREAKING THE CYCLE OF SEXUAL ABUSE RISK: The Role of the Insurance Industry
Seeing the Claims Insurance carriers have access to the bigger picture. When a church or ministry experiences a sexual abuse crisis, the takeaways come from a single, fact-specific situation. By contrast, insurance professionals are evaluating many circumstances, providing a birds-eye view of liability patterns and common pitfalls. Seeing a variety of circumstances provides insurance professionals with the unique ability to guide ministry leaders through an allegation and help prevent sexual abuse in the future.
RECOMMENDED‘ NEXT STEPS’ Against this backdrop, how should churches respond to the threat of child sexual abuse in ministry programs?
Step 1 Acknowledge that the risk of child sexual abuse is very real. Widespread data indicates that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18, and 90 % of victims are abused by someone they know and trust. In the past two decades, child sexual abuse allegations are the No. 1 reason why churches end up in the courtroom.
Step 2 Honestly evaluate whether your church is adequately addressing the risk. The second step requires self-critical evaluation of your church’ s current child abuse prevention safety system. Here is where the expertise of a skilled insurance broker or agent is key, as he or she can provide candid assistance. Whether this occurs through an on-site assessment of the ministry’ s programs or via a trusted resource such as MinistrySafe’ s online self-assessment, the insurance provider can play a significant role in helping a church understand its vulnerabilities in this area of risk management.
Step 3 Leverage your insurance relationship to develop a plan for addressing sexual abuse risk. The best brokers and carriers steer their clients to resources that help them navigate sexual abuse risk, such as MinistrySafe. Skilled insurance professionals help churches choose appropriate limits for sexual misconduct liability coverage, and guide insureds into the development of effective safety systems, including sexual abuse awareness training, skillful screening, appropriate background checks, tailored policies and procedures, and systems for monitoring and oversight.“ Insurance carriers play a vital role in an organization’ s abuse prevention efforts,” says Brian Gleason, Senior Risk Manager at GuideOne Insurance.“ They offer valuable support in the development of prevention programs and help document the organization’ s risk management practices. Underwriting guidelines are typically aligned with industry best practices, allowing carriers to recognize and reward strong abuse prevention measures by extending coverage and sharing in the financial risk.”
CONCLUSION The risk of child sexual abuse is real. Insurance professionals provide a clear voice related to preventative tools and resources. Insurance carriers, brokers and agents serve a unique and vital role in breaking the cycle of child sexual abuse in church and ministry programs.
Kimberlee Norris and Gregory Love are partners in the law firm of Love & Norris and founders of MinistrySafe. After representing victims of child sexual abuse for more than two decades, Love and Norris saw recurring, predictable patterns in predatory behavior. MinistrySafe grew out of their desire to place proactive tools into the hands of ministry professionals. For more information about the authors, see LoveNorris. com.
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