According to Travis Tjepkema , CIC , president of Church & Casualty Insurance Agency , non-renewals are higher than ever in the house-of-worship market . In fact , he says , right now is “ the most unique time ” he has ever experienced in his 30 years in the church insurance marketplace .
Like any problem , understanding the reasons behind it is the first step . To this end , Tjepkema says , church non-renewals are typically due to one or a combination of the following : ( 1 ) a church ’ s physical location is in a catastrophe-prone area ; ( 2 ) the deteriorating care and condition of a church ’ s facilities , or lack of risk management ; and ( 3 ) a church ’ s claims history . “ While an insurance non-renewal is not a death sentence , it is , unfortunately , a scarlet letter ,” he adds . “[ A ] nd getting replacement coverage with other carriers can often result in premiums that are two to three times higher .” To get ahead of the issue before it becomes a crisis , Tjepkema offers five solid strategies to keep your pricing as competitive as possible . Revisit what those are here .
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# 8 : SCAMS ARE ON THE RISE : How to stay safe
language filled with urgency and danger to trick us into acting without thinking ,” she explains . With these attacks coming at us left and right every day , how do we keep ourselves safe ? As McDowell points out , even the savviest person can be fooled by a scam message that looks like it ’ s from a big , known corporation — Amazon , FedEx , UPS , Chase , Bank of America , and so on . As a first step , it helps to know the four main components of a scam message , according to McDowell :
# 1 : It usually claims to be from a well-known organization or company .
# 2 : There is a problem , or a prize involved . “ In addition to the examples above , you might also be told you earned a reward , are getting a tax rebate , or someone wants to give you a gift card ,” she points out .
# 3 : There is an urgency to the message with pressure to act immediately .
# 4 : Payment is required or requested in a very specific way .
Now that you know what to look for , McDowell has specific recommendations that can keep you safe from even the most sophisticated scam attempts . Check out that article here .
# 9 : DRIVING BETTER STEWARDSHIP WITH MANAGED ACCOUNTING SERVICES
By RaeAnn Slaybaugh
These days , scam texts , spam phone calls and phishing emails are a daily danger for Americans . With more than 50 billion phony calls made per year , in excess of 376 million spam text messages sent , and a nearly 30-percent increase in phishing emails , victims lose nearly $ 40 billion to scams every year .
And that figure just keeps growing as the attempts become more and more sophisticated .
Sharon McDowell , the business liaison and technical trainer at MMBB , encounters these nefarious efforts every day in her role . She says text messages are especially effective because everyone is always on his or her phone . “ Scammers know this and use highly emotional
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Any church leader is , rightfully , focused day in and day out on good stewardship . While it might seem like keeping functions like accounting in-house is a good stewardship move , what if it ’ s not ? What if your church could actually save money — and valuable staff time — by outsourcing that process ?
Well , this is exactly what happened at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pace , Fla .
6 CHURCH EXECUTIVE churchexecutive . com