Terry L. Brown Insurance Launches New Coverage Option Geared Toward Churches

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Religious expression coverage is designed to help protect churches from potential legal ramifications of following their beliefs on same-sex marriage, publishes terrybrowninsurance.com

In light of the June 26, 2015, Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriages, churches are scrambling to protect themselves. Many fear repercussions after the Oregon baker's lawsuit that cost over $135,000 in state-ordered damages. In anticipation of these issues, many churches are following the advice of their denominational headquarters to amend their by-laws. This will spell out clearly who they will marry and who may use the church facilities. In response to the potential repercussions to follow, Terry Brown of Terry L. Brown Insurance has launched a new policy option: religious expression coverage designed for churches.

Brown commented, "All this controversy raises a number of hot-button questions among everyone affected by the new legislature as well as yet-to-be-determined finer points. Can pastors be held personally liable for refusing to marry a same-sex couple? Can a church be sued for discriminating against an organization requesting to use the fellowship hall with beliefs contrary to the churches? Until the courts set forth more clear-cut regulations on the matter, our religious expression coverage can help protect churches and their leaders against legal ramifications."

Most general liability policies cover personal injury in addition to libel and slander. Current contentions revolve around whether or not refusing to marry a same-sex couple causes personal injury. Aside from this issue, discussions also revolve around allowing a person to claim injury when he or she could go to a notary or justice of the peace to get married. In addition, many churches do not have a problem with marrying same-sex couples, leaving to-be-weds yet another alternative to legal action.

Most general liability policies are written on an occurrence form. According to Black's Law Dictionary, this means "Happening by chance or accident. Occurring unexpectedly, or without a known cause. Accidental; undesigned; adventitious. Resulting from unavoidable physical causes".

In the event a church is proactive and changes its by-laws to spell out to whom it will or will not marry, the legal system must decide if that will be considered "unexpectedly" or "by chance". At the same time, laws must determine whether this would void churches' liability coverage under their existing church policy. Since these issues have not been settled by lower courts, churches are curious on how best to protect their assets.

Terry L. Brown Insurance, an agency dedicated to churches, is offering its customers something to take the stress away from trying to decide how to move on with this issue. This new level of protection is designed to guard against legal expenses related to lawsuits filed against a church when someone claims the church's beliefs discriminate against them.

Additional information is available at http://www.terrybrowninsurance.com.

About Terry L. Brown Insurance:

Terry Brown, a GuideOne career agent, is the owner of Terry L. Brown Insurance, an agency dedicated to churches, schools, and non-profits. Since 1981, Terry L. Brown Insurance has served thousands of ministries and houses of worship across the United States, offering specialized property and liability coverage. Agents on staff are active pastors, missionaries, and church staff, allowing them to treat churches as if they were their own.

Contact Info:
Name: Terry Brown
Email: Send Email
Organization: Terry L. Brown Insurance
Address: 301 N US HWY 27, Suite A, Clermont, FL 34711
Phone: 1 (800) 940-0902
Website: http://www.terrybrowninsurance.com

Release ID: 169158

CONTACT ISSUER
Name: Terry Brown
Email: Send Email
Organization: Terry L. Brown Insurance
Address: 301 N US HWY 27, Suite A, Clermont, FL 34711
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