Catastrophes Do Not Spare Churches
NU Online News Service, Nov. 10, 4:17 p.m. ESTAbout 750 religious structures insured by Merrill, Wis.-based Church Mutual Insurance Company were damaged by Hurricane Isabel when that storm made landfall on Sept. 18-19, noted Church Mutual Chief Executive Officer and President Jerry Whitburn.
Religious buildings in eight states and the District of Columbia were affected by the storm, with damage the heaviest in Virginia, where about 400 losses occurred.
Mr. Whitman also reported that tornadoes in 17 states in May resulted in approximately 650 claims.
In all, these 2003 catastrophes and other insured losses caused the company's claims frequency during the first three quarters of the year to increase 4.1 percent over the same period last year.
In addition, Mr. Whitman reported that there had been about 3,600 fires in religious buildings insured by Church Mutual during 2001 and 2002, the last two years for which complete figures are available. These fires caused nearly $100 million in losses and completely destroyed 80 buildings, he added. Lightning was the main culprit, accounting for three-quarters of the fires.
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