Churchgoers making a claim with GuideOne Insurance might have a few extra blessings to count. As part of their FaithGuard auto or homeowners' policies, they can make a claim without the burden of paying a deductible.
The policy, which has attracted 46,000 insureds, states that the auto deductible will be waived if the vehicle in question is involved in an accident while driving directly to or from a church service or other religious activity. Other benefits of the policy include continuation of church donations, doubled medical payments for non-family passengers, limited payment of any existing car loans, and a memorial gift to the policyholder's church should an accident result in death.
Homeowners obtain similar benefits and waived deductibles if there is a loss of personal property while it is in the possession of a church. Donations to the church are continued if there is a loss of income from a disability caused by any accident at your residence. Medical payments for an injury also are doubled if a hosted activity is held on behalf of a church results in an injury for an attendee. Limited mortgage payments also are made.
How do adjusters determine if someone is driving to a church service or function? “Generally, these claims — like all claims — are subject to an investigation and our [adjusters] would utilize reasonable procedures to convince themselves of the authenticity of the claim,” said Jim Wallace, president and CEO of GuideOne. “By and large, we take our claimants' word for it, assuming that the story makes sense. If somebody has an accident at 3 a.m., we might wonder if they were on their way to church. But whether or not they qualified under the terms of the policy has not been a big issue for us.” Wallace went on to note that of the thousands of policies in effect, only 75 claims have been made.
Are there restrictions on the type of religious groups that qualify for the policy? Not according to Wallace. “A churchgoer isn't limited to any faith or denomination,” he said. “Virtually any faith of any kind would be accepted by us.”
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