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Risk Averse 2
Abstract: Insurance company thinks same-sex blessings, gay ordinations too risky.
This is old news, but it was new to us. In 2007, the West Adrian UCC in Adrian, Michigan was denied a quote for insurance coverage because of the United Church of Christ (UCC) policies supporting same-gender marriage equality and the ordination of gay clergy.
"Our company's decision to not submit a quote to your organization arose out of information that was supplied in a supplemental application, indicating that your organization 'publicly endorses or practices the marriage of same-sex couples' and 'publicly endorses or practices the ordination of the homosexual clergy,'" wrote Marci J. Fretz, a regional underwriter for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company., in a letter to the church.
West Adrian UCC, founded in 1836, has about 100 members and is not listed among the nearly 700 UCC churches that have publicly adopted an "open and affirming " position with regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
Founded in 1917 by members of the Defenseless Mennonite Church (now the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, Brotherhood Mutual's initial mission was to help fellow Mennonites protect themselves from property damages caused by fires and storms. In 90 years, the company has gown to be one of the nation's leading insurers of churches and related ministries, providing insurance to 30,000 congregations in 29 states and the District of Columbia.
The company explained in a letter:
"[Brotherhood Mutual has] an obligation to serve as stewards of our policyholder's funds, and to avoid knowingly insuring organizations that are at higher risk of loss based on the controversial positions that they have taken."
Read the whole story by J. Bennett Guess at UCC News.
