Diocese to fund own insurance
CATHOLIC churches in Otago and Southland have been forced to dump their insurance policies because of soaring premiums.
The Catholic Diocese of Dunedin, which was facing paying $240,000 in insurance premiums this year, is instead moving to selfinsurance and building up a pool of money to put on standby in the event of a disaster damaging parish assets. The diocese — which covers churches in Otago and Southland — accepted selfinsurance would not fund likeforlike replacements of its historic churches in the event they were lost in a disaster.
Dunedin diocesan operations manager Paul Olsen said the decision was made after diocesanwide consultation, and all parishes had agreed to move forward with the selfinsurance plan.
‘‘We have a huge portfolio. ‘‘It is good for people to know how they may handle a disaster because it may be that not all of the portfolio would necessarily need to be rebuilt like for like. ‘‘We anticipate this will be implemented in this next insurance round for 2024.’’
The scheme would work by establishing a $1 million fund that would be held in trust under the parish’s name for audit purposes.
Every year, the parish would contribute to the fund rather than paying insurance companies. The selfinsurance would cover churches, while Catholic schools would still be covered with policies from insurance companies. St Joseph’s Cathedral, in Rattray St, Dunedin, paid $14,727 for insurance premiums in 2022, which rose to $22,065 last year and were predicted to be about $28,022 this year. Diocesanwide, the total expected figure for insurance premiums was set to be about $240,000 this year.
Mr Olsen said over the past 10 years, the diocese had only one significant claim due to an arson in the Invercargill Central Presbytery.
‘‘Over the last 30 years, there have been very few claims.’’ Mr Olsen said the fund was designed to be modest and was aimed at ensuring the diocese could continue its church mission, conduct services such as mass, weddings and funerals, and to house its clergy in the event of a disaster.
‘‘It is not a ‘like for like’ replacement scheme. It will take about five years to build the fund to $1 million. The diocese would support parishes to respond to events falling within those five years.’’
Schools under the administration of the Dunedin diocese would still retain their insurance as was legally required. The Dunedin diocese would be sharing the full plan and details with parishioners in the coming weeks.