Church Insurance Costs Skyrocket in Two Canadian Provinces

Anglican churches in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island find their insurance premiums have skyrocketed up by 250 percent as of March 1, according to ChristianWeek of Canada. The huge increase is partly due to a fire that destroyed a 247-year-old church in Nova Scotia last October, which is being rebuilt and restored at a cost of $5 million.

An insurance adviser said that all churches in the Maritimes are in for a jump also, probably a doubling of previous rates. He mentioned that churches there are "a bigger risk for the insurance companies than those in other parts of Canada where churches are made of stone or brick. In the Maritimes, they are made of wood, with many over 100 years old."

However, the adviser said that Sept. 11 could be largely responsible for the increases, because of the tremendous losses they have suffered.

Christian Week