Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Georgia Preacher, Son Face Church Arson Charge
Jun 9 2010 // A Georgia preacher and his son accused of burning down their church to claim an insurance check are scheduled to appear in Barrow County Superior Court. Quincy Arnold of Lawrenceville, the 50-year-old pastor of the former...
Arkansas Church Awarded $43.6M in Unlicensed Insurance Case
May 17 2010 // A federal jury has awarded a Jonesboro, Ark., church $43.6 million in its lawsuit against an insurance group that wasn’t licensed or authorized to sell insurance. Old St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in West...
Lessons in Insuring Skateparks and Other Extreme Sports Events
Apr 5 2010 // Specialization, Claims Management and Understanding the Risk Are Keys to Market Success “Too dangerous.” “They’re scary.” “Those kids try too many tricks.” While many carriers use...
8 New Markets in Response to Current Trends
Mar 22 2010 // Insurance Companies Generate New Programs to Bring in Additional Premium The last few years of the soft market have forced many carriers and agencies to get creative when it comes to bringing in additional premium. This...
Virginia Woman Sues State for $15M over Son’s Drowning at Park
Mar 16 2010 // A Virginia woman whose son drowned at Smith Mountain Lake State Park has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the state and several other defendants. Dora Mae Henley’s lawsuit claims the death of her 12-year-old son,...
Hiscox Releases Special Protection Insurance for Houses of Worship
Mar 12 2010 // Hiscox has launched a Houses of Worship coverage, a new offering through its Special Protection Solution program. The product addresses risks faced by religious institutions within the United States and abroad with no...
Fired Ohio Workers’ Compensation Board Employees Allege Religious Bias
Mar 5 2010 // The staff of a board created to monitor legislation affecting Ohio’s massive injured worker insurance fund after a rare coin investment scandal has been fired, plunging its oversight role into chaos. The three fired...
DNA, Hot Line Lead to Arrests in Texas Church Fires
Feb 23 2010 // Investigators say DNA evidence collected at the site of one of several Texas churches destroyed by arson links one of two suspects to the blaze, and they haven’t ruled out more charges. Jason Robert Bourque, 19, and...
ATF Blames Texas Church Fires on Serial Arsonist
Feb 11 2010 // Federal authorities believe a spate of church fires in eastern Texas is the work of a serial arsonist or group of arsonists who have evaded law enforcement for more than a month. Clay Alexander of the U.S. Bureau of...
Mississppi Judge in Scruggs’ Downfall Looks Back on Career
Jan 29 2010 // Outside Mississippi’s 3rd Judicial District, Henry Lackey is best known as the judge whose integrity and intrepidness led to the downfall of famed trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs and several colleagues. In his hometown...
Massachusetts Court: No Workers’ Comp for Custodian’s 1999 Injury
Dec 22 2009 // A church custodian who was injured in a ladder fall, but waited nearly five years to file a workers’ comp claim is barred from collecting benefits, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled. The employee in this case,...
Documents Show How Ex-Cardinal Handled Conn. Sex Abuse Claims
Dec 3 2009 // Recently retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan expressed skepticism over sexual abuse allegations against priests when he was a Connecticut bishop a decade ago, saying he found it “marvelous” that so few...
Fire Official Urges Georgia Churches to Be on Arson Watch
Nov 20 2009 // Georgia’s top fire official is urging churches to bolster security after two metro Atlanta churches were set on fire. Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine said officials are investigating...
Savannah Diocese Settles Priest Sex Abuse Case for $4.2 Million
Nov 4 2009 // The Diocese of Savannah said it has reached a $4.24 million agreement through a court-ordered mediation in South Carolina with Allan Ranta who alleged he was sexually molested by former priest Wayland Y. Brown between 1978...
Cleanup Starts After Tornadoes, Storms Slam Midwest States
Aug 21 2009 // Residents began cleaning up Aug. 20 after tornadoes and severe storms slammed a large part of the Midwest, tearing the roofs from buildings and overturning vehicles. The National Weather Service in Davenport, Iowa,...
Insurer Dropped as Defendant in Wisconsin Diocese Case
Jul 20 2009 // A judge has dropped an insurance company from a lawsuit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wis., of covering up a priest’s sexual assaults. Milwaukee-based Indiana Insurance Co. asked to be dropped from the...
Maine’s High Court Rejects Church Officials’ Charitable Immunity Defense
Jul 9 2009 // Maine’s highest court has ruled against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland in a sex-abuse case, concluding that a charitable immunity defense cannot be raised if church officials acted intentionally. In a 5-2...
It Figures
Jun 1 2009 // $9 Million Minimum value of settlements that the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware estimates it will have to pay to over child sexual abuse cases. The diocese says it may have to sell assets to pay them, although...
Delaware Diocese Weighs Selling Assets to Pay Abuse Settlements
May 18 2009 // The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, may have to sell assets to pay for settlements in child sexual abuse cases. Bishop Francis Malooly says settlements will probably exceed $9 million next month. But Diocesan...
Mennonites Seek Auto Insurance Law Exemption
May 18 2009 // The law requires them to buy motor vehicle insurance but their religion keeps them from using it. The small community of Mennonites that multiplied along a web of dirt roads in rural southeast Georgia has steadily grown...
