|
CERTIFICATES OF INSURANCE To protect the diocese from the acts or omissions of contractors working on diocesan projects, diocesan policy requires that contractors carry a minimum of $1 million dollars general liability and auto insurance and that they carry workers' compensation insurance. Therefore, contractors on parish renovation and building projects are required to provide a certificate of insurance naming the diocese as an additional insured to their policies before the work is begun. Here's how you can help: 1. Notify contractors about this requirement in your first conversation with them. 2. Ask the contractor who is finally selected to contact their insurance agent to provide the Diocese Office of Properties with a certificate of insurance. This should be done before or at the same time the contracts are forwarded to the Office of Properties for the Bishop's signature. Delay in providing a properly completed certificate can result in delay of the project. 3. Tell the contractor to inform the agent that the certificate of insurance: A. Must contain language that names the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as an additional insured; B. Names the Certificate Holder as: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, 601 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO 65806; C. Contains a reference to the parish where the work will be performed. If time is important, the insurance agent can fax a copy of the certificate to the Office of Properties at (417) 866-1140 and then mail a copy. Back to
Requests to use parish facilities, especially meeting spaces and gyms, often present thorny issues for parishes. The following paragraphs attempt to clarify diocesan liability insurance issues. Parishes are encouraged to develop facility use policies and procedures consonant with diocesan insurance requirements. The following information and suggestions have come from my dialog with Catholic Mutual and are not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of the topic. There is no intent on my part to impose any diocesan-wide policy at this point. Rather, I will be interested in continuing a dialog with you about the practical implementation of these paragraphs at the parish level. Who is covered under Catholic Mutual's policy with the Diocese? In general, if the event is a "parish sponsored event," where the event is undertaken as a parish activity with volunteers providing most of the labor and the food, etc., the insurance carried by the Diocese through Catholic Mutual will provide the necessary liability coverage to the individuals and the church. Examples might be: home festival, parish picnic, ladies' auxiliary pancake day. Third party use 1. If a parish facility is not being used under the general description above, then it is considered to be rented or used by a third party, e.g. a wedding reception. This individual is not covered by Catholic Mutual's policy in this situation. To reduce the church's liability exposure in these cases, the third party should furnish to the parish a certificate of insurance from their homeowner's or renter's insurance company naming the Diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau as an additional insured. 2. Alternatively, since obtaining the certificate can be a problem, the parish may elect to purchase from Catholic Mutual a package of five or more "event coverage" policies. As of 1995 this package is charged at the rate of $85 per event for $1 million liability coverage. Coverage is written for a minimum of five events ($425) and a form must be completed and signed by the renter and returned to Catholic Mutual prior to the event. An additional charge will be assessed for events above the five minimum. The parish may wish to include the charge for this coverage in the hall rental price, or it may choose to absorb the cost if the policy of the parish is to provide the facility to parishioners free of charge. 3. If the third party wishing to rent the space is a business not sponsored by the parish, e.g. gymnastics, tae-kwan-do lessons, etc., the business' insurer should provide a certificate of insurance showing that it carries $1 million liability coverage and names the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau as an additional insured. Rentals of this type often provide income to the parish and may even be allowed by the parish for other reasons. When they don't have their own insurance coverage, however, their activities could expose the parish and the diocese to liability issues if an accident occurs. Risks cannot be eliminated, only managed. Ultimately, each parish must decide what level of risk is acceptable. Since the diocese automatically assumes that risk when the parish does, communication with The Catholic Center will be appreciated. Back to |