Latest Church Headlines
All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Imprisons 2 for Life in Texas Church Arsons
Jan 24 2011 // A judge has sentenced two men to life in prison after they pleaded guilty in a series of fires at churches in Smith County in East Texas last year. Judge Christi Kennedy ordered the prison terms for 20-year-old Jason...
Endurance Coverage: Top 10 Insurance Cases of the Year
Dec 21 2010 // For the past 10 years I have had the privilege of publishing an end-of-year article in Mealey’s Litigation Report: Insurance that discusses the 10 most significant insurance coverage decisions from the year gone by....
People
Dec 5 2010 // Aon Corp. reported that Andrew Appel, the firm’s chief operating officer, will be leaving the company at the end of the year. The company said there are no plans to fill the position upon Appel’s...
ACE USA Restructures Retail Operations with Kinsella, Church, Stoer
Nov 16 2010 // Ace USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group, announced a new structure and senior leadership appointments. The structure consists of two zonal operations and a centralized complex risk unit for...
Church Fraud Hurts Both Congregation and Insurers
Aug 24 2010 // Church music director Carva White faced the music after launching an unholy plan to burn down his house of worship for an insurance payout. White played hymns for the Sunflower Missionary Baptist Church in Leavenworth,...
How Should BP Handle Claims by Churches, Nonprofits?
Jul 8 2010 // God only knows what will happen to churches and other nonprofit organizations that say they are struggling for survival because of the Gulf oil spill crisis. Months after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and its well...
Farmers Introduces Institutional Business Owners Policy Through Texas Agents
Jul 7 2010 // Farmers Group of Cos. has introduced an institutional business owners policy (iBOP) for institutions across America, which will be offered by Farmers agents in Texas. iBOP is designed to serve a spectrum of religious...
Pope Seeks to Avoid Deposition in Kentucky Negligence Case
Jun 29 2010 // The Vatican is asking a federal judge to reject an attempt to question Pope Benedict XVI under oath in a Kentucky sex abuse lawsuit on the grounds that there has been no evidence of a link to church officials in Rome. The...
Preacher’s Son, Accomplice Plead Guilty in Georgia Church Arson
Jun 16 2010 // Two of three men charged with arson in a 2005 fire that destroyed a church pleaded guilty in Barrow County Superior Court in Georgia. Maurice Arnold and Bruce Edward Smith pleaded guilty. Prosecutors say the Rev. Quincy...
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,...
