"I need a lift to my doctor's appointment this week, can you help me?"
"My mom's working late, so can I get a ride with you after youth group?"
These seem like innocent requests, and what could be more "Christian" than providing a lift to a parishioner? Yet these requests represent one more area in which our lives as clergy and clergy spouses differ significantly from those of our parishioners.
A pastor's wife brought the question to the on-line discussion group, C-Spice. It seems her husband regularly provides rides to and from the church for anyone unable or unwilling to drive. The elderly member needing a lift to a medical appointment can count on the pastoral taxi service. Parents who don't want to get up on Sunday mornings can call the preacher, who is more than happy to pick their children up for Church School. Choir members will miss practice unless the clergy swings by their homes every Wednesday evening. Etc., etc., etc.
The wife of this holy chauffeur is worried about whether their auto insurance would cover any accidents that might occur during this ministerial traveling. Given the frequency of these trips, the question of an accident is not so much "if" as "when." The preacher's attitude is that he isn't doing anything different from anyone else who gives rides to personal friends. Besides, Jesus is protecting them.
This is a really important issue and deserves thorough discussion.
A key element is whether the "taxi service" is recognized as an aspect of the church's ministry and therefore part of the pastor's job. If so, then it should be covered by the church's liability insurance, not by the pastor's personal auto insurance. Or maybe not. Different states have different laws relating to auto insurance and liability. Different churches have different insurance coverage. A pastor might assume work-related travel is covered by the church's insurance. But that might not be the case.Let's say that GMOG (Great Minister of God) is driving dear old Betty Lou to her dentist to have her dentures refitted for the seventy-seventh time. As GMOG starts to turn left into the dentist's parking lot, dear old Betty Lou spills her cup of scalding Starbuck's coffee, burning GMOG's thigh and causing him to swerve ever so slightly.
At that exact moment, Ricky Bobby is driving fast in his pickup in the on-coming lane. And let's also say that this particular Ricky Bobby is not only not a member of GMOG's church, but he has a grudge against preachers in general.
Thank God, no one is actually injured in the accident, aside from GMOG's scalded thigh. But both vehicles are damaged, and Ricky Bobby's coon dog that was riding in the back of his pickup jumps out into the road and is hit and injured by another vehicle.
When the dust settles, who is liable? Well, in this scenario, GMOG was making a left-hand turn, and even though Ricky Bobby was driving really fast, it's GMOG who gets cited.
So. . . if the church has specifically stated that giving rides to parishioners is part of GMOG's ministry, the church's policy will probably cover the incident. But they just might try to get your personal auto insurance to cover it anyway. That's just the way insurance companies do business.
AND... Ricky Bobby may or may not have auto insurance. If he does have insurance, his company will definitely insist that the damage to his truck be covered by either the church's insurance or your personal policy. This could well result in a lawsuit between the insurance companies. Again, that's just the way insurance companies do business.
AND. . . Ricky Bobby might be really angry with GMOG, partly because he dislikes preachers in general and partly because he's really angry about his beloved coon dog getting hurt, and by golly, somebody's gonna pay! So he decides to sue GMOG. That would be covered by the church's liability policy, too, but if it's not clear that the taxi service actually is part of the church's ministry, the insurance company might be able to wiggle out of paying - that's just the way they do business.
AND ... a few months down the road, dear old Betty Lou might develop a problem with her hip or back or neck or ... who knows what? Now, dear old Betty Lou would NEVER dream of blaming her beloved pastor for her injuries, but her insurance company, who doesn't want to cover the cost of treating her injuries, might very well decide to bring a lawsuit against GMOG, again, because that's just the way they do business. If the church's liability insurance recognizes GMOG's taxi service as an aspect of the church's ministry, they will have to cover the suit brought by Betty Lou's medical insurance. But if there's anyway they can say that it ISN'T part of the church's ministry, of course they will try to avoid it. Because that's just the way they do business. Then that falls back on GMOG's personally liability.
BUT. . . GMOG's personal auto insurance company says, "Wait a minute. We don't cover work-related travel. Since this guy's a minister and he was driving a church member, that's work-related travel and doesn't fall under his personal policy."
See the problem?
AND. . . even if GMOG's personal auto insurance (which is, of course, also your insurance) ends up covering any part of the accident, chances are very good (bad) that your insurance rates will skyrocket OR that your auto insurance will be canceled and GMOG (and spouse) will be labeled "high risk" and find it nearly impossible to obtain any auto insurance whatsoever. Once again, it's nothing personal, it's just the way they do business.
It seems to me that this particular instance that came up on C-Spice has all the makings of a disaster. First, the pastor provides LOTS of rides to many people, and really has no idea whether the church's liability insurance OR his own personal auto insurance would cover any accident. Second, he isn't keeping any record of the mileage used in this taxi-service or in other work-related travel, so there is no evidence to show either insurance company, or the IRS for that matter, that all this driving is part of his job.
Therefore, in my not-so-humble opinion, the spouse of this holy chauffeur should run, not walk, to the phone and find out what insurance coverage their church carries.The church's treasurer or financial secretary would know. Every corporation - and each individual church in the PCUSA is incorporated - is required by state law to carry liability insurance. Many have the minimum of $1 million liability coverage, and the most common insurer is Church Mutual.
This can be done in an obnoxious way that gets everyone upset, or it can be done decently and in order. (hmmm, that has a familiar ring to it.) Maybe the clergy spouse only needs to make one phone call to the treasurer, or clerk of session, or church insurance agent, and pose the question. Ideally, the church already recognizes the pastor's driving as part of the job, and has appropriate coverage. Or, once the issue is brought to the attention of the insurance agent or the treasurer or the session, the appropriate measures would be taken out of loving responsibility and care for the pastor.
If there seems to be a lack of appropriate liability coverage, or if the session doesn't seem to be aware of the pastoral taxi service, it would be appropriate for the clergy spouse to write a very business-like and gentle letter to the clerk of session; something along the lines of, "I would like to bring to the attention of session that my wife/husband is providing frequent transportation for members and visitors to the church, and needs appropriate liability insurance to cover any possibilities. This is of importance to me not only as the clergy spouse, but as a concerned member of the church. ... "
If the session members or trustees are semi-conscious, they should realize that liability coverage is also important for the well-being of the church. The clergy spouse would not, of course, use such language as "semi-conscious." That's just between us.
Oh, by the way, in case someone uses a phrase such as "we don't need insurance because God is watching over us," there are appropriate texts one can use to distinguish faith from abject irresponsibility. Something like Proverbs 22:3, Proverbs 21:26-28, or Matthew 4:5-7 would be right on the money. So to speak.
OR, just follow the example of my own GMOG and myself: drive a VW Beetle with a big hairy dog in the back seat. No one EVER asks us for a ride.
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