Catholic Church in Florida Struck as Insurance Costs Soar Toward the Heavens

It seems that few are safe from soaring property insurance rates in Florida, not even those with strong connections to a higher authority.

The Crux, a Catholic news outlet, reported that the Catholic Church’s Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese has been unable to obtain property insurance for the first $25 million of windstorm losses on its multiple properties, forcing it to be self-insured for that first level.

That means insurance premiums for local parishes and schools have spiked by 250%, showing that the Florida insurance crisis has hit more than homeowners as Florida insurers have reduced coverage, gone insolvent or have raised rates in the last two years.

The Crux reported that the diocese in northwest Florida has 52 parishes and four missions, along with 12 schools. Some of those were damaged by storms in recent years, but escaped the worst of Hurricane Ian, which hit properties in southwest and central Florida in September 2022.

A local church official confirmed the Crux report but declined further comment. A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Miami declined to talk about the impact of insurance costs on the other dioceses in Florida, which may be just as affected by Florida’s insurance crisis.

In a June 21 video to parishioners, Bishop William Wack urged church members to pray for protection and safety during this year’s hurricane season, the news outlet reported.