THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606210529
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: 59 lines
The Virginia attorney general has asked neighboring Southern states to investigate complaints by black churches that insurers are canceling their policies because of a rash of suspicious church fires.
Numerous churches have complained that their policies were canceled after nearly 40 fires at mostly black churches around the country that federal officials suspect were racially motivated.
James S. Gilmore III, the Virginia attorney general, who is said to be interested in running for governor next year, asked state insurance officials to investigate the cancellation of insurance coverage for Glorious Church of God in Christ.
Aetna Casualty and Surety Co. dropped the Richmond church in April, two months after a fire that officials believe was arson destroyed the church.
Gilmore said he had asked other officials to question churches in their states that had fires.
``I have been advised that such churches have found it extremely difficult to obtain alternative coverage following such terminations,'' Gilmore wrote Thursday to Virginia's acting commissioner of insurance Alfred W. Gross.
``I am concerned that congregations that have been the victims of church burnings not become victims again because they are unable to rebuild for lack of insurance.''
Glorious Church's 1811 solid granite-block sanctuary was insured through Aetna for $143,000. The cost of replacing the building was estimated at over $400,000.
Aetna, which had insured the church since 1987, paid the full policy limits on the church's claim for the Feb. 21 fire. But on April 25, Aetna canceled the policy.
Keith Anderson, a spokesman for Travelers/Aetna Property Casualty Corp., confirmed that Glorious Church's policy had not been renewed but said he could not comment on the reason for it.
Anderson said Aetna does not have a rule against insuring buildings where a fire has occurred or where arson is suspected. ``Arson is not a reason for nonrenewing a policy, period.''
Morris Mahoney, a church trustee who is shopping for a replacement policy, said he was quoted a premium of $2,700 per year for fire and vandalism coverage, plus $580 per year for liability. That is more than four times the $700 per year that the church had paid to Aetna, and much more than the church can afford, Mahoney said.
``Twenty-seven-hundred is not a number that I had heard,'' said Warren Timmons, a Richmond broker who is helping the church find new insurance. ``Once a premises has burned and is sitting in a damaged state, they don't like to continue the risk.''
``We've basically exhausted all of our resources, including surplus lines such as Lloyds of London, and we were unable to come up with anything.
``I think a lot of the publicity over black churches in the South being burned - possibly, and I want to emphasize possibly - may have had something to do with the reluctance of insurance industry to write'' a new policy, Timmons said. by CNB