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Tebow your insurance
Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, but his now-famous prayer pose and miraculous come-from-behind wins will keep sports junkies talking -- at least until baseball spring training begins.
Tebow's faith or way of expressing it may or may not be part of your spiritual playbook. But in recognition of the Tebow phenomenon and the end of the football season, we take a look at faith-based insurance.
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GuideOne Insurance offers perks to churchgoers
Long before social responsibility in marketing became a trend, GuideOne Insurance in West Des Moines, Iowa, got its start in 1947 as an auto insurance company for nondrinkers. Founder William N. Plymat believed teetotalers would avoid accidents, enabling the company to offer discounts and incur fewer losses.
Eventually the company shifted its focus to insuring churches and faith-based organizations. But it still sells individual home and auto insurance in 18 states and wants to increase that side of the business.
"We want to be the recognized expert to churches and their members," says Liz Myers, assistant vice president of personal lines.
The company's home insurance operates like any other standard home insurance policy. GuideOne’s FaithGuard Auto, a car insurance product created in 2005, offers extra features for churchgoers. Under this coverage:
- The collision deductible is waived if you're involved in an accident while driving to and from church.
- Church donations up to $750 are covered if you suffer a loss of income from a disability caused by a car accident.
- Limits for medical treatment are doubled if you're involved in an accident while driving friends to and from church.
- Car loan payments up to $3,000 are paid if you lose income from a disability caused by an accident while driving to and from church.
- A memorial gift of $1,000 goes to your church if you or a family member are killed in a car accident in the insured vehicle.
FaithGuard Auto isn't limited to nondrinkers, although a nondrinking discount is offered on policies. However, if you sign up for the discount and then get into an accident and your blood alcohol content is greater than 0.04 percent, your policy's liability limits could be lowered to the minimum liability requirements in your state. Other various terms and conditions vary by state.
The company also sells life insurance underwritten by Kansas City Life Insurance Co. You don't have to subscribe to a certain religion to buy insurance from GuideOne.
"We don't discriminate," Myers says.
In keeping with its social responsibility mission, the company's GuideOne Foundation supports a variety of causes, including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity International, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, World Vision and others.
MAX: built on barn-raising
MutualAid eXchange, or MAX, an insurer headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., is rooted in the Anabaptist, Brethren and Quaker faith communities. The company grew from mutual aid societies and the old barn-raising tradition, when everyone in the community pitched in to help their neighbors to rebuild. By the 1950s, mutual aid societies still took care of their own but found they needed to purchase insurance to cover larger risks.
MAX was formed in 2001 and underwrites its own home, renters, condo and farm insurance and offers car insurance underwritten by GMAC Insurance. The company's brokerage and national U.S. agency also sell long-term care and life insurance.
The company is organized as a reciprocal, which means the policyholders own the company. Although MAX is not tied to a specific denomination, you have to sign a "statement of faith-based shared values" to join. The values are broad, focusing on stewardship, caring for others, seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts and sharing gifts and talents to build Christian communities.
"We see ourselves as a wholeness enterprise," says David Wine, president and CEO. "Insurance is one of the best ways to keep people whole, but there might also be emotional, spiritual and maybe even financial needs that insurance can't cover."
That's where the company's Mutual Aid Ministries comes in. The company gives 1 percent of premiums and 10 percent of its profits to the ministry, which provides financial and spiritual support to policyholders who suffer losses. The ministry employs clergy to support its members, and has an online support network where people can share prayer requests.
Wine, a Church of the Brethren ordained minister with a business background managing mutual aid groups, says the company's values-based mission helps recruit insurance professionals seeking meaning in their work.
"Most insurance policies read about the same, so agents and brokers are looking for something different to offer," Wine says.
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