CDC Recommendations from July 27th and Insurance Liability questions.
Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People Summary of Recent Changes
Fully vaccinated people can:
What is our liability? (Copied from Church Insurance Board COVID-19 Liability FAQ sheet)Is there increased liability if someone gets sick or alleges they got sick from attending a church event, worship service, or from working or volunteering at my church?
It is the responsibility of the church to communicate, implement, and enforce the guidelines set forth by the experts to ensure the safety of their employees, volunteers, congregants and visitors. It is equally important they follow the specific safety protocols they are adopting. With that said, there is an increased risk. The best thing a church can do is follow best practices as recommended by reputable health care guidance from the CDC, in addition to state and local health guidelines. If a church does not follow the guidelines, they risk liability implications and potential legal consequences (contact an attorney).
If someone files a COVID-19 liability claim against my church, what coverage do we have?
· Coverage determinations are dependent upon the allegation(s) and causation. In general, we believe that the standard defense and indemnity coverage should apply to most potential coronavirus allegations against churches. As always, each claim will be evaluated individually based upon the facts when making the determination of coverage.
Is there increased liability if someone gets sick or alleges they got sick as a result of a third party's operations at the church? Do facility use agreements/rental agreements need to be updated? How does the church ensure the third parties adhere to their protocols?
· There may be increased liability; third-party agreements should be updated to include the COVID-19 safety measures being adopted by the church. We encourage churches to work with a local attorney to make sure safety measures are following CDC, as well as state and local guidelines, and to draft language that ensures vendors/users/tenants comply with the church's new safety policies. The local attorney should update facility use agreements to include the church's new safety policies preventing the spread of COVID-19, making sure there is proper indemnification language, as well as expectations of the church and the tenants/users.
Insurance Board advises churches to stay current on general guidelines and recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and adhere to best practices as set forth by state and local authorities. The new protocols your church develops will take time to communicate and implement to ensure the safety of all. We encourage churches to use caution, diligence, and consistency in protecting the health of participants, employees, volunteers, congregants and visitors. We have compiled this resource to address some of the more frequently asked questions from churches.
How is negligence proven?
Generally, negligence occurs if
Are there certain outreach ministries that are too risky to resume right now?
· Any activity where multiple people are interacting is a risk. We urge churches to forgo programs and activities where national, state and local health and safety guidelines cannot be consistently followed; this includes youth activities. We will provide updated guidelines on youth activities and specific outreach ministries moving forward as we cautiously navigate through these unprecedented times. As church leadership make decisions to conduct outreach ministries, Insurance Board encourages them to consider if it is prudent to do so.
Please review and discuss these concerns and their implications as you consider reopening; there are a number of tasks to tackle in the preparation phase that will keep congregations quite busy. Stay current on outbreak trends in your state as you make decisions. We advise churches to focus first on preparing their church property, and consider how to safely conduct daily operations before attempting to hold in-person worship services or events.
CDC Recommendations from July 27th and Insurance Liability questions.
Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People Summary of Recent Changes
- Updated information for fully vaccinated people given new evidence on the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant currently circulating in the United States.
- Added a recommendation for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.
- Added information that fully vaccinated people might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19, or if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease or not fully vaccinated.
- Added a recommendation for fully vaccinated people who have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to be tested 3-5 days after exposure, and to wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result.
- CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.
Fully vaccinated people can:
- Participate in many of the activities that they did before the pandemic; for some of these activities, they may choose to wear a mask.
- Resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel and from self-quarantine after travel.
- Refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States.
- Refrain from routine screening testing if feasible.
- Wear a mask in public indoor settings if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
- Fully vaccinated people might choose to mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they or someone in their household is immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease, or if someone in their household is unvaccinated. People who are at increased risk for severe disease include older adults and those who have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, overweight or obesity, and heart conditions.
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Get tested 3-5 days following a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days after exposure or until a negative test result.
- Isolate if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the prior 10 days or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Follow any applicable federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations.
What is our liability? (Copied from Church Insurance Board COVID-19 Liability FAQ sheet)Is there increased liability if someone gets sick or alleges they got sick from attending a church event, worship service, or from working or volunteering at my church?
It is the responsibility of the church to communicate, implement, and enforce the guidelines set forth by the experts to ensure the safety of their employees, volunteers, congregants and visitors. It is equally important they follow the specific safety protocols they are adopting. With that said, there is an increased risk. The best thing a church can do is follow best practices as recommended by reputable health care guidance from the CDC, in addition to state and local health guidelines. If a church does not follow the guidelines, they risk liability implications and potential legal consequences (contact an attorney).
If someone files a COVID-19 liability claim against my church, what coverage do we have?
· Coverage determinations are dependent upon the allegation(s) and causation. In general, we believe that the standard defense and indemnity coverage should apply to most potential coronavirus allegations against churches. As always, each claim will be evaluated individually based upon the facts when making the determination of coverage.
Is there increased liability if someone gets sick or alleges they got sick as a result of a third party's operations at the church? Do facility use agreements/rental agreements need to be updated? How does the church ensure the third parties adhere to their protocols?
· There may be increased liability; third-party agreements should be updated to include the COVID-19 safety measures being adopted by the church. We encourage churches to work with a local attorney to make sure safety measures are following CDC, as well as state and local guidelines, and to draft language that ensures vendors/users/tenants comply with the church's new safety policies. The local attorney should update facility use agreements to include the church's new safety policies preventing the spread of COVID-19, making sure there is proper indemnification language, as well as expectations of the church and the tenants/users.
Insurance Board advises churches to stay current on general guidelines and recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and adhere to best practices as set forth by state and local authorities. The new protocols your church develops will take time to communicate and implement to ensure the safety of all. We encourage churches to use caution, diligence, and consistency in protecting the health of participants, employees, volunteers, congregants and visitors. We have compiled this resource to address some of the more frequently asked questions from churches.
How is negligence proven?
Generally, negligence occurs if
- you owe a duty to another party;
- you breach that duty;
- the breach leads to a compensable injury/loss; and
- the breach is the proximate cause of the injury/loss.
- If someone gets sick while attending worship service or an activity/event at the church and that person alleges the church was somehow negligent in their duties to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the church may have liability.
Are there certain outreach ministries that are too risky to resume right now?
· Any activity where multiple people are interacting is a risk. We urge churches to forgo programs and activities where national, state and local health and safety guidelines cannot be consistently followed; this includes youth activities. We will provide updated guidelines on youth activities and specific outreach ministries moving forward as we cautiously navigate through these unprecedented times. As church leadership make decisions to conduct outreach ministries, Insurance Board encourages them to consider if it is prudent to do so.
Please review and discuss these concerns and their implications as you consider reopening; there are a number of tasks to tackle in the preparation phase that will keep congregations quite busy. Stay current on outbreak trends in your state as you make decisions. We advise churches to focus first on preparing their church property, and consider how to safely conduct daily operations before attempting to hold in-person worship services or events.
Downloadable Lake B COVID-19 forms and Comprehensive Plan
| covid-19_gathering_list_of_names.docx |
| covid-19_lake_b_meeting_checklist.docx |
| lake_b_covid_control_mitigation___recovery_plan.docx |