Church Insurance: An untapped market opportunity

 By Gideon SARFO

There are on the order of 350 to 400 denominations (including Pentecostal, Charismatic, mainline Protestant, Orthodox, independent Christian groups, etc.) that are registered or at least operating visibly in Ghana. The average age of churches in Ghana is approximately 3 years and 7 months, indicating a dynamic and rapidly growing religious landscape.

Some Christian organisations such as the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) currently comprises 26 member churches plus 3 Christian organisations. These member churches forming the CCG have hundreds of branches under their respective denominations. As of 2025, the Ghana Pentecostal & Charismatic Council (GPCC) had about 270 member churches on its official site. All these member churches have hundreds of branches under their respective denominations.

Some denominational bodies, such as the Methodist Church of Ghana, one of the oldest protestant churches has about 3,814 societies across the country as of October 2025. While the term “society” is used to refer to these congregational units, they are commonly understood as church branches or congregations in everyday language. Therefore, the number of 3,814 societies effectively represents the number of Methodist church branches or congregations in Ghana.

The orthodox giant, the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana, operates 719 parishes with about 3,579 mission stations across the country.

As of April 2025, the sons and daughters of Rev. James McKeown, The Church of Pentecost, which is the leading Pentecostal denomination in Ghana, had a total of 18,844 local assemblies, organized into 1,631 districts across the country.

The United Denominations originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD?OLGC) does not publicly disclose the exact number of its branches or churches in Ghana. However, in September 2024, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills announced the completion of 500 new church buildings across northern Ghana. Following this achievement, he launched a vision to establish 1,000 churches in Ghana, emphasizing the need for more places of worship, especially in remote areas.

Many smaller and independent churches may not formally affiliate with umbrella bodies. Therefore, there is the possibility that the total number of registered denominations in Ghana is higher than the numbers in the major umbrella organisations.

The Sleeping Giant of Ghana’s Insurance Market

With over tens of thousands of churches and religious denominations operating across Ghana, a startling gap exists in the insurance sector: no locally written church insurance policies. This represents a significant market niche lying dormant while local insurers search for growth opportunities. The absence of specialized policy wordings, technical underwriting capacity, and risk appetite among Ghanaian insurers has left this lucrative segment entirely underserved.

Understanding Church Insurance Coverage

Church insurance is a specialized package insurance product designed to address the unique exposures religious institutions face. A comprehensive church insurance policy typically encompasses:

Coverage A: Property Coverage – With over thousands of church buildings, temples, sanctuaries, fellowship halls, educational facilities, and contents including musical instruments, audio-visual equipment, religious artifacts, and furnishings against perils such as fire, lightning, theft, and natural disasters, this section will cover accidental physical loss or damage caused by a covered cause of loss.

Coverage B: Liability Protection – This section covers accidental bodily injury or property damage to church members arising from church activities and operations, including slip-and-fall accidents, food poisoning from church events, and activities conducted on church premises.

Coverage C: Professional Liability – This protects pastors, church counsellors, and leaders against allegations of counselling malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, made against them by church members. It covers allegations made against preachers when they make false utterances in their sermons, including compensation for legal defence costs.

Coverage D: Workers’ Compensation – This covers church employees, including pastors, administrative staff, maintenance workers, and security personnel, for bodily injury or death resulting from their employment with the church. Coverage includes medical expenses for bodily injury, subject to proof of receipts.

Coverage E: Event Coverage – This provides coverage to special events such as crusades, conventions, fundraisers, and community outreach programs. It covers both the properties belonging to the church and third-party bodily injury or property damage occurring outside the church premises.

Coverage F: Money Insurance Coverage – This provides coverage for theft or robbery of church offerings, donations, and fundraising. Coverage is provided for cash on the church premises, in a safe, or in transit to the bank.

The Market Opportunity

Ghana’s religious landscape is characterized by rapid growth in churches, from mega-churches with thousands of congregants to small community fellowships. These institutions collectively own assets worth billions of cedis, employ thousands of workers, and host millions of worshippers weekly. Yet most operate without adequate insurance protection, relying instead on faith and ad-hoc fundraising when losses occur.

The market potential is substantial. If each of the 1,000 churches paid an average annual premium of GH?10,000 to GH?50,000, this represents a potential premium pool of GH?10 million to GH?50 million annually. This is a conservative estimate given the size and asset base of many Ghanaian churches.

Currently, the absence of a dedicated church insurance policy in Ghana represents a dormant market niche. Yet the potential is substantial:

• Large and growing market: With over 1,000 active churches and countless religious events, there will be constant demand for risk protection if policy awareness is created.
• High-value assets: Churches own buildings, electronics, vehicles, and often significant cash reserves from tithes and offerings, all of which are insurable.
• Community influence: Churches are central to communities, and offering tailored insurance solutions can enhance brand visibility and trust for insurers.

Strategic Steps for Market Entry

 Develop Local Technical Capacity

Local insurers can invest in specialized training for underwriters to understand church operations, risk assessment, and loss patterns. Partnerships with international insurers offering church programs can facilitate knowledge transfer and reinsurance support.

Create Contextualized Policy Wordings

Generic commercial property damage policies inadequately address church-specific risks. Insurers can develop Ghana-specific policy wordings that consider local building standards, common perils, cultural practices, and regulatory requirements.

 Build Risk Assessment Tools

Local insurers can develop inspection checklists and risk evaluation frameworks tailored to Ghanaian churches, accounting for construction quality, security measures, fire safety equipment, crowd management capabilities, and financial controls.

 Establish Competitive Reinsurance Arrangements

Local insurers can reconsider and secure favorable reinsurance treaties specifically for religious institutions to ensure capacity for large churches and catastrophic events while maintaining profitable retention levels.

 Engage Religious Leadership

The players in the insurance industry can partner with denominations, pastoral associations, and church networks to educate leadership about risk management and insurance benefits. Local insurers can offer group schemes with preferential rates to denominational bodies covering multiple congregations and branches.

Value Proposition for Churches

Many Ghanaian churches view insurance as unnecessary expenditure, preferring to “trust God” for protection. Insurers must reframe the conversation: “insurance represents responsible stewardship of God-given resources, protecting ministries from financial devastation that could derail their mission.”

Conclusion

The insurance needs of churches in Ghana remain significantly unmet, with substantial premium potential and limited competition. For local insurers willing to invest in technical capacity, product development, and market education, this niche offers a pathway to sustainable growth while serving an economically important and socially significant sector. The question is not whether this untapped market niche will be developed, but which insurers will have the vision and commitment to capture it first. It is an opportunity to increase insurance penetration in Ghana.

The post Church Insurance: An untapped market opportunity appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story