BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  Because of safety concerns and litigation, the 15-passenger vans many churches use for transportation may soon not be an option, Baptist Press reported.
"They are moving in the direction of not insuring them (within) the insurance industry as a whole," said Alejandra Soto, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute in New York.
"There have been so many accidents and lawsuits and that's how it has really affected insurers, it just becomes too expensive to insure. That's the trend," she said.
If carriers do insure them, eventually the premiums likely will be so high that it will be less expensive for the insured to invest in a vehicle that has a better insurance rating, she said.
So, are churches parking their vans and investing in safer transportation or ignoring warnings about the danger of 15-passenger vans?
"It would be very easy to base our decisions purely on business," said Jeff Hanna, executive director of GuideOne Center for Risk Management. "But we have the claims and stories about people who are being killed in these vehicles  often eight to 15 people dying at once, and the impact on a ministry is phenomenal. Many ministries have never recovered from these."
GuideOne, the nation's leading insurer of churches, has stopped writing any new policies on 15-passenger vans, according to the news report. They will consider renewing policies for their existing customers only if drivers attend and pass special driver training courses that teach advanced techniques in operating the vehicles.
The company recommends all churches, daycare centers, schools and other groups immediately consider safer transportation alternatives and abandon the use of 15-passenger vans.
