Dunedin's historic churches - including First Church, Knox Church, St Paul's Cathedral and St Joseph's Cathedral - either no longer have earthquake insurance or will have no cover by April next year.
Most other churches, new or old, are in the same predicament following insurance company Ansvar's unexpected announcement late last week that it would no longer provide earthquake insurance in New Zealand.
The company has been the insurer for 75% of New Zealand's churches, but said it could no longer afford to offer earthquake cover to churches in this country after taking a $700 million claims hit following Christchurch's earthquakes.
The total claims from the Christchurch quakes will be about $16 billion - the same as the total premiums gathered worldwide for catastrophe insurance in one year.
In response, and with some denominations' insurance policies up for renewal as early as December, church representatives have been holding teleconferences this week to formulate a joint approach to the situation which the Anglican Church has described as a "crisis" and an "opportunity".
In a statement issued yesterday, the Anglican Church said its congregations "will be forced into the most radical and far-reaching decisions they have ever had to make about their buildings".
"Only once every 50 years does the chance come to make decisions that fundamentally reshape and restructure the ministry and mission of the church. In our generation we are being given that chance."
Don Baskerville, chairman of the Anglican Insurance Board and the All Churches Insurance Board, said eight denominations were working together on the issue.
They are the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Elim, Acts, Lutheran, Assembly of God and Presbyterian Churches.
Baptist and Elim policies come up for renewal in December.
The Presbyterian Church had negotiated its renewal before the Ansvar's announcement.
Its churches have cover, if they elected to take it, until August.
First Church and Knox Church were among Presbyterian Churches that decided not to renew earthquake cover because the new premiums were too expensive.
Les Green, finance convener at First Church, said the premium would have increased 360%, from $19,000 to $71,000 a year, and the new excess on any claims would have been $2 million.
"Ministry and outreach takes priority," Mr Green said.
The congregation cancelled its earthquake, storm and flood cover, reasoning that being built on a hill of solid rock "flood and earthquake risk is not high".
Knox Church minister Rev Dr Sarah Mitchell said her congregation would, within 10 days, retrospectively approve a church board decision not to take earthquake cover which would have increased to $55,000 a year.
Knox Church was "a fabulous building" but the congregation's primary commitment was to "being a faith community living out our calling" rather than to a particular building, Dr Mitchell said.
Anglican Church policies expire at the end of March.
The Very Rev Dr Trevor James, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, said quotes for new earthquake cover had caused "dismay and alarm".
"I don't see how we can sustain that."
Fr John Harrison, parish priest at St Joseph's Cathedral, said the Cathedral was in the same boat as other Catholic Churches which had insurance cover until the end of December.
Stuart Young, manager for the Catholic Dunedin Diocese, believes the problem will be "a short-term blip in the insurance market".
"It is one of those risks we can manage, " Mr Young said.
Mr Baskerville, of Carterton, said the absence of earthquake cover was significant - even though churches could still get material damage and indemnity insurance - because "a lot of New Zealand's architectural history is in church buildings".
"What say something does happen?" Mr Baskerville said.
"It needs to be discussed by everyone living within sight of these historic churches which are part of our landscape."
Helen Geddes, a member of the leadership team at Dunedin City Baptist Church, said she did not believe insurance issues would affect the church's plan to build a multimillion dollar church centre on land beside Dunedin's southern motorway at Concord.
"We haven't explored the insurance issues but it makes us glad we are building a new church building. We know those with older buildings are being hit hard," Mrs Geddes said.
The denominations working together will meet Ansvar later this month to review progress on its re-insurance investigations in overseas markets.
Steve Johnston, deputy chairman of the Otago Muslim Association, said the Al Huda Mosque, in Clyde St, had minimal insurance and was working towards being able to do away with conventional insurance.
"The modern-day version of insurance is a problem for Muslims," Mr Johnston said.
"Insurance is geared to ensuring shareholders make a profit. The loser is the policyholder. It is akin to gambling."
Muslims favoured a co-operatively funded insurance, from which payments were made to those who needed it, Mr Johnston said.
Peter Small, director of the Dhargyey Buddhist Centre, in Royal Tce, said the centre's insurer had renewed the policy, including earthquake cover, with "a slight increase in premiums".
The Star was unable to contact the spokesman for the Dunedin Jewish Congregation.
