By Philip Timothy, Message Staff Writer
HAMMOND – Jerusalem Baptist Church in Hammond will soon be getting a check from the Louisiana Department of Revenue for $3,500, and it is all because they filled out some important paperwork and provided the right documentation.
Can it really be that easy?
Well, it may not be all that easy, but, yes, churches throughout Louisiana can get money back from the state.
The church is getting a refund on the assessment it has paid for the past three year to the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s FAIR Plan. In Jerusalem’s case it is getting back the maximum refund: three years.
When hurricanes Katrina and Rita barged ashore in 2005, they left a wake of destruction with which we are all very familiar. However, in addition to leveling towns and inundating communities with flood water, it dealt a huge blow to insurance companies all through the state.
Many insurers have since pulled out of the state altogether and those carriers that remain are restricting which customers they’ll accept and are changing how they are willing to insure. Allstate, for example, is no longer writing wind and hurricane coverage and State Farm has all but stopped accepting new customers.
Louisiana Citizens is a non-profit insurance corporation created to provide insurance for both residential and commercial property applicants who are in good faith and entitled, but are unable, to purchase insurance through tary insurance marketplace. It is the insurance of last resort and is state mandated.
“This money is a blessing,” said Pastor Phil Weaver. “It will fund our AWANA program for an entire year or help some other ministry in our church. While we are meeting and exceeding our budget this year, this extra money is still a Godsend.
“God, though, has been blessing us financially,” said Weaver, “because for the past four months the church has been able to transfer any excess over $10,000 to a designated account.”
The church and church’s finance committee became aware of the refund thanks to Lee Richardson, a deacon and member of the finance committee. “Brother Lee ran across an article about the refund and brought it to our attention. We also got some timely help from David Galloway of Galloway Insurance Company in Alexandria while in the process of renewing our church insurance.
“We want to be good Louisiana citizens but we also want to be good stewards of God’s money,” Weaver said.
Since switching to Galloway, the church, which did sustain roof damage from Hurricane Isaac, has been able to lower its deductible and increase its coverage on its physical plant.
“I insure about 1,000 churches, mostly Southern Baptist, in the state,” said Galloway, who is himself Southern Baptist. “There are 10,000 churches in the South in what is commonly referred to as hurricane alley. A little more than half are Catholic and the remaining are different denominations, a lot of them Baptist. I have about a quarter of those 4,000 churches.
“Most churches, though, are not applying for the refund. While the bigger churches are doing the best at taking advantage of it, there are a lot of smaller churches that are not,” Galloway said. “I hate to see it because these churches are leaving a lot of money on the table which I’m sure could help during these economic times.”
Homeowners file a state income tax return and have a line-item on their state tax return to provide their assessment paid on the prior year and get it refunded. Likewise, business owners filing their state income tax returns get the refund. Churches, though, don’t file a state income tax return so the Department of Revenue has three different forms, documentation and steps that need to be followed to get a refund.
“A church can go to its bookkeeper, CPA or insurance agent for assistance to get this done. They can apply for a refund, but only for the last three years, even though the state has been collecting the assessment since 2006,” Galloway said. “First, you must fill out form R620INS, which can be downloaded from the Louisiana Department of Revenue website for 2009, 2010 and 2011; include the declaration page of their prior term policy showing the assessment amount (usually found on the agent signature page); and a copy of the checks you paid for that prior policy year as proof of payment.
“Mail your copies for each year’s refund to the Louisiana Department of Revenue in a separate envelope to expedite this refund money to the church,” Galloway said. “It does some take some time and effort, but I believe it was well worth the effort. We want to be good citizens but we also want to be good stewards. Churches are leaving a lot of God’s money sitting in the state’s hands.”
At present there is an estimated $74 million, according to the Louisiana Department of Revenue, available to be refunded to individuals, businesses and churches. Galloway cautions that December 31 is the deadline to receive the refund for the last three year’s assessment, so time is of the essence.
“I would not wait, though,” Galloway cautioned. “The Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated a lower court award of $92.8 million to 18,573 residents who proved that the nonprofit insurance company was slow to adjust their claims following the 2005 hurricanes. So, they (Citizens) may not have that excess for much longer.”