National Insurance Awareness Day falls on June 28 this year to remind people everywhere that insurance is vital to their companies and ministries.

If you are in the process of planning a mission trip for your church group, make sure to think carefully about insurance, safety, and security as you hammer out the details. Extra preparation could minimize headaches when your group arrives on the mission field.

Completing a personal property inventory of your church or ministry could be one of the wisest activities you can pursue. If disaster strikes and you file an insurance claim, you may need an inventory highlighting damaged items.

Large or small, churches and ministries are often easy prey for would-be thieves, especially as church holidays, like Christmas, approach and weekly offerings increase as more people return to worship and other ministry activities. Ministry leaders can boost their ability to keep thieves away from their contributions and property by taking just a few precautions—not only during the holidays, but also throughout the year.

Last May, the United States Department of Labor announced a new standard for determining who qualifies as an exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new ruling says that if an employee earns less than $47,476 per year ($913 per week), then in most cases the employee needs to be classified as non-exempt. This change will take effect December 1, 2016.

Any renovation, construction, or addition project at your church introduces new liability risks. Before engaging in any project, determine whether your ministry, a contractor, or some other party is taking responsibility for these risks, secure documented evidence of this arrangement, and make certain that all insurance policies involved provide adequate coverage.

Serving as a board member or officer often inspires a special sense of responsibility for many who serve in such a role at their church or related ministries. That responsibility, however, also carries with it certain financial risks connected to the outcome of board actions.

Insurance doesn’t have to be complicated and confusing. Learning a few terms can help you develop a better grasp of what characterizes a typical ministry’s insurance policy.