MO| Missouri Insurance Bulletin 26-12, issued October 7, 2026, establishes a regulatory safe harbor for qualifying religious mutual aid arrangements that provide financial assistance following direct physical damage to or destruction of structures owned by individual participating members. The Department will not treat these arrangements as engaging in the business of insurance solely for collecting member contributions and providing qualifying assistance, requires no application or filing, and will not pursue insurance regulatory enforcement solely for qualifying activities. The bulletin does not have the force of law, is not binding on the Department, and remains effective until rescinded.
- Eligibility and operation: The arrangement must be established and maintained by a bona fide religious organization continuously existing since December 31, 1950, whose participating members conscientiously oppose insurance based on religious teachings and belong to a community with a longstanding mutual-assistance practice. Participation must be limited to qualifying members, operated for religious mutual assistance rather than commercial profit, and neither marketed to the public nor represented as insurance.
- Qualifying property: Assistance may address damage from any peril, including fire, wind, or flood, to individually owned homes, barns, agricultural buildings, workshops, garages, storage buildings, customary outbuildings, and commercial structures used in the individual owner’s trade, occupation, farming operation, craft, or business.
- Limitations and oversight: The safe harbor excludes automobile, liability, health, life, and other coverage unrelated to qualifying structures, without affecting the separate motor-vehicle self-insurance provision under § 303.220, RSMo. The Department retains authority to investigate public marketing, out-of-scope benefits, principally commercial operations, fraud, or material misrepresentation.