Churchgoers making a claim with GuideOne Insurance might have a few extra blessings to count. As part of their FaithGuard auto or homeowners' policies, they can make a claim without paying a deductible.

The policy, which has attracted 46,000 insureds, waives an auto deductible if the vehicle in question is involved in an accident while driving directly to or from a church service or other religious activity. Other benefits of the policy include continuation of church donations, doubled medical payments for non-family passengers, limited payment of any existing car loans, and a memorial gift to the policyholder's church should an accident result in death. Homeowners obtain similar benefits and waived deductibles if there is a loss of personal property while it is in the possession of a church.

How do adjusters determine if someone is driving to a church service or function? "Generally, these claims — like all claims — are subject to an investigation and our [adjusters] would utilize reasonable procedures to convince themselves of the authenticity of the claim," said Jim Wallace, president and CEO of GuideOne. "By and large, we take a claimant's word for it, assuming that the story makes sense. If a family has an accident at 3 a.m., we might wonder if they were on their way to church. But whether or not they qualified under the terms of the policy has not been a big issue for us." Wallace went on to note that of the thousands of policies in effect, only 75 claims have been made.