Ecclesiastical Insurance Group said it is setting the record straight.
In an opinion piece published on
Church Times, the insurer stressed that child safeguarding consultant Ian Elliott’s report asserting “that Ecclesiastical instructed the Church of England to deny a survivor pastoral care is untrue.”
According to
Gloucestershire Live, the Elliott review claimed that the church – upon Ecclesiastical’s advice – stopped supporting victims of sexual abuse after paying compensation.
Cited was a victim who received £35,000 in compensation after being raped by a clergy member in the 1970s. The report said the victim blamed Ecclesiastical for severed ties with the church.
In response, Ecclesiastical group compliance director John Titchener wrote in his commentary: “We have documentary evidence showing that the Church of England misunderstood advice it received, resulting in the suspension of the survivor’s pastoral care. Our own solicitors spotted and corrected the Church’s misunderstanding, enabling its pastoral care to be restored in a matter of days.”
Titchener also said that recent media coverage has misrepresented the insurer’s claims process, and has created the misperception that the insured organisation has influence.
“Let us be clear: as an independent and regulated commercial insurer, it is our role to manage and settle claims. In line with standard insurance practice, once an abuse claim is brought against any of the organisations we insure, we take charge of handling the claim, and the insurance contract determines the claims approach – not the insured organisation,” he clarified.
The compliance director – who added that Ecclesiastical was not asked to participate in the Elliott review – said the insurer has always been clear that pastoral care and counselling can and should continue in parallel with an insurance claim.
Related stories:
Specialist insurer gets behind historical campaign
