SAN DIEGO — A church in Mount Hope is trying to recoup close to $80,000 it spent after having its insurance abruptly canceled based on satellite images.
"We're in trouble," said Pastor Sidney Buggs of Greater Center Church of God in Christ in Mount Hope.
Pastor Buggs said he had no choice but to pay for a new roof after GuideOne, the company he had been with for years, canceled his policy based solely on satellite images, which the company said showed broken shingles.
"I was canceled without notice. What qualifies an insurance adjuster in an office anywhere to look at a satellite picture, and determine that the whole roof needs to be repaired?" said Pastor Buggs.
CBS 8 first met Pastor Buggs in late May.
He shared the report he received, with the image the company said it used.
According to the report, there's no structural damage, no missing shingles, no rust, patching or ponding.
In fact, the report said it had 81% confidence in the shingles.
CBS 8 reached out to GuideOne. They told us they do not comment on private matters, and would not respond to follow up questions.
The whole situation has been detrimental for Pastor Buggs and his congregation of 100 members.
They had to take out a loan to cover the $51,000 roof they don't need, plus find a new policy elsewhere, which cost them over $20,000 — $15,000 more than what they had been paying.
"So, it took a loan of $80,000 to get the whole project complete and get the insurance done. Otherwise we came within a week of having to close our doors," Pastor Buggs said.
To add insult to injury, Pastor Buggs just received a notice of violation from the City of San Diego, telling him to cover graffiti outside his church, another expense he can't afford.
"Last year, I spent close to $11,000 just taking graffiti off of that wall," said Pastor Buggs.
CBS 8 reached out to the city. A spokesperson said:
"The City of San Diego makes every effort not to cite private property victims of graffiti vandalism. However, following three separate and distinct Get It Done reports from the surrounding community, the City of San Diego issued a Notice of Violation to the property at 3570 Webster Avenue and instructed the property owners to remove the offending graffiti per San Diego Code 54.04.05. A Notice of Violation (NOV) is the first step in the enforcement process and does not carry a monetary fine. If the owner fails to comply with the NOV, an Administrative Warning will be issued before any citations given."
Pastor Buggs wants someone to step forward and paint a mural on the wall.
In the meantime, he hopes to recoup some of the money already spent by planning a fundraiser for later this summer.
CBS 8 will share details when they're set. He's also accepting donations via Givelify, saying while the church has an abundance of faith, they can't say the same for resources.
"We have the broken. We don't have any grants or anything like that, that feeds money into us,” said Pastor Buggs.
WATCH RELATED: Insurance company cancels San Diego church's policy based on satellite images (May 21, 2024)