Faith Under Fire: Insurance to be canceled over 'Christ' on car

2/5/2015

'Might be somebody in that company who hates Christianity'

Christians beware!

Having messages about Jesus Christ on your car could cancel your insurance.

That’s what a pastor from Wales is learning as she grapples with her insurance company, which is looking to nix her coverage after finding out she had messages saying “Christ Must Be Saviour” and “Christ For Me” plastered on her minivan.

Rev. Wena Parry, from Cymmer in Neath Port Talbot, told BBC Wales’ “X-Ray” program she has been treated unfairly by Age UK Insurance because of her religious beliefs.

“Every opportunity I have I want to tell people about Jesus,” she said.

“I reckon there must at least a million people who have read the texts on my car and no one has had a problem with it before. There might be somebody within that company that hates Christianity.”

The 76-year-old pastor spent $180 on the red-and-black-lettered messages “spreading the gospel” on her silver Vauxhall Zafira.

But Age UK Insurance said it never would have insured the woman if it had known about the statement on the hood and the side of her vehicle.

Company officials first became aware of the messages when Parry submitted a claim on her insurance after thieves damaged her exhaust and stole a piece of the engine. They couldn’t help but notice the mentions of Christ in the photographs.

The insurers told Parry she had 10 days to explain why she hadn’t informed them about the stickers, warning “the policy may be declared void.”

Age UK Insurance sent her a letter, reading: “These modifications do not fit our acceptance criteria for motor insurance.

“Cover would have been declined if we had been made aware of these at the time of purchasing your policy.”

But Age UK is denying any religious motive for threatening to yank the policy her policy.

A spokesman told BBC Wales: “The situation regarding Reverend Parry’s claim was in no way related to the Christian nature of her graphics.”

The company said their insurers, Ageas Insurance Limited, had investigated the sale of Parry’s policy.

“They have concluded that our request to declare all modifications was not made clear enough to Rev Parry and therefore she did not know which vehicle enhancements should have been declared,” the spokesman said. “They say they will review the wording on their policy applications.”

Rev. Wena Parry appearing on BBC Wales’ “X-Ray”

A spokesman told the Independent: “While all car owners have the right to self-expression and place whatever they wish on their cars, we would urge all drivers to make their insurance providers aware of any graphics applied to their cars.”

Meanwhile, Parry, who ministers at the Independent Congregational Church in Wales, is now purchasing a silver Peugot 206.

And while she has already got a quote to replicate the Christian messages on her new vehicle, she says she’ll definitely be asking her new insurers Asda if the stickers are acceptable in advance.

source