A Christian driver says he was stunned after being told his car insurance would not remain in place unless he took handmade “Jesus Loves You” stickers off his vehicle.
GoSkippy Insurance told Simeon Chandra that its underwriting team had “declined the modification done on the vehicle as per stickers added on the vehicle”.
The 35-year-old Birmingham motorist was also warned that his policy would be cancelled unless he removed the stickers and provided fresh dated photographs of his Nissan Pixo.
Mr Chandra ultimately complied in order to keep his cover active, but the dispute has prompted wider questions about whether Christian car stickers can fall foul of insurance company rules.
He is now weighing up possible legal action with lawyers from the Christian Legal Centre, amid allegations that his rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression may have been infringed.
GoSkippy did not provide him with a detailed explanation for the decision, while the company’s underwriter, Somerset Bridge Insurance Services, declined to comment to the Daily Mail.
However, insurers are generally understood to take the view that any vehicle modification, whether cosmetic or designed to improve performance, can alter the risk profile because a car may become more attractive to thieves or more vulnerable to deliberate damage.
Mr Chandra had placed the stickers on the doors on both sides of his 2009 car. One read: “Jesus Loves You,” while the other said: “Jesus Loves You V Much.”
Simeon Chandra placed these stickers on his Nissan Pixo car stating: ‘Jesus loves you’
Stickers on the other side of Mr Chandra’s vehicle read: ‘Jesus Loves You V Much’
Copies of emails between Mr Chandra and GoSkippy seen by the Daily Mail show he exchanged messages with the insurer before and after placing the stickers on the car.
He said he contacted GoSkippy in advance to be transparent, sending them photos and insisting the stickers were ‘to spread a positive message that Jesus loves you’.
According to his account in correspondence, Mr Chandra was told his policy could proceed if he sent in photos of the stickers, which would then be added to his file.
But GoSkippy later told him that the policy could not continue unless they were removed.
A worker emailed him to say: ‘Feedback from the underwriting department declined the modification done on the vehicle as per stickers added on the vehicle.
‘For the policy to continue and be insured, we require the stickers to be removed from the vehicle and send a dated photograph once the stickers have been removed.’
The employee also told Mr Chandra to refer to the terms of business under quotations which state: ‘Your insurer has the right to decline your risk, increase the premium or restrict the policy if any errors or omissions are found in the statement of information.’
Mr Chandra sent further correspondence to GoSkippy seeking clarification but this has gone unanswered and he is now considering legal action.
He said: ‘I was shocked, surprised and upset when they told me I had to take the stickers off. I had tried to do the right thing by telling the insurer about the stickers and sending photographs.
‘The message on my car is very simple: ‘Jesus Loves You’. It is not abusive, political, hateful or commercial. It is a message of hope.
‘I could not understand why this would mean I could not have car insurance. We see all kinds of messages, flags and slogans in public life. But when a Christian puts a peaceful message on his own car, suddenly it appears to become a problem.
‘I felt sad, and it felt that things are really against the Lord Jesus. I could have cried. I think people with other messages would not have faced the same situation.’
Mr Chandra added that he wanted to put the stickers back on his car to set a precedent for other Christians to know they can do the same.
Mr Chandra later sent dated photos to the insurer confirming the stickers were now removed
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Mr Chandra, who became a Christian when he was at university, was raised in a family of Indian heritage and his parents were Christian missionaries.
His father was raised a Hindu before converting to Christianity, while his mother became a Christian after experiencing healing in an injured leg at a church service.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: ‘This case is not about a technical vehicle modification. It is about whether ordinary Christians are free to express their faith in public without being excluded from essential services.
‘A sticker saying ‘Jesus Loves You’ is not comparable to a commercial advert, a political campaign or an offensive slogan. It is a peaceful statement of Christian belief.
‘If insurers can refuse cover because a customer displays a Christian message, that should alarm everyone who cares about freedom of religion and freedom of expression.’
The case has parallels to another incident in 2015 when a different insurer threatened to void the policy of Christian minister Reverend Wena Parry, from Cymmer in Neath Port Talbot, because she put religious stickers on her car.
She was told by Age UK at the time that stickers saying ‘Christ Must Be Saviour’ and ‘Christ For Me’ could be regarded as ‘modifications’ and might invalidate her policy.
Age UK later denied there was a religious motive behind the move, but instead insisted that the ‘modifications do not fit our acceptance criteria for motor insurance’.
An earlier incident in 2011 saw Christian electrician Colin Atkinson fear disciplinary action by his employers Wakefield and District Housing for putting a palm cross on the dashboard in his company van.
The organisation investigated after a complaint from a tenant. Mr Atkinson was later told he could keep the cross, but attached vertically to the glove compartment.
