Anyone whose car has personalised number plates could lose them for good if their car is written off or stolen, and not get any money back for them. In these cases, personalised number plates are not usually covered by insurance. And they are getting more popular - there were nearly 400,000 personalised DVLA number plates auctioned off in 2017-2018, and while you can now get cheap private plates for no more than a few hundred pounds, all of them could potentially be at risk.
Studies of comprehensive car insurance policies have revealed that only a small percentage of them cover the loss of private number plates. And even then, you may not get back what you paid for them. The problem is more than just plates not being covered; if you aren’t careful when something happens to your car, your personalised car registrations could be lost permanently. This is because they are attached to the vehicle they are assigned to, not the person who purchased them. So if your insurance company claims the car, they get your private car registrations too.
Reclaiming your private plates
The good news is that you may be able to retrieve your registration marks if you act fast. By letting your insurer know that you want to retain ownership of your private plates you can have them returned in the event of theft or a write-off. The Private Plate Company offer a service whereby we can save the plate before the insurance company write the vehicle off. You need to act quickly though. You must contact us before any vehicle documentation is sent to to the insurance company or to the DVLA. We can then save the registration for you and the car can be scrapped with a replacement plate-usually the previous registration.
You must contact the DVLA and your insurer to inform them that you wish to keep your plates, and your insurer must then send a letter of non-interest to the DVLA. It will then be your responsibility to pay the retention fee to keep the plate in the absence of another vehicle to transfer it to. However, if the car is scrapped then your plates may disappear with it. And if your car is stolen and never gets recovered, you must wait 12 months to reclaim your plates.
Always tell your insurance provider if you buy personalised plates, otherwise your policy could be invalidated. At The Private Plate Company, we can provide cheap private plates to your specifications so you can make your dream of driving with private number plates a reality. Contact us today to find out more.