Personalised Plates - who really owns them?

Don't know if this has been discussed before but it did happen to me and it could happen very easily to anybody else.Case - motorcycle accident, bike written off and bike stored at wreckers (away from home location due to accident in transit).Insurance company decides to write vehicle off and make payout, company moves vehicle to auction to be sold "as is" as it now belongs to them.Personalised plates still on vehicle, plates become accessories (now the insurance companies property) as the fine print on insurance policy states words to the effect of items on vehicle that are not directly related to it's function as a vehicle become part of the claim.This also includes any radios, toolbox and tools, safety kit, etc.Numerous calls all put in the "haven't come across that before / too hard basket".Before you know it, bike sold at auction with new owner now possessing your plate.Just fortunate I managed to find out who the new owner was when they changed ownership and gleaned their details to ask for the plates - all done with no bother (top guy).Check your policy wording on accessories - I was under the assumption I owned the rights to the plate but this is not actually the case when the insurance company take ownership on a claim. There is a lot of back and forth with no one wanting to take responsibility to help you out it seems.

Not the case, you are the registered owner of the plates which is a separate entity altogether from the vehicle. Insurance do not have any hold on private plates even when vehicle is written off. I have had two complete loss vehicles and the plates were sent back in each case from AMI. Even in your case the new owner of the bike legally had no claims to the plate as they are in your name, not his or the insurance companies.

If the vehicle is de regd, which generally happens when a vehicle is written off, get the plates remade. Its $21.50 for a new set of standard P plates. As long as they aren't affixed to a vehicle that is currently licenced, you can have them remade and then you have possession again.

Just had this with my car written off in the floods.Plates are mine, I took them off and de reg the vehicle Ins co happy with that.

As I mentioned, there was a lot of back and forth with no one wanting to take responsibility to help you out which is how I found the experience.Once the vehicle was sold at auction, I lost visibility of where the bike and plates were and the insurance company lost interest in further help saying they were very sorry and to refer back to the accessories clause.I no longer insure through them and got a written clause put into the new policy to prevent this again.The point raised was entirely my experience and wouldn't want anyone else to go through it.Maybe I didn't push my case hard enough!It won't happen again.

Imagine if you had RR ! as personal plate & insurance co trying to grab them ,their value would far exceed the value of the car unless it was a rolls royce .

Thanks for that info. Stripping the vehicle of personal stuff is obviously critical and that may even include the sound system, especially if you have removed the standard issue item and spent a fair bit upgrading.

On the only crash I have had, I removed the (standard) radio, personalised plates etc and emptied all my stuff out at the panel beaters.It is then up to the insurance company (who don't seem to care a stuff) as to what they are going to pay out, based on what has been left on the vehicle.

When the insurers agreed to totally replace my vehicle, (5 days later) I took the (standard) radio back in to the assessor, on the logic that as they replaced it, they owned it.