Myth-Busting: Do Private Number Plates Affect Car Insurance?
Does buying a private number plate increase your car insurance premium? It's a fair assumption, especially since private registrations can be expensive and make your car stand out from the crowd. However, the reality is far from this longstanding myth, which we'll debunk in this article.
Private number plates and insurance misconceptions
A private number plate is one you buy to replace the registration originally assigned to your vehicle. These plates can represent your name, initials, your pet's name, or something else entirely, and they're often cited as the epitome of vehicle personalisation. It's probably why they're so popular in the UK, with more and more motorists looking for ways to express themselves on the roads.
However, because private plates can be valuable and make a car look distinctive, many people assume that insurance companies will see them as a car modification and bump up their premiums. Others think that changing the registration might cause confusion and result in hefty administrative costs, so they avoid buying a private plate at all.
However, this is not the case in the UK, and private number plates do not increase your car insurance premiums.
Where did the myth come from?
There are a few reasons people think private number plates affect insurance:
Visibility: Some believe a private number plate makes a car more appealing because it stands out more than other vehicles. They then put two and two together and reach five, assuming that this exclusive aesthetic results in higher car insurance costs.
Value perception: Others assume that an expensive number plate adds value to the car and therefore affects their insurance coverage.
Admin fees: Some insurers charge a small fee for updating details when a plate is added or changed, which can look like a price increase.
However, none of these factors change your actual premium. They may affect the admin process, but not the cost of your insurance, and the admin fee will be very low, if anything.
The reality: private plates don’t change your car insurance premiums
To bust the myth once and for all, car insurers don’t treat a personalised registration as a vehicle modification. This is because a number plate doesn’t affect how powerful the car is, how it’s driven, or where it’s stored, all of which can influence how much insurance you have to pay. At the end of the day, the registration is just a way to identify a vehicle. It's that simple.
What you must do, however, is tell your insurer when you change your number plate. If you don’t, and you later make an insurance claim, your coverage may be invalidated.
The myth is officially busted
Private plates don’t change how risky you are to insure because they don’t affect vehicle performance, mileage, or driver behaviour, which are the key factors used to calculate premiums. At most, you might pay a small admin fee for updating your vehicle's details, but your actual premium will stay the same.
The idea that a personalised plate makes car insurance more expensive has stuck around for years, but it simply isn’t true. The only thing you need to do is tell your insurer that you've purchased and assigned a private reg to your vehicle. They will then update their records, and your coverage will continue as normal.
So, if you’ve been putting off getting your dream private registration because you’re worried it might increase your car insurance costs, don’t.
And if you’d like to buy a private plate today, call our expert team on 01642 363738 or search online for your perfect private registration.