In short
- A total loss is usually paid out at the sum insured on your policy schedule, either an agreed value or market value, less deductions such as your excess and any unpaid premium.[4]
- If money is owed on the car, an insurer may pay the lender first and pass you whatever is left.[10]
- In Queensland a write-off is either statutory (it can never be registered again in Australia) or repairable (it needs a safety certificate and a written-off vehicle inspection first).[1]
- When the registration is cancelled you may get back the unused registration and CTP premium, unless the insurer has taken over the registration as part of the claim.[3]
- Hire car cover after a theft or total loss is often limited to a set number of days, so check your PDS before you count on it.[9]
- Rentzy rents by the week, but our minimum rental can be longer than the gap you need to fill, so compare it with your realistic timeline first.
What should I do in the first few days?
If the car was stolen
- Check it wasn't towed. Look for parking or towing signs with a number to call.[8]
- Report it to police. Have your details, when and where it happened, the make, model, colour and rego, and a list of anything that was inside.[8] Ask for the police report number, because your insurer will want it.
- Don't go looking for the car or try to take it back yourself. If you spot it, tell police.[8]
- Start your insurance claim and send a copy of the police report.[8]
If the insurer says the car is a write-off
Take your belongings out as soon as you can, including any toll tag, before the insurer collects the car.[10] If the excess is a problem, the Financial Rights Legal Centre's advice is not to drop the claim: ask the insurer whether you can pay it off over time.[5]
How does the insurer work out the payout?
Queensland treats a vehicle as a total economic loss when its pre-damage market value is lower than the cost of repairs plus its salvage value.[1] Before deciding, the insurer will usually assess the car, get repair quotes and work out the salvage value.[4]
What you are paid depends on the sum insured on your policy schedule:[4]
- Agreed value: an amount you and the insurer agreed in advance. It usually drops at each renewal.[5]
- Market value: what the car was worth if you had sold it just before the accident, which is normally less than you paid for it.[5]
The insurer then takes off deductions listed in the PDS. Your excess is one; you pay it if you were at fault and sometimes when you weren't. If you pay your premium monthly, the rest of the year's premium can be deducted too, because the policy is a yearly one.[4]
Insurers keep the wreck in a total loss claim. If you want it, you have to buy it from the insurer, so say so early, before it is sold.[4] After a theft payout, ownership usually passes to the insurer, so a stolen car found later is theirs, not yours.[8]
What if I still owe money on the car?
Tell the insurer about the loan when you claim. Allianz, for example, says it checks the Personal Property Securities Register for money owing on the car, pays the credit provider first, and pays the customer whatever remains after deductions.[10]
The loan is a separate contract. Ask your lender for a payout figure, compare it with the settlement offer, and ask about repayments and any shortfall before you accept.
Statutory or repairable write-off: what's the difference?
Once a car is assessed as a total loss, the insurer (or another notifier, such as a loss adjuster, dealer or auctioneer) must classify it as a statutory or a repairable written-off vehicle using standard damage criteria.[1]
| Category | Can it be registered again? |
|---|---|
| Statutory write-off | No. It can't be re-registered anywhere in Australia, and some parts can't be reused.[1] |
| Repairable write-off | Yes, after it passes a safety certificate inspection and a Written-off Vehicle Inspection, which checks for stolen parts.[1] |
The status is permanent: it stays even if the car is repaired, sold or moved interstate.[1] The register covers cars under 16 years old that have been declared a total economic loss.[3] When an insurer has assessed the car it normally notifies the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) itself; if no insurer is involved, you notify TMR with form F4069 before you sell or dispose of the car.[2]
Can I get a refund of my registration?
Often, yes. Cancelling a current Queensland registration can earn a refund of the unused registration and the compulsory third party (CTP) insurer's premium. It doesn't include the traffic improvement fee or other fees and levies, and a cancellation fee is deducted. The registration has to be current and in your name when you ask.[3]
- With an insurance claim: check with the insurer before you cancel. It may take over the registration as part of the claim, and then the refund may not be yours. The insurer may also tell TMR about the cancellation itself.[3]
- Without an insurer: lodge the cancellation form (F3517) with the write-off notice. If the car hasn't been used since the incident, you can ask for the refund to be backdated to the day after it.[3]
- Number plates: you don't need to hand them back if the plates were stolen or the vehicle was written off.[3]
The Financial Rights Legal Centre notes some insurers deduct the unused registration and CTP from the payout because you can claim those refunds yourself, so check the settlement letter for that line.[4]
Will my insurer give me a hire car?
Only if your policy includes it, and usually only for a while. The Financial Rights Legal Centre says some policies provide a hire or replacement car for a limited time.[5]
As one published example, Suncorp says its comprehensive cover pays the reasonable cost of a hire car for up to 21 days after a theft, while after an at-fault accident you only get one if you bought the optional cover.[9] Other policies set different days and amounts, so look in your PDS for:
- whether hire is included after theft, after an at-fault total loss, or both
- the number of days and any amount per day or in total
- when the hire period starts and ends: from the theft, from claim approval, or until settlement
If another driver caused the crash, you may be able to claim hire costs from them instead; that and the risks of credit hire are covered in renting a car while yours is being repaired.
How long does it take, and what if the offer is too low?
The General Insurance Code of Practice sets time frames, as summarised by the Financial Rights Legal Centre: within 10 business days of your claim the insurer must respond, it must decide within 4 months (12 months in exceptional circumstances), and within 10 business days once it has all the information. It must update you at least every 20 business days.[6]
If you think the valuation or the write-off decision is wrong, complain quickly and back it up with evidence such as repair quotes to the same standard, salvage quotes and market value reports.[4] The steps:
- Complain to the insurer first. It doesn't have to be in writing, and the insurer usually has 30 days to respond.[7]
- If that doesn't resolve it, complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). It's free, and time limits apply, so don't delay.[7]
- AFCA can decide on compensation for financial loss and for things like excessive inconvenience and delay, but it can't remove a car from the written-off register.[4]
For free legal advice, the Insurance Law Service is on 1300 663 464.[5]
How do I get around until I have a replacement?
The gap has two parts: settling the claim, then finding, buying and registering another car. A quick claim and an easy purchase can take a couple of weeks; a disputed valuation, months. Policy hire cover may end well before the gap does.
Your options, roughly from lowest cost to highest: public transport and lifts for a short gap, borrowing a car from family, renting by the week, or buying a cheaper car sooner. If you're also new to the area, getting a car when you're new to Brisbane covers buying a used car in Queensland.
Sources
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: How the Written-off Vehicle Scheme works (read 27 October 2026)
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: Notifying of written-off vehicles (read 27 October 2026)
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: Cancelling your vehicle, trailer, caravan, motorised mobility device or boat registration (read 27 October 2026)
- Financial Rights Legal Centre: Written-Off Vehicles (read 27 October 2026)
- Financial Rights Legal Centre: Car Insurance Claim (read 27 October 2026)
- Financial Rights Legal Centre: Insurance Claim Delay (read 27 October 2026)
- Financial Rights Legal Centre: Insurance Complaints to AFCA (read 27 October 2026)
- Suncorp Insurance (AAI Limited): What to do if your car is stolen (read 27 October 2026)
- Suncorp Insurance (AAI Limited): Do I get a hire car in the event of a claim? (read 27 October 2026)
- Allianz Australia: Motor Total Loss: Our claims process (read 27 October 2026)
Written by the Rentzy team at Rentzy Car Rentals. Rentzy prices, fees and rules in this guide come from our published terms and update with them; rules set by others (roads, tolls, licences, transport) are from the official pages above, as read on the dates shown. Something out of date? Tell us.
