Impounded Car Insurance: How to Get Your Impounded Vehicle Back?

If your car is being driven or just parked on a public road, you should have special car insurance and road tax. If you are caught driving without these, your car is at huge risk of being impounded by the police or other authorities. You will have to provide proof of insurance as well as several other documents to release your car.

If your vehicle has been impounded by the police for no insurance or no tax, you will need specialist impounded car insurance to release your seized car from the police pound. Not all insurance providers will provide you with coverage for impounded vehicles, but some specialist insurance brokers can provide enough insurance coverage to cover your impounded car.

Why Should You Use Impounded Car Insurance?

Unfortunately, many standard car insurers will not provide coverage for impounded cars. If your vehicle is impounded, you should add special coverage to your current policy or search for specialist impounded car insurance. Some insurers might also offer coverage with proof of insurance documents sent to you right away so you can retrieve your impounded vehicle.

Why are Vehicles Impounded?

The police and other authorities have the right to impound your vehicle for several reasons, such as:

The vehicle is not insured.
It has not paid the tax.
The vehicle is parked illegally on a public road.
It is parked on private land without a SORN (statutory off-road notification).
The vehicle is being used dangerously or carelessly.
Someone else is driving your vehicle without a valid driving license or valid insurance.

How Can You Release Your Impounded Car?

If your vehicle has been impounded by the police, it will be taken to the police pound. To get it retrieved, you should follow these steps:

The police will provide you with an impound notice when they take your vehicle to the roadside.
The driver must attend the police pound within 7 working days to provide the required documentation.
You will be required to show your driver’s license.
A valid MOT certificate is required.
Proof of the current road tax.
The driver will also require proof of car insurance.
If the driver takes out this insurance policy after the car is impounded, Then you should also declare to the insurance provider any relevant pending convictions.
Once the authorities have checked, your documents are well in place. They will provide you with a release notice, helping you collect your impounded car from the police pound.
Only the registered owner of the vehicle will likely be allowed to release it. Other than in exceptional situations
The driver will have to pay a release fee plus daily storage charges.
If not collected within 14 days, the impounded car might be crushed, scrapped, or sold at auction.

Short-Term and Annual Impounded Car Insurance

You should have access to specialist impound insurance coverage if you have just had your vehicle impounded by the police, to enable you to get the vehicle released from the police pound. If your vehicle has been towed away by the police, maybe following a stop for ‘no insurance’ or ‘no tax’ quick insurance cover is available for the car even after it has been impounded.

Before you can reclaim your car, you will have to show that insurance coverage is in place for your impounded car for at least 30 days.

How Much is Impounded Car Insurance?

Not all policies are suitable for retrieving an impounded car, and cheap impounded car insurance might not always work out to be the cheapest in the long run. Most insurance companies will not provide the insurance coverage needed to release an impounded vehicle, and the police are likely to check that the policy you have is suitable for the retrieval of your car.