Impounded Vehicle Insurance
Cover to release your vehicle.

After collecting your vehicle, you may find getting a new policy difficult when your temporary motor insurance expires.  

In general, motoring convictions affect insurance. If your car or van was impounded due to a motoring offence, many insurers may be hesitant to accept your insurance application. Even failure to collect an impounded vehicle – especially if it was impounded due to lack of insurance or driving without a licence – can limit your future insurance options. 

However, insurers are willing to help. We work with numerous insurance brands that will accept applications for specialist convicted car insurance and van insurance for drivers with motoring offences.  

If you don’t collect an impounded vehicle within the appropriate time frame, it may be scrapped or sold to recover the costs of impoundment. If the vehicle is not collected by a specified date, you will be notified of the impending disposal. 

Once the vehicle is sold or scrapped, you will no longer have any legal claim to it. This means you lose ownership of your vehicle and any personal belongings inside at the time of impoundment. 

You’ll need to find out where your vehicle has been taken. Contact the police on 101 or the NSL on 0343 224 1999.  

When you know where your vehicle is, you’ll usually be given a notice period to collect it and advised on the documents you need to bring.  

If you do not collect your vehicle within this time frame, it may be destroyed or sold at auction. The longer you leave your vehicle in impound, the higher the cost for its release due to the storage, administration, and release feeds.  

If your car or van has been impounded, you will need proof of impound release insurance to get your vehicle back. Some standard van and car insurance policies can’t provide the necessary cover for releasing an impounded vehicle. 

Impounded vehicle insurance is tailored to specifically meet the legal cover requirements for releasing a vehicle from an impound. These policies usually offer third-party-only cover and are meant for short-term use, lasting approximately 30 days.

After purchasing temporary vehicle insurance for impound release, you will receive documentation proving that the vehicle is now adequately insured. You must present this evidence as part of the process of releasing your vehicle.

To release your vehicle from impound, you will need to provide copies of the following documents:

• A valid driving licence.
• Proof of your identity.
• A valid insurance certificate.
• An MOT or proof of a pre-booked MOT if a recovery truck doesn’t collect your vehicle.

It can vary depending on why the car was seized and how long you have to release it. In many cases, motorists usually have seven to 14 days to collect the vehicle. During this time, you will be charged daily storage fees. 

If a car is impounded for reasons such as lack of insurance or expired road tax, it can be released when the owner pays the necessary fines and fees within the given notice period. 

However, the duration of the impoundment will depend on the legal processes if a car is seized as part of an investigation or court case. The vehicle may be held until the case is resolved, which can take several weeks or months. 

Our insurers offer impounded car and van insurance policies lasting approximately 30 days to cover the immediate release of the vehicle. After this short-term cover expires, you will need a new insurance policy. 

You can send someone else to get your car from the impound. 

Generally, they need to have the following documents to collect our vehicle:

• Proof of their valid insurance that covers them to drive your car.
• Evidence that you have the appropriate insurance to drive your vehicle.
• An authorisation letter from the car’s owner, to say that they can collect it.
• Proof of ownership of the vehicle, such as the V5C registration document.
• Their ID and a copy of yours.

The documents and evidence required can sometimes vary depending on the reason behind the vehicle seizure. We always recommend double-checking with the impound to see if they need anything specific to your circumstance.

The total cost of releasing your vehicle will depend on how long it has been held. However, the costs will add up quickly. 

Fees can include the fine for the original reason for the impound (such as driving without insurance), towing, daily storage, and additional administrative charges.

To get your car out of impound, you need proof of valid insurance to drive it on the road again.  

This policy must meet the mandatory third-party coverage required by law, and the insurance must specify that it can cover your vehicle if it is impounded. 

If you don’t have a policy that meets the requirements, you can get short-term impound release insurance. These policies can be arranged temporarily to provide the necessary coverage to release your car from impound.