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Impound Car Insurance
Release your car quickly and easily
- The cover you need to get your car released from the impound
- 30 days cover (operational length required by the police)
- Immediate - save on impound storage fees
What is impound insurance?
When a car is seized by the police for having no insurance or another offence, it’s important to get the right insurance to release it. Ensure you have proof that you are the registered legal owner of the vehicle.
Standard insurance policies may not cover impound release but Tempcover’s 30-day compound release insurance has everything you need.
Having your vehicle impounded can be expensive. You have to prove it’s insured for at least 30 days in order to get it back – no matter what the offence.
Our impound insurance, also known as compound insurance, will help get your car back on the road quickly and legally.
How do I get my car back when it's been seized?
If your car has been seized and you want to get it out of the impound, you should do the following - but bear in mind every police force might have a slightly different process.
Check your seizure notice. This confirms what your specific force needs from you and will tell you what to do first and whether you need to upload anything online, visit a station or head straight to the pound. Most forces want the registered keeper at a police station within seven days, in the same force area where the car was seized. If you're out of the country or dealing with a medical or compassionate issue, you may be able to extend this time - but you'll need evidence.
Check you're eligible. The registered keeper needs to be 19 or over, have lived in the UK for more than 12 months, and have no relevant criminal convictions. None of this applies to you? You'll need to contact a specialist annual broker.
Get your documents together. You'll need proof of identity (passport, driving licence, EU ID card, or immigration document), a valid driving licence, your V5C logbook, a valid MOT certificate, and tax if it's due.
Sort 30 days of impound cover. This is where Tempcover comes in. You'll need a dedicated 30-day impound insurance policy. Standard annual and temporary (1 to 28 days) policies are not applicable here.
Head to the police station. Gather all the documents mentioned in step 3, plus your insurance certificate. Once this has all been checked, you will receive a release notice.
Collect your car from the impound. Take your release notice, photo ID, and payment for any fees. Just collecting personal property rather than the car itself? You'll only need proof of ownership or your V5C.
Don't miss the 14-day deadline. If the car is left longer than 14 days, the police can legally dispose of or auction it. Not planning to reclaim it? You won't have to do anything as it will be dealt with automatically.
Remember to always double-check your seizure notice. It tells you exactly what your force will need.
Benefits of impounded car insurance
How much is impound insurance?
There are many car impound charges to consider:
- Storage fees from approx £20 per day (prices vary)
- A release fee of £160 for cars and motorcycles and up to £700 for other vehicles (Gov.uk)
- Compound insurance to drive the vehicle – average price around £507* (prices vary)
- Price of impound insurance depends on factors including history, experience and type of vehicle
*Based on Tempcover data as of 24 September 2024.
Why was my car seized?
Cars can be seized, clamped or removed for many reasons, from drivers being caught without a valid licence to being parked illegally.
If you fail to reclaim your vehicle or show the correct documents within 14 days, your vehicle can be disposed of.
What's covered
- Releasing your vehicle from the impound
- Social, Domestic & Pleasure driving for 30 days
- Damages to any third-party vehicles
- Driving in the UK
What's not covered
- Accidental and malicious damage to your car
- Additional drivers – we can only cover the driver named on the policy who must be the owner of the impounded car
- Commuting, business use, or hire or reward driving
- Car modifications
- Exporting the car
Am I eligible for impound car insurance?
To get impound vehicle insurance, you must…
- Be aged 19 years or older
- Be the legal owner of the vehicle
- Held your driving licence for at least 6 months
- Been a UK resident for a minimum of 12 months
- Had a maximum of 1 fault claim in the last 3 years
- Have no criminal convictions
- Not had a previous policy of insurance declared void by an insurer
To get impound vehicle insurance, your car must…
- Not have been modified
- Be taxed and in a roadworthy condition with a current and valid MOT (unless you are using the insurance policy to take the vehicle to a pre-booked MOT)
Tempcover works with a panel of insurers to provide you with compound car insurance cover. As such, full details of cover may differ depending on your insurer.
Before buying, please double-check the policy wording.
Can I get my car out of impound without insurance?
You’ll need to supply a valid certificate of motor insurance that permits the release of a vehicle impounded by a government authority before your vehicle is released.
This is a legal requirement for your vehicle to leave the pound in all cases, even if you don’t intend to drive it on a public road or if a third party is collecting your car from the pound on your behalf.
What if I am rejected for impound car insurance?
You're likely to be rejected for impound insurance if you're under 19 or have a criminal conviction. If you are rejected, you will need to contact a specialist broker who deals with impounded risks or accept that you have lost your vehicle.
Sources
https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/vr/vehicle-recovery/seized-vehicles/
We work directly with insurers to provide you with short-term insurance to suit your needs
You can pay for your short term insurance policy in several ways. Using our secure payment system, you can use the following payment methods:
After you’ve bought your policy, your documents will be emailed to you instantly so there’s no waiting around.
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Temporary impounded car insurance FAQs
Yes, your car can be seized and impounded if it doesn’t have proper insurance coverage. Other reasons why your car can be impounded include if you haven’t paid road tax for your vehicle, have parked it illegally, or it was being driven by someone without a valid driver’s licence.
No matter what the offence, to get your vehicle back, you need to have insurance. If you don’t already have an annual policy or your existing insurance won’t cover impounded vehicles, then you need to buy specific insurance for impounded cars.
- Impounded cars are seen as high risk by insurers – Most annual insurers won’t offer cover for impounded cars because it’s seen as a high-risk category, so a temporary impounded vehicle insurance policy will be the best option.
- You need specialist short-term impounded car cover – A standard temporary insurance policy won’t cover the release of impounded vehicles, as it only lasts for up to 28 days. You’ll need to show that you have at least 30 days’ insurance to get it released. Our special 30-day impound insurance gives you what you need to get back on the road.
- The sooner you act, the more money you’ll save – You have just seven working days to reclaim your vehicle and, the longer that you leave it, the more the daily storage fee will snowball into a large, unwanted expense. If you fail to reclaim your vehicle or fail to show the correct documents within 14 days, your vehicle will be disposed of. In such time-sensitive situations, temporary insurance for impounded cars is the ideal solution. The process is simple and straightforward with quotes available in minutes, saving you time and money.
How much it costs to recover your car from impound will depend on several factors.
Charges will vary depending on who collected your vehicle and for how long they’ve held it. Before you can get it back, you’ll need to pay a release fee – and your road tax, if your car doesn’t have any.
As long as your vehicle isn’t badly damaged or off the road, the charges will usually be:
- Up to £200 for removal and £10 per day for storage two-wheeled vehicles
- Up to £200 for removal and £20 per day for storage of cars and light vans
Yes, the police have the power to seize a car for having no insurance. The registered owner or keeper will have to go to the police station in the area the vehicle was seized to reclaim the vehicle. To do this, they will need to bring a valid form of ID, driving licence and motor insurance to drive the car away (impound insurance can help with this).
If you don’t claim your vehicle after two weeks, legal action can be taken to dispose of it. If you don’t want to reclaim it, this is called disclaim. To disclaim your car, you will need to go to the impound with ID and proof of ownership.
You’ll have to pay a disposal charge (please check your local council website for further details) and be liable for any outstanding penalty charges. Once you sign the disclaimer, the vehicle will be disposed of straight away.
Yes, compound and impound insurance offer the same cover. Both will help release your car from the impound/compound and get you back on the road.
No, you need to have a minimum 30-day to release your car from the impound. This is so you have the chance to decide what you want to do with your vehicle next and ensure it is correctly covered.
Yes, someone else can collect your car from the impound but they must bring the following documents:
- Proof of identity e.g. passport
- Valid driving licence
- Proof of ownership
- Valid certificate of motor insurance
- MOT
- An authority letter signed by the legal owner
- A copy of your passport or driving licence
- A valid certificate of insurance
Find out more on the Metropolitan Police’s website.
Please note that if you’re using a Tempcover policy to release the vehicle, only you as the vehicle owner will be able to release the vehicle. We do not currently offer named driver impound insurance.
