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Impound Car Insurance
What is impound insurance?
Impound insurance, often referred to as compound insurance, will help you get your car back on the road after it has been seized by the police.
- Retrieve your car within 30 days
- Stops your car getting sold, scrapped or destroyed
- Save on impound storage fees
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 collect the vehicle (including paying the fine to get it unclamped), it can be taken to an impound.
To retrieve your car from an impound, you will need a specific type of impound insurance. Your standard insurance policy is unlikely to cover impound release. Tempcover’s 30-day impound insurance has everything you need to get your vehicle back, no matter what the offence.
The vehicle must be reclaimed by the registered keeper or owner of the vehicle. Just be aware that if you fail to reclaim your vehicle or show the correct documents within 14 days of getting a seizure notice, your vehicle can be disposed of.
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 and get your documents together
- Buy 30 days of impound cover
- Head to the police station with your documents
- Pay any outstanding fees and collect your car from the impound
Read the full step-by-step guide to find out what you should do when your car has been impounded.
How much is impound insurance?
Having a car impounded can be expensive as you’ll have to pay for compound insurance (average Tempcover price around £510*) and the following:
- Storage fees - approx £26 per day (prices vary)
- Release fees - £160 for cars or motorcycles and up to £700 for other vehicles
The price of impound insurance depends on factors including history, experience and type of vehicle.
*Based on Tempcover data as of 4 September 2026.
What is covered with impound insurance?
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. These policies last for 30 days.
Get a quote for impound insurance from Tempcover now.
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/
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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
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.
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.
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.
