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Over 200,000 vehicles are seized and impounded by UK police forces each year, but when those drivers want to reclaim their impounded vehicles they could be turned away unless they have the right type of insurance in place.

The most common reason for a vehicle to be impounded by the police is that the car was driven or parked on public roads without insurance – but even if your car was impounded for another reason and you did have insurance at that time, you’re likely to find that most standard car insurance policies won’t cover the vehicle while it is impounded.

That’s where impound insurance comes in. This type of policy is a short-term motor insurance policy that is intended to cover your vehicle for at least 30 days, since the vehicle won’t be released to you unless you have at least 30 days impound insurance cover in place at the time of collection.

It is possible to take out impound insurance for longer than 30 days, but most motorists will opt for the shortest possible impound vehicle insurance policy because they’re more costly than standard car insurance, if not overall then certainly on a pro-rata basis.

Does impound insurance only cover cars?

No, it’s possible to take out impound van insurance, impound motorhome insurance and impound motorbike insurance, as well as impound car insurance. Basically, any vehicle that has been impounded will need suitable impound insurance before the authorities will release the vehicle to the owner.

How much does impound insurance cost?

That will depend on a range of different factors, including how many days the impound insurance policy is being taken out for, the type of vehicle that has been impounded and the reason it was impounded, but it’s fair to assume that impound insurance is going to cost you significantly more on a pro-rata basis than you’d pay for standard car insurance, which is why most vehicle owners will opt for the shortest impound insurance policy that will meet their needs.

Can I take out a normal temporary insurance policy if my car has been impounded?

No, most standard temporary insurance policies are designed for drivers that are borrowing a car for a short period of time, and won’t be valid if your vehicle has been impounded and you need impound insurance in order to collect the vehicle from the pound.

In addition, many temporary insurance providers only offer policies from one day to 28 days, which wouldn’t be suitable since motorists need at least 30 days’ impound insurance when they’re collecting an impounded vehicle.

What happens if I don’t take out impound insurance?

If you opt not to take out impound insurance then you won’t be allowed to reclaim your impounded vehicle. However, you’ll still need to go to pound to go through a process known as ‘disclaiming’, which is essentially a process of formally declaring that you don’t want to reclaim the vehicle.

To disclaim your vehicle you’ll need to bring ID and proof of vehicle ownership to the pound, and you’ll also have to pay the disposal charges, which amount to £96 for cars and vans, and £64 for motorbikes and scooters.