Impounded Car Insurance UK offer seized car insurance policies for drivers who have had their car seized by the police.
In this article Impounded Car Insurance UK will look briefly at why the police seize cars and what happens to a car once it has been seized.
Why do the police seize and impound cars?
Police in the UK have the power to seize vehicles for a number of offences. A warning is usually issued for the first offence, however in serious situations cars can be impounded on the spot.
If you are caught driving without a valid driving license police officers have the power to instantly seize your vehicle and arrange for it to be impounded.
Once your car has been impounded you will be unable to collect it yourself because you do not have a valid driving license to show at the compound.
You will then have to arrange for a person with a valid driving license to take ownership of the vehicle, take out impounded car insurance and collect the seized vehicle from the compound.
Driving without valid insurance
If the police determine that a vehicle is being driven without a valid insurance policy in place your car will be seized on the spot and impounded.
If your car has been impounded for driving without insurance then you are likely going to receive an IN10 motoring conviction on your driving license.
To collect your vehicle from the compound you will need to take out impounded car insurance for IN10 and show the policy certificate to the compound staff.
Failing to stop when requested by police
If a police officer signals for you to stop your vehicle and you either do not stop or take too long to stop, your vehicle can be seized and impounded. Failing to stop is a criminal offence.
Releasing a seized vehicle can be costly as you will be liable for storage fees and have to take out special impounded car insurance to pick up your vehicle.
Once a police officer has seized your car it will be collected by an approved towing agency. The car will be towed to the designated police compound where it will be stored securely with other seized vehicles.
You will have a 14 day period to collect your seized car from the compound. You should gather your documents such as driving license, seized car insurance policy & proof of ownership as you will need to show these to the compound staff.
If you do not collect you do not collect your impounded car within 14 days it will either be destroyed by the compound or auctioned at a seized car auction.
If you decide not to keep the car or it is not financially viable then you can sign a form that gives the vehicle to the police to be destroyed.
