If your car was seized for allegedly being uninsured, but you believe it was covered, you’ll need to prove it. The police and pound staff can only rely on what appears on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) at the time of seizure, so if your details weren’t showing, the vehicle may still have been impounded lawfully. Fortunately, there are ways to prove valid cover after the event — but speed and documentation matter.

Start by contacting your insurer

Contact your insurer immediately and ask for written confirmation that the car was insured at the time of seizure. This letter or email should include:

• your name and policy number;
• the vehicle registration number;
• the start and end dates of the policy;
• and confirmation that the policy was active at the time of the alleged offence.

This is known as a confirmation of cover or letter of indemnity. Most insurers can issue it within 24 hours. You’ll need to present it at the pound or police station, depending on who authorised the impoundment.

Why the insurance might not have shown up

The MID isn’t updated instantly. It can take up to 48 hours after a policy starts — or longer over weekends and bank holidays — before the car appears as insured. Other reasons for a mismatch include:

• errors in the registration number when the policy was set up;
• the policy being cancelled or suspended before the impound date;
• or the cover being in another person’s name without correct permissions for you to drive.

In these cases, you’ll need to show that the policy genuinely existed and was valid for the vehicle at the time it was seized.

Providing proof at the pound

If you arrive at the pound with valid evidence that insurance was in place, staff may contact the insurer directly to verify it. If they’re satisfied that the policy was active and the car was legally insured, you may not need to buy impound-specific insurance. However, this depends entirely on the timing and clarity of your documents. Many pounds still insist on new, compliant cover before release if there’s any uncertainty.

When to take your case to the police

If the pound has already processed the impound and won’t release the car without new insurance, you can still pursue the matter separately. Take your insurer’s confirmation letter to the police station named on the seizure notice and ask for the case to be reviewed. If they agree that valid cover existed at the time, they may authorise a refund of release or storage fees. You’ll need to show the same proof if you intend to contest any penalty or prosecution.

What counts as acceptable evidence

To prove valid cover, you’ll usually need:

• a full insurance certificate or policy schedule showing start and end dates;
• a letter or email from the insurer confirming the car was insured on the date and time of seizure;
• proof of payment for the policy (such as a bank statement or receipt);
• and, where possible, correspondence showing that the registration details were correct.

Printed or digital copies are normally acceptable. Handwritten notes or generic confirmation emails that don’t specify the date and time will not be.

Preventing similar issues in future

Once the matter is resolved, check the MID again to ensure your current policy appears correctly. Mistakes in registration details are easy to fix but can lead to unnecessary trouble if left unchecked. Keeping a copy of your policy documents on your phone or in your glovebox can also help if you’re ever stopped again.

Final note

To prove your car was insured when it was impounded, you need clear evidence — a certificate, policy schedule, or written confirmation from the insurer showing valid cover at the exact date and time. The sooner you gather that proof, the easier it is to resolve the issue and avoid paying for new impound insurance unnecessarily.

Check here for more useful information about impounded cars!

Please note: impound rules, collection windows and fee structures are set locally and can change at any time. Details on this site offer a broad outline only and are not guaranteed to match the requirements of any individual pound or authority.