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Police seize half a million uninsured cars since 2018

Rebecca Goodman
Written By:
Rebecca Goodman
Posted:
Updated:
04/10/2022

The police have seized 542,370 uninsured cars from drivers since 2018, data collected by AA Insurance has revealed.

In 2022 already, around 65,000 cars have already been taken off drivers who didn’t have insurance.

In the 2020 covid pandemic, despite lockdowns and driving restrictions more than 129,500 uninsured cars were seized, the highest figure recorded over the last five years.

The insurance company issued a Freedom of Information request to all 46 UK police forces.

It estimated that there are around one million uninsured drivers on the road and the figure is expected to rise as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.

Most uninsured cars seized in London

The Metropolitan Police, based in London, took the highest number of cars off the road of 62,900 over the past five years.

It was followed by the West Midlands force with 44,056 taken away and West Yorkshire with 33,829 cars seized.

In Greater Manchester, 32,135 cars were seized, Essex, 17,190, and in South Yorkshire it was 14,195.

In Scotland more than 33,000 drivers had their cars seized, compared to 22,700 Welsh drivers and 9,360 drivers in Northern Ireland.

The smallest number of cars seized was 39, by the British Transport Police followed by Wiltshire Police who seized 4,210 cars.

Two police forces were not included. Kent Police did not respond and Cheshire Police said its system could not easily determine how many cars had been seized for driving without insurance.

A million uninsured drivers on the road

Gus Park, managing director for AA Insurance Services, said: “Every driver is worried about being involved in a collision, but worse still is the other party being uninsured.

“Sadly, we know that when times are hard some people try to cut their costs, and one area people are tempted to chance it, is cutting out their motor insurance. However, these figures show that forces across the country are on the lookout and will take uninsured car away.

“Don’t take the risk. Not only is there the chance of having your car seized, but the criminal and financial hardship is not worth the gamble.”

Several insurers, including AA Insurance, include an ‘uninsured driver promise’ with car insurance policies. These are designed so drivers who have accidents with uninsured cars aren’t unfairly penalised.

They usually allow drivers to make an insurance claim without paying an excess or impacting their no-claims bonus.

 


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