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Why student drivers face higher costs
When a vehicle has been seized, insurers already view the situation as higher risk. Being a young or student driver adds another layer, because insurers rate inexperience and limited driving history as significant risk factors. As a result, student drivers usually pay more for impound-release cover than older or more experienced drivers.
What impound-release insurance typically costs
Impound-release insurance is a specialist thirty-day policy. Prices vary between insurers, but for a student or young driver it is common for premiums to sit well above typical temporary-cover prices. Many student drivers see figures in the high hundreds for a single thirty-day term, especially if they passed their test recently or have points or offences connected to the seizure.
Why short-term policies are not an option
Policies lasting between one and twenty-eight days are excluded for impounded vehicles, so they cannot be used to get a car released. This is one reason costs seem higher: the minimum product insurers offer for seized vehicles begins at thirty days, placing all drivers, including students, into a different pricing category.
Factors that influence the price
- Your age and length of licence. Newer drivers almost always face the highest premiums.
- The reason for the seizure. If the incident involved driving offences, some insurers will increase the premium further.
- The vehicle itself. High-powered, modified or high-value cars tend to cost more.
- Your postcode or the postcode of the pound, because risk ratings differ by area.
Whether it is cheaper for someone else to drive the car out
Some keepers ask an older, more experienced driver to collect the car. This can reduce the cost, but only if that person has a suitable thirty-day impound-release policy in their own name. A permission letter alone is not enough. The pound must see insurance that clearly covers whoever is driving the vehicle away.
What to expect after the car is released
Once the thirty-day policy is in place and the car has been collected, you can switch to a standard annual policy if you wish. However, insurers will still take the impound event and any related offences into account. Student drivers often face higher annual premiums for a while, though costs usually ease once you build a clean record.
A straightforward outlook
Student drivers generally face higher impound-release premiums, often in the upper end of the typical price range for thirty-day policies. The quickest way to keep the cost as manageable as possible is to ensure the car is roadworthy, choose the most experienced eligible driver for collection and avoid delays, as storage fees add up separately from insurance.
Impound processes, time limits and costs vary widely across the UK, and authorities can amend their rules at any time. Information on this site is intended as a general overview and should not be relied on as definitive for any specific impound location.