Question: My car just got stolen—I already filed a report with the police and notified my insurance company. What will happen if a stolen vehicle is recovered?
Answer: If you just received a call about your stolen vehicle, you might be wondering what’s next. There are multiple scenarios that could happen depending on which stage you’re at with your insurance claim.
No theft insurance
If you only bought liability insurance, then your insurance doesn’t cover vehicle theft. You will need to have comprehensive insurance for there to be any compensation in the case of theft.
Your car will go through the police’s recovery process, which includes a legal process that will determine the fate of your car, according to J.D. Power. The legal process will determine what happens to your car and it’s possible that the vehicle will be returned to you. If this is so, you will have to pay for any impoundment or storage fees before you get the vehicle back.
You will receive your car in post-recovery condition. This means your car could be an absolute wreck or it might be in its original condition. You will be on the hook to make any repairs and maintenance required.
An alternate scenario is when the legal process determines that your car should be sold at auction. In this case the proceeds will go to the state or local government, and any remaining funds may go to you to compensate you.
What happens when a stolen car is recovered before settlement?
If a stolen car is recovered before you receive a settlement, but you have already started a claim, then it’s likely that your insurance company will shift gears and consider what the cost is to repair your vehicle versus writing off your vehicle.
If the damage is minimal, then the insurance company will foot the bill for the repairs sustained. However, if your vehicle is too costly to repair, they’ll probably compensate you for the value of the vehicle. According to NJ.com, the average cost of damage and vandalism to a stolen car is $1,490.
What happens when a stolen car is recovered after settlement?
When your vehicle is deemed as a total loss, your insurance company will compensate you based on the terms of your policy.
If police recover your car after you received a settlement from your insurance company, then the recovered vehicle is now owned by your insurance company and they might give you an option to buy it back.
In some states, a theft-recovered vehicle will come with a salvage title, which means you might not be able to drive it immediately until it gets repaired and recertified as a rebuilt vehicle. NJ.com says a salvage vehicle would lose 20 to 40 percent of its value as compared to a similar car with a clean title.
Car theft and recovery statistics
According to the Insurance Information Institute, thefts of motor vehicles have seen an increase in the United States in the period of 2019-2023. In 2019, about 800,000 vehicles were stolen but the figure increased to 1.02 million vehicles in 2023.
Still, almost half of stolen vehicles get recovered. According to the FBI’s data, in 2019, 56.1 percent of vehicles were recovered, but that dropped to 46.1 percent in 2022, according to Statista.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Chris Burkhardt is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience across various storytelling mediums. With Jerry, Chris hopes to help anyone with a question about their vehicle easily find the answers they are looking for. Whether you need to know how much insurance costs for a classic car, how to replace a broken light or tell if you need an oil change, Chris wants to help you find solutions the best he can. Prior to joining Jerry, Chris was a digital content producer and writer for NBC and a freelance editor for NerdWallet. A graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, if Chris is not working on content, he’s sure to be found cheering on his Ducks!
