Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) today announced the Senate has passed legislation he is sponsoring to reduce the amount of time an unclaimed stolen vehicle remains in a police pound.

In the event a vehicle is reported stolen and the owner cannot be found, the bill (S.3206) would require a police department that impounds the vehicle to notify its insurer and allow the insurer to retrieve the vehicle.

"Currently an insurance company is not notified that a stolen or abandoned vehicle which it insures has been recovered by the police," said Senator Larkin. "This means that a vehicle can be impounded for days or weeks before its owner recovers it. During this time, storage costs mount and the vehicle could be subject to damage when left unattended in open impound lots. This bill will speed up the retrieval of impounded vehicles because insurance companies have a financial incentive to quickly return insured vehicles to their owners. It would also act as a deterrent to insurance fraud because impounded cars will be quickly identified and reported to the proper insurance company."

The bill passed both the Senate and the Assembly and has been sent to the Governor for his approval.