HPI CrushWatch alerted finance companies to the seizure of more than £31 million worth of vehicles they owned, thereby protecting their assets from the crusher, last year.

HPI created HPI CrushWatch in direct response to the FLA’s initiative to clamp down on uninsured drivers. The scheme brings together motor lenders and police to reclaim illegal cars, rather than having the vehicles scrapped.

Nearly one in 10 of the 60,000 uninsured cars seized by the police in 2011 and checked with HPI CrushWatch, had outstanding finance recorded against them.

A staggering number of offenders in 2011 were drivers of prestige, high value vehicles, including five Ferraris, two worth £151,000 and £115,000 each, an Audi R8, a Bentley and a number of Lamborghinis.

Daniel Burgess, managing director of HPI, said: “It’s very interesting to learn how many of these vehicles are being driven by people the majority of us would consider to be in a position to afford insurance, yet have been caught persistently avoiding paying premiums.”

However, the latest figures from HPI, suggest it is drivers of mid-range higher volume vehicles, often the popular Vauxhall, Ford and Volkswagen models, which continue to be the greatest offenders of insurance evasion.

Forty-three of the UK’s 52 police forces actively use HPI CrushWatch.

HPI’s 2011 figures show that West Yorkshire, Strathclyde and Merseyside police forces have notched up the highest total value of seized cars, indicating these regions have the greatest number of insurance offenders on their roads, followed closely by Hertfordshire and Lancashire.