Heard the one about the driver who went to a party and got a lift home because he was too drunk to drive – and couldn’t find his car when he went back?

He wants to claim off his car insurance but is not sure if the firm will accept the claim.

Drivers forget where they park all the time, but losing a car completely thankfully doesn’t happen  all that that often.

A German car owner recently found his lost car – three miles from where he thought he had parked the vehicle two years earlier.

Police and insurers decided no one had stolen the car because nothing on the inside had changed – including the £45,000 of specialist tools in the boot.

The dates on parking tickets and newspapers were from before when the car was lost.

In Britain, a driver reported his car stolen, only to find he had left the vehicle in a car park next to the one where he had thought he parked. The car was parked up for two years without anyone making any inquiries.

So how do insurers treat this kind of incident?

First, if you have lost your car, take all reasonable steps you can to find the vehicle. Check out streets and car parks for a couple of miles around where you thought you had parked – especially if you visit an unfamiliar area or were worse for wear after partying.

Also check with police and car park owners to see if they have towed your car for bad parking or obstruction.

Car parks are likely to have CCTV – if you can spot yourself parking and the car is missing, then you know someone has driven away in your vehicle.

If you have taken all reasonable steps to locate the car and it’s still missing – tell the police and they will check out your claim and file the car as stolen if they can’t find it either.

Then make your car insurance claim – but don’t forget if the insurer pays out, you will have to sign over title to the car, pay any excess and will not get the car back.