What is taxi insurance?

What is taxi insurance?

• you need motor insurance, of course, to drive any vehicle on the highway or in any other public space;
• if you are driving a taxi for hire or reward, moreover, you need to hold specific, purpose designed taxi insurance – available from niche insurance providers, such as those of us here at Specialist 4;
• the cover recognises the critical difference between vehicles for public hire (so-called Hackney carriages), which customers are able to enter at a taxi rank, hail in the street or pre-book and minicabs, or Private Hire Vehicles (PHV), which may be driven for hire or reward only when the customer has pre-booked the service;
• as the official government website points out, there is a legal requirement for minicabs to be run by a formally licensed operator;
• the National Private Hire Association also warns that any minicab driver who plies for hire – breaching the PHV rules – may face stiff penalties, including the offence of driving without insurance;
• getting the right insurance for your taxi, therefore, is clearly important;

What does taxi insurance typically cover?

What does taxi insurance typically cover?

• if you want to operate a taxi, standard motor insurance is insufficient, although taxi insurance may similarly come at three main levels of cover – third party only, third party, fire and theft, or comprehensive cover – although the relevant licensing authority may have specific requirements as to this level of insurance;
• whether or not the local licensing authority insists upon it, taxi operators might also want to consider those policies incorporating public liability cover;
• such is the nature of the public or private hire business that operators may be vulnerable to the risk of claims from members of the public in some way injured or who have their property damage as a result of your operations – upon the success of any such claim, the resulting order for compensation might easily cripple your taxi business, so indemnity cover may be the prudent option;
• a further aspect of taxi insurance which it might be helpful to consider is whether there is to be a single named driver or whether you intend to employ a number of different drivers and so need cover for any driver – the former of course is typically cheaper than the latter;
• in either case, you may expect taxi insurance to cost more than standard private motor insurance – simply on account of a taxis working hours and the insurer’s calculation of the risks and perils involved;

Who is taxi insurance suitable for?

Who is taxi insurance suitable for?

• as may be apparent, therefore, taxi insurance is not only suitable for but may be required by the licensing authority whose licence you need simply to operate your vehicle for hire or reward.

Summary

Summary

Taxi insurance is an essential part of operating a vehicle for either public or private hire. It is a specialist type of insurance – upon which the very future of your business depends – and you might want to use the services of a specialist insurance broker such as ourselves to ensure that you get the cover you need.