Taxi insurance

Taxi driving usually involves covering a far higher mileage than a standard car driver, often at unsociable hours and in built-up areas. This increases the risk of an accident and therefore it is hugely important that you are properly covered.

Standard car insurance will not cover you if you want to use your vehicle as a taxi so it is vital that you have the correct insurance for you in order to ensure that you are protected. This is determined by a number of factors:
Your taxi business type - whether you accept passengers from the side of the road or only take those who have pre-arranged.

Where your business operates - if you operate in the countryside or inner-city, you need to ensure that your policy is extended to the regions you drive in.
Vehicle type - many taxis have more than the standard five seats and will therefore need a policy that suits these needs.

Number of vehicles - if you need cover for five or more taxis a fleet policy will probably be the most effective way of insuring all your vehicles. Read more about our taxi fleet insurance.

Vehicle modifications - a lot of taxis have been modified to have wheelchair access. It is important that you declare any modifications to ensure you are fully covered and this equipment can be repaired or replaced in case of an accident.

Taxi insurance includes motor insurance and passenger liability insurance as standard in every policy. This ensures that you and your passengers are protected should anything happen whilst you are working.

There are also a range of options you can add to your policy to create bespoke cover that suits your needs, including:

• Breakdown cover, including separate onward travel to get your passengers to their destination

• Courtesy-plated taxi in the case of an accident

• Advice/assistance with the recovery of your vehicle from an accident scene

• Repair to your vehicle in the case of an accident

• 24-hour claims assistance

• Home start recovery if your vehicle won't start

• Personal use cover if you use your vehicle outside of work

• Cover for loss or damage to keys, including locksmith charges, replacement locks and keys, car hire and onward transport

Passenger liability provides cover for any member of the public who are injured whilst they are in your vehicle or whilst they are entering or exiting your vehicle. This cover is provided on every taxi policy issued in the UK.

Public liability provides non-motor liability cover for passengers whilst outside your vehicle, either being escorted or in the custody and control of your driver. It has been designed to comply with licensing authorities' requirements.

Taxi drivers who regularly take children to school are liable legally for the child until care has been handed over to the school. This means that whilst the child is in your vehicle, or even during the short period of time during which they leave the vehicle and until you see them safely through the school gates, you are liable for their safety.

If the child were to be hit by a car whilst crossing a road after getting out of your vehicle, you may be liable for that particular accident.

Most licensing authorities do not stipulate that you require public liability insurance unless you have a contract in place with your local council, but we would recommend you have some form of public liability cover. Some policies include this as standard and some do not - if you have any queries, please call one of our advisers on 01903 875 420.

We offer a number of ways to pay for your premium, including monthly Direct Debit instalments.

No. All single taxi policies we offer exclude cover for driving other vehicles.

From an insurance perspective, your spouse can be named as an additional driver on a taxi policy. However, if they do not hold a taxi badge, you will require written permission from your licensing officer to allow anyone who doesn’t hold a taxi badge to drive a vehicle which is registered and plated for hire and reward purposes.

This applies even if you have removed the plate and any livery from the vehicle before you let them drive. These rules do not apply in Scotland where you can allow your spouse to be named on your taxi policy without prior approval from your licensing officer. Please call 01903 875 420 to discuss this further.

Taxi insurance policies do not usually cover:

• Drivers under 25; some policies will make an exception for drivers with a clean driving history but this will increase your premiums

• Theft of the vehicle, if the keys are left in it

• Unauthorised or unsafe vehicle use

• Driving outside of the region laid out in your policy

Insurers need to know about any accidents, incidents, or loss that you have been involved in on any motor policy within the last five years. This can include any policy where you were the policyholder and a named driver was involved in an accident or incident that occurred whilst you were driving. You will also need to advise us of any claims involving fire, theft, malicious damage, or glass.

This comes as standard with some policies and with others can be purchased as an optional add-on. This type of cover is needed for claiming loss of earnings following an accident that is not your fault and if you wish to claim for loss of earnings and a replacement licensed vehicle.

We also offer an enhanced legal cover in which, should you have an accident that is your fault, the insurers will still provide a replacement licensed vehicle. However, this level of cover does come at an additional charge.

Taxi fleet insurance can cover a mixture of different vehicles on the same policy. Hatchbacks, people carriers, minibuses, and even coaches can be included as well as, black cabs and mini cabs, for private hire or public hire. It's best to talk through your specific needs with the team, so just give us a call.

Most of our taxi fleet insurance policies will cover drivers of 25 and over. However, if one or more of your drivers is under 25, we can find policies for you which cover drivers over 21.

We have the flexibility to offer an any-driver policy which will enable any driver to drive any car. However, if you have one or more drivers who you prefer to drive a particular vehicle, our taxi insurance policy can accommodate this too.

Some of our insurers offer taxi insurance policies to insure a mixture of business-owned and owner-driver vehicles. Please talk to us and let us know all the details about your fleet in this respect.

If you prefer to spread the cost of your annual premium, we offer a quick and easy direct debit scheme. When you choose to pay premiums in instalments, you will be paying under a Premium Finance plan. We will give you full details of the finance provider, and the additional cost of finance, when we provide you with your payment plan quotation. This will include the total payable, the number of monthly instalments and the cost of each, as well as the representative APR.