Taxi drivers must have the right business insurance by law, but although the consequences may be severe, arranging taxi insurance for individual drivers or fleets is not a problem.

To help you decide which policy would suit you best – and there are a lot of insurers to choose from – just follow our quick guide to finding the right taxi insurance.

 

Is all taxi insurance the same?

No. Taxi insurance comes in two types: public hire taxi insurance and private hire taxi insurance.

Only taxis which can be hailed on the street by customers are public hire taxis, while private hire taxis – often called minicabs – have to be despatched to a customer. It’s important that you select a policy which best suits your work.

 

Which types of taxi are covered by insurers?

Some taxi insurance firms provide cover for taxi fleets while most provide policies for ‘black cabs’, London taxi insurance, multipurpose vehicle (MPV) taxi insurance and taxi minibus insurance.

Private hire taxi insurance is generally more specific to the vehicle and will fall into the MPV insurance bracket.

 

What will my taxi insurance cover?

By law, the number of passengers allowed to be carried in a taxi is limited – exceed that limit and your taxi insurance policy will be void should you have an accident.

Like most taxi insurance, cab insurance will have comprehensive, third party fire and theft and third party insurance options.

It would be wise also to have a public liability element in the taxi insurance policy to provide cover against any claims for healthcare or damages for injuries to passengers.

Taxi owners should also be aware that some firms will not insure London black cabs, drivers under the age of 25, while some allow ‘no claims discounts’ to carry over from a standard car insurance policy.

Others offer taxi insurance policies which will run from just one month for stand-in drivers.