Taxi insurance is designed for anyone who uses a vehicle for transporting people commercially. That includes:
Public hire taxis
Pre-booked private hire vehicles
Ride-hailing apps like Uber
It’s often known as ‘commercial car insurance’ or ‘carriage of goods for hire and reward’ and is a legal requirement.
To take out taxi insurance you’ll need a licence from your local authority or Transport for London (TfL) if you work in London. There’s additional criteria such as a ‘knowledge’ test in London.
As with standard car insurance, there are different levels of cover available for taxi drivers, namely third-party only, third-party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive.
🚩 The premium you pay will depend on the level of cover you take out and what sort of vehicle you drive.
It’s a legal requirement to have taxi insurance – rather than standard car insurance – that covers you, your car, and your customers if you're a taxi driver and use a vehicle to transport people in return for payment.
If you don’t take out taxi insurance you risk:
A hefty fine. Local authorities may have the power to fine you thousands of pounds[1]
Losing your licence – and therefore your livelihood
Vehicles covered by taxi insurance include:
Minibuses
Black cabs
Hackney carriages
Minicabs
Private hire vehicles
Uber drivers’ cars
To get a taxi insurance quote via MoneySuperMarket, you will need to have an idea of the type of policy and level of cover you need. You’ll also need to provide:
Your name, date of birth and address
Your taxi licence or taxi badge, who issued it and when
Details of any other drivers who will be using your vehicle
Details about your vehicle, including the make and model, registration number, the age and where you keep it overnight
Information about any security devices fitted to your vehicle (such as dashcam)
Your annual private and business mileage
Details of any claims made in the last five years
Information about any modifications to the vehicle such as wheelchair adaptions
Private hire insurance (also known as PHV insurance) is designed for people who only transport customers who have booked their services in advance. This includes private hire firms, ride-hailing app drivers and airport transfer services.
Public hire insurance is aimed at those who drive vehicles that can be hailed in the street or picked up at a taxi rank, such as a London black cab or hackney carriage.
Fleet insurance covers multiple business vehicles under a single insurance policy, which can work out cheaper and reduce administration.
You can usually take out taxi fleet insurance if you need to insure two or more vehicles to be used for transporting passengers in return for payment.
If a colleague sometimes drives your car you don’t need to take out fleet insurance, you can add them as a named driver instead.
✔ Highest level of protection
✔ Injuries and damage to you and your taxi
✔ Medical expenses
✔ Fire and theft of your taxi
✔ Injuries and damage to others
✔ Legal protection
✔ Injuries and damage to others
✔ Fire damage to your taxi
✔ Theft of your taxi
✔ Legal requirement
✔ Injuries and damage to others
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Taxi insurance policies provide similar cover to that of a standard car insurance policy, usually alongside public liability insurance that will pay out if a customer is injured or their belongings are damaged while you are driving them from A to B.
Some policies also include personal use cover that allows you to use your taxi when you are not working; with others, you have to pay more to add this cover.
Will help to cover your legal fees if you have to fight an unfair compensation claim from a customer, for example.
Will ensure you don’t get stranded should your vehicle break down at the side of the road.
Public liability insurance pays out if a customer is injured or their belongings are damaged while you are driving them from A to B. Some taxi insurance policies include this as standard.
Allows you to use your taxi when you are not working. Some taxi insurance policies include this as standard.
Designed for those who drive a lot of miles per year, this cover can often be purchased for an extra premium.
It’s a legal requirement to have taxi insurance – rather than standard car insurance – that covers you, your car, and your customers if you're a taxi driver and use a vehicle to transport people in return for payment. Otherwise, you could face a hefty fine. Worse still, you could lose your licence – and therefore your livelihood. Vehicles covered by taxi insurance include:
Yes, many policies cover personal use of a private or public hire vehicle as standard, while others offer it as an optional extra (which could make them a better deal if you do not wish to use your taxi this way).
However, not all licensing authorities allow people without a taxi licence to drive a vehicle registered for private or public hire. So, family members who are not registered taxi drivers might not be able to use your car for personal use, even if you have personal use cover in place.
Private hire taxi insurance is more expensive than conventional cover due to:
Mileage: Taxi drivers cover more miles than most other motorists, often in congested conditions, which increases the risk of an accident
Driving hours: Taxi drivers may drive during high-risk periods such as peak traffic times and at night
Vehicle type: They tend to drive larger vehicles, such as MPVs and estate cars, which are usually more expensive to insure and repair
Passenger liability: They are open to different risks related to working with members of the public
Steps you can take to reduce the cost of a taxi insurance policy include:
Choosing a car in one of the lower car insurance groups, which range from 1 to 50 and rate vehicles based on factors such as the cost of spare parts and the value of the vehicle
Driving safely and avoiding convictions both on and off the road; being convicted of even a minor criminal offence could result in some insurers refusing to cover you
Building up a no-claims bonus, which could slash your taxi insurance premiums by up to 75% if you stay claim free for more than five years
Improving security such as fitting a Thatcham-approved alarm and being mindful about where you park your taxi overnight
Yes, you are unlikely to get taxi insurance if you are under the age of 21. In London, for example, taxi drivers must be over 21 to get a taxi or private hire licence. And some insurers will only cover drivers who are at least 25 years of age.
Older drivers may be offered lower premiums due to their years of experience, especially if they have built up a long-term no claims bonus, but insurance providers usually have a maximum age limit for taxi insurance, typically over 75.
If you have a fully comprehensive taxi insurance policy, your insurer will generally offer you a payout equivalent to the market value of your vehicle at the time it was written off.
If you have a third party only or third party, fire and theft policy, your insurer will cover the costs related to any other vehicles or people injured in the incident, but you will have to fork out to buy a replacement vehicle.
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