Taxi Insurance Guides & News

There are times when fleet taxi insurance is a better option for taxi companies than taking out public hire insurance or private hire insurance for individual drivers.

A fleet usually includes five or more vehicles used for either private or public hire and can include a mixture of cars and vans. This gives them the flexibility to be able to cater for all types of fares from short trips to longer trips.

An illegal taxi driver who picked up fares across Liverpool city centre was asked ‘was it worth it?’ after being banned and fined hundreds of pounds.

The Liverpool Echo reports that Liverpool City Council officers observed Mruan Elkehya posing as both a private hire driver and public hire driver over a period of two months.

Over the past 18 months, Just Stop Oil protesters have brought roads across the UK to a standstill with a variety of demonstrations.

These have included gluing themselves to roads in towns and cities to block traffic, protests on motorways causing huge disruption, as well as slow marches through London which hold up traffic.

There have been calls for national taxi legislation to ensure standards across the UK, as well as closing loopholes that benefit some taxi drivers over others.

One of the biggest issues has been legislation which allows taxi licences to be issued by one authority while the driver is actually operating in another. A consequence of this loophole has been that some drivers have benefitted from some licensing authorities charging different fees.

Our advice to every taxi driver is to take out the best taxi insurance policy they can afford that offers them the most protection.

Whether they run a black cab and need public hire insurance, or need private hire insurance for their PHV, they should always try to take out the policy that offers them the most protection.

Taxi drivers understandably look for the cheapest taxi insurance deal they can find – but that doesn’t mean they are getting the best cover.

There is a lot of truth in the saying you don’t know how good your insurance is until you need it. If you keep paying low premiums for years and never make a claim, you will be happy with your choice of cover.

Taxi drivers know how important it is to have the right insurance to protect their business.

By law, all cab and private hire drivers must have third-party taxi insurance as the minimum cover. This is the lowest level of insurance and means that if they at fault for a crash, the other parties involved will be covered, as well as any passengers in the cab.

Plans for a £36 million city-centre pedestrianisation scheme have come under fire from private hire taxi drivers who would be banned from the area, while black cabs would still be allowed to operate.

And STV News reports that Edinburgh Council could face legal action from at least one private hire boss who called the decision to ban PHVs “ludicrous”.

Taxi drivers hear all sorts of stories about savings and pitfalls when purchasing Taxi Insurance and there’s varying degrees of truth behind them.

As with anyone who earns their living on the road, having the right insurance is not only vital to protect their business, it is also a legal requirement.

Drivers who hit other vehicles and flee without reporting the damage cause huge inconvenience and expense to their innocent victims, especially if they are taxi drivers who rely on their cars to earn a living.

Damage to any vehicle is expensive to repair and being off the road causes huge disruption because it can affect livelihoods and lead to increased premiums if a claim is made.

Every taxi business is different which is why an insurance broker can help drivers find the right taxi insurance for their specific needs.

Buying a taxi is a huge investment, so having the right insurance in place is vital to protect the driver in the event of a claim and to get the vehicle back on the road after an accident.

Taxi drivers pay higher taxi insurance premiums because of the amount of time they spend on the road, so it is no surprise that they could face even greater costs after a claim or conviction.

But this does not mean the end of the road for good deals on their taxi insurance – as long as they are honest with their taxi insurer and taxi insurance broker, when it comes to taking out or renewing their policy.