Taxi Insurance Quote
Find out if you can get cheaper taxi driver insurance
What is Taxi Insurance?
Taxi insurance is a specialist type of vehicle insurance designed for drivers who carry passengers for hire and reward. Whether you’re taking passengers to specific destinations for a fare or operating under a local authority licence, this kind of insurance is essential to keep you and your business protected.
To legally operate as a taxi driver, you’ll need the correct cover, typically Class 3 business use insurance and a taxi badge issued by the local licensing authority where you intend to work. Your insurance should also include public liability cover to protect against claims from accidents or incidents involving passengers entering or exiting your vehicle.
There are two main types of taxi insurance for vehicles with 5 to 9 seats:
Private Hire Insurance – for drivers who carry out pre-booked journeys only.
Public Hire Insurance – for drivers who can pick up passengers from taxi ranks or be hailed on the street, in addition to taking pre-bookings.
Other forms of taxi insurance include executive hire, multi-vehicle cover, taxi fleet policies, day driver schemes, wedding or funeral hire, school contracts, chauffeur services, and limousine hire. Each of these comes with its own set of requirements, so working with a specialist broker is key to ensuring the right protection.
What does Taxi Insurance cover?
Taxi insurance typically covers damage to your vehicle, passenger liability, legal costs, and third-party claims. Given the nature of taxi services, it can also include cover for public liability.
How should I select my taxi insurance?
When selecting your taxi insurance, it’s important to consider your vehicle type, the nature of your work, and your driving history. Our experienced team at Riviera Insurance is on hand to help guide you through the process and ensure you select the right policy. A wide range of taxi insurance options is available to suit various requirements, including cover for Private Hire, Public Hire, and ‘Black Cab’ services.
Policies can be tailored to different levels of protection, such as third-party only, third-party fire and theft, or fully comprehensive cover. Flexible terms are available, including weekly, monthly, and annual policies, with multiple payment options to suit individual preferences.
Insurance solutions can be customised to meet the specific needs of each driver, taking into account the type of vehicle, service offered, and licensing authority requirements. The cover is designed to align with both national and regional regulations, with particular attention to local licensing standards and industry updates.Our experienced team of insurance specialists recognise that each taxi driver’s requirements are different; which is why they are able to provide bespoke solutions that are flexible to cater for the following:
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Private Hire
Public Hire
PSV
Executive Hire
Funeral Directors
School Contract
Chauffeur
Limousine Hire
Day Driver Scheme
Wedding Hire
Multi Vehicle
Taxi Fleet
How to get a cheap taxi insurance quote?
Securing affordable taxi insurance can be a challenge due to the nature of the job—long hours on the road, high mileage, and frequent driving in busy or high-risk areas. However, there are several effective ways to reduce your premiums and get a more competitive quote.
Start by providing comprehensive details about your taxi, your driving history, and the type of taxi services you offer. This allows insurers to assess your risk accurately and match you with the most suitable and cost-effective policy.
How to reduce the taxi insurance cost?
Maintain a Clean Driving Record: Insurers favour drivers with few or no penalty points. A clean licence shows you’re a safe driver and less likely to make a claim, which can lead to lower premiums.
Choose the Right Vehicle: High-end, modified, or imported vehicles typically cost more to insure. Opting for a standard saloon, people carrier, or other vehicles in lower insurance groups can help reduce costs.
Service and Maintain Your Taxi: Regular maintenance reduces the risk of accidents caused by mechanical faults. A well-maintained vehicle is safer, more reliable, and may qualify for discounts or no-claims bonuses.
Install Security Features: Enhancing your taxi with features like alarms, dashcams, and GPS tracking devices can lower your risk profile and result in cheaper insurance.
Consider Private Hire Insurance: Private hire taxis (pre-booked only) often come with slightly lower insurance rates than public hire taxis, such as black cabs, which typically operate in high-traffic city centres and face a higher risk of accidents.
While taxi insurance usually costs more than standard car insurance due to the higher risks involved, following these steps can significantly reduce your premium and help you find a better deal for your taxi business.
Download our FREE app
At Riviera Insurance, we want to help you. That is why we have developed the Riviera Insurance App to help you easily upload documents, view your documents, report claims and much more.
Join the 1000’s Drivers choosing Riviera for their Insurance
Working with a large panel of UK taxi insurance companies, we can quote you on a range of insurance policies providing as much or as little cover as you need. We can also offer flexible monthly payment terms to help you spread the cost of your insurance cover.
Our team of trained advisors can offer you the additional protection of legal expenses cover, public liability, personal accident, breakdown cover, windscreen repair and even employers’ liability cover.
- Thoroughly trained insurance specialists who search the market for you
- Online quote and reserve system for taxi Insurance
- Exclusive use of the free Riviera App, so you can access all your essential insurance information at your fingertips.
- Replacement plated vehicle provided free of charge on any claims which are not your fault.
- Our claims line operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so we are always here when you need us the most
- Flexible monthly payment options are available
FAQs
Our staff are empowered to contact insurance companies and underwriters on your behalf, giving an entirely personal service across the UK with no call centres.
We take the time to get to know your fleet insurance needs and provide you with the cheapest taxi insurance policy, which the added benefit of optional coverage options is to suit you and your pocket.
Finding cheap public hire or private hire taxi fleet insurance has never been more simple.
If you are local to Torbay, you can even pop in and see us to arrange your insurance at our high street office on Union Street in Torquay.
Safeguarding your public hire, private hire, Uber, Minibus or Public service vehicle with Riviera Insurance couldn’t be more straightforward request a quote here or view our online product range.
The main difference between private hire and public hire taxis is that a public hire taxi doesn’t need to be booked in advance, and they are licenced to pick passengers up from the street. In contrast, a private hire taxi needs to be prebooked or called from a taxi booking office.
This is why you will often find public hire taxis waiting in taxi ranks outside train stations, bus stations, airports and other city-centre locations. Private hire taxis cannot use the taxi ranks and cannot be hailed from the street.
Local authorities license Uber taxi drivers as private hire taxi drivers, so in essence, private hire taxi and Uber taxi insurance is the same thing.
It is important to remember that both Uber taxi drivers and Public hire drivers are not licenced to pick up passengers from the street or use taxi ranks as all journeys carrying passengers must be prebooked.
The Public Carriage Office or PCO is a division of Transport for London responsible for licensing, hackney carriages, black cabs and minicabs in London.
‘PCO insurance’ is simply an abbreviated name given to an insurance policy for London taxicabs and minicabs. In contrast, taxi insurance is relevant to any taxi driver in any part of the UK.
Ordinarily, you will need to be at least 25 years old to be taxi driver in the UK and have passed your driving test at least 12 months ago.
Occasionally, drivers aged 23 or 24 can get a taxi car insurance policy, providing that they have held their full UK drivers licence for several years. However, drivers under the age of 25 are high risk and may find getting a cheap taxi insurance policy very difficult.
Insurance with telematics or black boxes is a specialist type of taxi insurance policy where a ‘black box’ device is fitted to the taxicab or taxi car. It monitors the driver’s driving habits, including speed, breaking. Time of day the taxi is driven- the taxi insurance company then uses this data to increase your Insurance or make your taxi insurance cheaper, depending on how you drive.
Telematics insurance is an excellent option for young or inexperienced drivers looking to get cheaper Insurance. Unfortunately, few taxi insurance companies offer this type of policy to young taxi drivers.
However, if you are new to being a taxi driver, consider taking out a taxi telematics insurance policy for your taxicab. In some cases, it can give you much cheaper taxi insurance.
If you are considering black box or telematics as an option to save you money on taxicab insurance, then contact us here
Many of the different taxicab insurance companies offer slightly different protections for your taxi, so it is essential to check with your insurance broker exactly what cover you have in place. If you are unsure or need a specific level of cover, please contact us here.
- Public liability cover
- Breakdown cover
- Windscreen cover
- Legal cover
- Gap Insurance for new vehicles
What taxi insurance doesn’t cover varies across insurance companies. If you need a particular element including in your taxi insurance quotation, it is best to speak to a specialist like Riviera Insurance.
- Taxis are not to be driver by unauthorised drivers
- Taxis are not to be driven by someone under the age of 25 (or under the age of 23, for some policies)
- Involved in an accident that is the result of unsafe driving by the taxi driver, for example driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- If the taxi is stolen while the keys have been left inside the taxicab
- Operating outside of the local licencing authority specified in the taxi insurance policy
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