Private Hire taxi insurance provides cover for professional drivers who carry pre-booked passengers or deliveries of food and parcels in return for payment. This is also known as Hire & Reward. Bookings are made by phone, text, or mobile app and drivers may work with local or national taxi companies or rideshare apps like Uber, Ola and Bolt. Private Hire drivers cannot ‘apply for hire’ and pick up passengers who hail them in the street.

Private Hire insurance is sometimes called PCO insurance, minicab insurance or taxi insurance. It specifically covers licensed drivers who carry passengers for a living. Standard motor insurance does not cover this type of business activity.

Private Hire insurance comes in two basic flavours: Third Party, or Fully Comprehensive.

Third Party – or Third Party, Fire & Theft Cover

Third Party insurance protects other people in an accident where the taxi driver is at fault. The insurance will pay to repair or replace their vehicles and property and cover legal liabilities for any injuries they incur. However, this type of cover does not protect the taxi driver’s vehicle or property. Should the taxi be written-off, or need very expensive repairs, it could be catastrophic to the driver’s livelihood. Taxi drivers can add Fire & Theft protection to this cover. This will pay them in the event their vehicle is stolen, or damaged by accidental fire.

Fully Comprehensive Cover

This is total cover. It protects third parties and the taxi driver in the event of an accident where the taxi driver is at fault. As well as compensating other persons, it also pays to repair or replace the taxi driver’s vehicle. Fire and theft, as well as cover for a shattered windscreen, or theft of audio, communication and sat-nav equipment is usually included with this kind of policy.

Extra Protection

Many policies give taxi drivers the option of buying extra cover to include breakdown services, no claims discount protection (NCD), and a replacement vehicle to keep them on the road and working while their old car is fixed or replaced.

All-In-One Cover

All-In-One policies provide flexible protection. Designed to give taxi drivers more options to make money, they cover the transportation of passengers, delivering food or parcels, or using the vehicle for personal reasons, (social and domestic). All-In-One policies can be Third Party or Fully Comprehensive.

The cost of private hire insurance can vary enormously. Depending on the driver’s vehicle and personal circumstances, the price difference from one insurer to the next can add up to hundreds of pounds per year. Discover competitively priced  Private Hire insurance with Zego. Buy flexible 30 day or annual policies. Or choose Zego Sense, the policy that rewards good taxi drivers with lower prices – the safer you drive, the more you save.

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