Public Hire Insurance for Taxi Drivers
A public hire vehicle is a taxi cab that is licensed by the local taxi licensing department for use as a hackney carriage. These vehicles must have a public hire taxi insurance policy before they can be used for the purpose of hire and reward. The ‘iconic’ London Black Cab is a typical example of a public hire vehicle. The public hire taxi vehicles can be found throughout the UK and are commonly found outside train stations, parked in designated taxi ranks.
The public hire vehicle can be flagged down by a member of public if the taxi has the for hire sign on. A point to remember is that the private hire licensed vehicles must be pre-booked in advance by the customer and cannot be hailed on the road. Public hire vehicles come in all different forms from saloon cars, six, seven passenger seats or even up to 9 seat vehicles are available. In London the most common make is the London Taxi International (LTI) or the Metrocab and these taxis are known throughout the world as London Black Cabs.
In the UK a minimum of third party insurance cover is a legal requirement before any motor vehicle can be used on a public highway. This also applies to taxi vehicles and a public hire insurance motor policy must be purchased by the cab driver before the vehicle can be used for taxi purposes. Public hire taxi insurance polices differ from standard private motor insurance policies and as such only specialist insurers and brokers that have expert knowledge in the taxi industry offer these types of policies.
A public hire insurance policy is usually not available through the normal comparison sites as the risk questions are different and also the taxi product is a lot more complex to administer. In most cases the taxi insurance brokers will request certain documents from the public hire driver. These documents can include;
- DVLA Counterpart Driving Licence
- DVLA Photo Card Driving Licence
- Public Hire Drivers Licence (known as the ‘badge’)
- Public Hire Vehicle Licence (known as the ‘plate’)
- V5 Registration Document (Log book of the vehicle)
Depending on the public hire drivers individual circumstance the price of the public hire insurance quotes will vary considerably from one taxi insurance company to the next. Taxi drivers with experience will usually get a cheap public hire insurance quote than new taxi drivers. There are many providers of taxi insurance, so do shop and compare public hire insurance quotes online for your taxi vehicle.
Cheapest Taxi Insurance Price Factors
In the current economic climate many taxi drivers are looking to make savings on their out going expenses. They often search online for cheap taxi insurance deals to see if a new provider can better their renewal price they have had from their current taxi insurance brokers. There are many different factors which are taken into account by taxi insurance companies before they can generate a price. We’ll take a look at a few of these criteria’s as to how a cheap taxi insurance price is generated.
- The age of the taxi driver is major factor in the rating process of taxi insurance quotes. The older you are the cheaper the rate as underwriters can assume that you will be a more responsible driver. Also statistics prove that younger drivers especially those aged less than 25 years of age tend to be involved in more road traffic accidents than their older peers.
- The taxi licensing authority also plays a major part in the cost of you taxi insurance premium. Drivers that are licensed in large cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester etc are perceived to be at a higher risk of being involved in a road traffic accident.
- If you previously have taxi experience and have owned taxi no claims discount then this will be reflected in cheaper taxi insurance price. Some insurers will give introductory discounts on private car no claims bonus for new drivers without any previous taxi experience.
- The number of motor claims, incidents or thefts also greatly affects the price of a taxi car insurance quote. Claims free drivers will obviously receive the cheapest taxi insurance price. Even if you were involved in a non-fault accident these still do need to be declared to the taxi insurance company as this can affect the premium. There some insurers that will not provide a quotation for drivers that have been involved in four or more incidents in the last three years even if all of these incidences were non-fault. Further more failure to disclose any material information or inaccuracies in the information given could invalidate your insurance cover and mean that part or all of your claim may not be paid. If you are in any doubt as to the ambit of the duty of disclosure or whether a piece of information ought to be disclosed, please do ask the insurance advisor.
- Penalty points and fixed convictions also affect the price of a taxi insurance policy. Driving convictions such as careless driving and driving without insurance etc can greatly increase the cost of a taxi insurance policy.
There are other factors that are taken into account when assessing the full risk of a taxi insurance policy such as the vehicle make and model, whether its garaged, marital status of the driver, number of drivers on the policy etc. As it can be seen that the cheapest taxi insurance options are if you are a mature driver with experience and with maximum no claims bonus discount on a taxi policy.
However it doesn’t mean new taxi drivers are not looked after. There are many taxi insurance companies that entice new taxi drivers with special promotional offers and introductory discounts.
Private Hire Insurance Online Quotes for Mini Cab Drivers
Both new mini cab and experienced minicab drivers with many years under their belts can get cheap private hire insurance quotes by comparing taxi insurance rates online. Private hire is also commonly called as minicab insurance within the pre-booked licensed hire and reward trade. Many new websites now exist purely to cater for the insurance needs of a cab driver from the vehicle insurance to taxi breakdown assistance cover and many other useful add-ons.
The main issue that private hire drivers have with obtaining quotations on the internet is that there is no human touch. There will be occasions when you need to clarify a few points and these can be easily explained over the telephone as opposed to online. The main many benefit of obtaining online private hire insurance quotation is the ease, the speed and the ability to compare many taxi insurance companies relatively quickly and at any time of the day. Minicab drivers can go online at the weekends, evenings or at other time that is appropriate to them and very quickly get many different private hire insurance quotes for their licensed vehicle.
Even though the internet is probably the quickest and fastest way of getting taxi insurance quotes it doesn’t necessarily imply that these quotes will be the cheapest for your particular circumstances. There may be a local insurance broker that has negotiated great rates for the local private hire trade from a specialist hire and reward insurance company. Because these private hire insurance rates are only available for a specific taxi licensing authority the broker may not advertise this on their website. So minicab drivers should still keep their options open as to how they shop for their minicab insurance policy.
I larger cities such as London, Birmingham, Bristol etc, there will be many high street insurance brokers some of them possibly specializing in taxi insurance policies. In the smaller towns and cities such as Litchfield, Burton-on-Trent etc this may not be the case. In this instance the private hire driver needs to rely on the internet, trade publications and word of mouth as the best method of getting cheap private hire insurance quote.
An important point to note is that even though you might obtain ten different private hire insurance quotes, the terms and conditions will vary considerably from one taxi insurance company to the next. Make sure you read all the documents sent to you very carefully and thoroughly. A particular quote may seem cheap initially but with the policy carrying a high excess, high finance charges and high mid term adjustment charges could potentially cost you a lot more than what you initially perceived to be a cheap taxi insurance policy.
Taxi Insurance is Essential for Hire and Reward Vehicles
Taxi drivers without a hire and reward insurance can face severe fines, points on their driving licence and even a ban from driving. All hire and reward vehicles that have been licensed for either private or public hire must have a taxi insurance policy in place. The consequences of not having a hire and reward insurance cover in place can be extremely costly for the licensed driver and even worse for a driver without a taxi badge and vehicle with no plate that is touting for business illegally.
All taxi hire and reward cars, mpv and minibus must be correctly insured prior to use on a public highway otherwise you are breaking the law. Even though this is a not a criminal offence it is still an extremely serious offence that is punishable by a fine and conviction points on your driving licence. In some circumstances even a ban from driving may also apply. Not only could this jeopardise your livelihood but also any chance of future work in the hire and reward industry may also be limited.
Without having a valid taxi insurance cover most taxi licensing authorities will not issue a plate Licence or a permit for the vehicle. Without a private hire / public hire plate your vehicle cannot be used for the purposes of hire and reward. In some circumstances there are exceptions to this rule. Further details can be obtained from your local taxi licensing officer.
Most taxi insurance companies offers easy monthly payment options for the annual policies. There are some insurers that also offer monthly and quarterly private hire and public hire taxi policies. There is no excuse for not having the correct insurance cover in place, not only can your jeopardise your livelihood but you can put other road users and members of the public at a great risk.
Whether you are licensed by Stoke City Council, London Public Carriage Office PCO or any other licensing authority in the UK you must have a taxi insurance policy if the vehicle is to be used for public hire. If the vehicle is to be use as a minicab and is licensed under a private hire Licence then a private hire insurance policy needs to be in place.
For a quote on taxi insurance or a cheap private hire insurance policy contact Active Insurance, the leading UK provider of hire and reward insurance cover for licensed vehicles.
Getting Taxi Insurance Quotes Online
The internet is now rapidly becoming a useful tool in the way we transact our daily business and also how we shop for goods and services. In many instances the web has overtaken the traditional methods of shopping for services such as taxi insurance. For many taxi drivers throughout the UK the internet has become the medium of choice for getting taxi insurance quotes online. The internet allows taxi drivers to compare taxi insurance quotes online with multiple taxi insurance companies in minutes. However the taxi driver still needs to be cautious and beware of the many pitfalls of shopping online.
The traditional methods of getting taxi insurance quotes were recommendations by fellow taxi drivers, trade magazines, local broker and business directories. Calling a specialist taxi broker still has many benefits to getting an online quotation since many online quote forms may not take into account the individual circumstances of the driver. Also the online quotation may make a lot of assumptions to reduce the question set asked. Many drivers failed to read these assumptions and can get a quotation or cover which is based on an incomplete set of information.
The obvious benefits of an online taxi insurance quote is that many companies can be contacted very quickly and thus enabling you to compare taxi insurance quotations with multiple providers. Most online systems only capture the taxi drivers risk information and do not provide an instant quote and a representative of the taxi insurance company normally will call back with the quote details and may also enquire about any other facts related to the taxi quotation. This enables the taxi driver to explain exactly what their needs are to the taxi broker. They can also clarify any questions that they were unsure of.
The internet is one of getting comparison taxi insurance quotes for people that have access to online services but it does not mean that you will get the best and the cheapest deal for your taxi vehicle. There are specialist taxi brokers that do not have an online presence but have great deals on taxi insurance for drivers all over Great Britain. Some times a recommendation from a colleague may be the better option for your needs. It is best to keep your options open when shopping for cheap taxi insurance quotes.
However the internet is a tool that plays an integral part of our daily life, from shopping online to getting information and staying up to date with friends and family through email or socials sites such as facebook and twitter. The modern taxi driver has a choice of getting taxi insurance quotes as never before but as with anything else you need to keep your options open to other media as well.
For an online taxi insurance quotation please visit Active Insurance website. The specialist taxi insurance brokers for the UK hire and reward trade.
