It’s a legal requirement to have insurance when driving on UK roads so it helps tremendously if you are well informed on the subject. When you’re driving a vehicle that’s used for profit or reward, such as a taxi then you must have a higher level of cover than other road users. There are a few types of taxi insurance that you can get which I’ll cover in detail below. I’ll also look at the factors that will determine the price of a policy and how you can save money.
What Determines Price?
When an insurance provider is determining the cost of your policy, they’ll look at certain factors to assess how much risk is present. Some of the main factors that will be taken into consideration are the driver of the vehicle, how the vehicle is being used, how secure the vehicle is, the level of coverage required and lastly the value of the vehicle itself. There are certain factors that you cannot change such as the value of your vehicle or your own driving history but any that you can, will save you money on your policy.
The security of your vehicle is definitely something to pay attention to as it will play a big part in determining the cost of your policy. You should ideally have your vehicle fitted with an alarm, immobilizer and central locking. A steering wheel lock is usually recommended too though this isn’t always practical in the case of a taxi.
Types of Taxi Insurance
Taxi drivers are typically at more risk of being involved in an accident than regular road users. This purely down to the fact that they spend more time on the roads each day. Because of this and also the fact that members of public are being transported, there must be a comprehensive policy in place. Below are some of the main types of taxi insurance –
- Public Liability – This is the biggest distinction between taxi insurance regular car insurance. When members of the public are being transported for profit, there is a legal requirement to have public liability insurance. This means that if a person were to be injured or killed whilst in your taxi as a result of negligence then there would be cover any liability claims.
- Fleet Insurance – This is most suited for taxi firm operators who prefer to insure their taxis themselves. Fleet insurance is ideal when there are a large number of vehicles to be insured as it not only works out much cheaper than insuring indivudally but it also saves a lot of time on admin.
- Breakdown Assistance – This is a necessity for taxis. When operating any type of business that’s dependant on vehicles it’s essential that should any of them break down, they are back on the road as soon as possible.
A great place to compare taxi insurance online is www.taxi-insurances.co.uk where you can compare quotes from a panel of specialist taxi insurance providers.