Monthly Archives: January 2009

Looking For Cheap Taxi Insurance?

There are many considerations and factors to be taken into account when choosing taxi insurance. Different insurance options are widely available to help ensure all of your insurance needs are met.

The age and value of your taxi may help you decide which type of taxi insurance to opt for. It may be a better option for older vehicles, with a value less than the cost of annual Comprehensive insurance, to be covered by a Third Party policy. This will be considerably cheaper as you will be covered for costs caused by you to other vehicles only. The cost of any repair damage to your vehicle will not be covered if you caused the accident, neither will you receive any money if your vehicle is a ’write off’. The other parties insurance will pay for repairs if the damage was caused by their insured driver.

Third Party Fire and Theft insurance is the next cheapest option. This provides you with the same cover as Third Party Only insurance with the added bonus of being covered in case of fire or theft. Again, this type of taxi insurance is more suitable for older taxis.

Comprehensive insurance is recommended for vehicles which have a greater value than the annual insurance premiums. Comprehensive insurance covers the cost of repairs as well as the market value of your taxi. New vehicles may choose to have additional GAP protection which provides the price difference in costs between the insurer’s payout and the amount needed to purchase a new vehicle of the same engine size. GAP protection is an additional payment; it is advisable to ask for details of this from the insurance company.

Other additional flexible taxi insurance includes Public Liability, Employer’s Liability, Local Authority liability, breakdown and roadside assistance, windscreens as well as legal expenses and insurance against personal damages.

The variations in qualifying criteria differ between different insurance companies, so it is best to discuss all options with the insurers or insurance brokers to get the best deal possible.

There are also a number of other factors which may help to reduce the cost of your insurance. Drivers over the age of 21 or 25, depending on the insurance company, are offered discounts on their premiums as they are considered to be less of a risk.

No Claims Discounts can have a huge impact on the amount of insurance you have to pay. Drivers who have a history of no claims will be offered discounts which can in some cases reduce the cost of their insurance by over 50%. New taxi drivers with a no claims discount earned on private cars can also be rewarded with generous discounts.

Many insurers are offering the choice of short term policies such as weekly, monthly or quarterly for specific post codes within the UK. While other insurers have monthly repayment options on comprehensive insurance policies to help spread the cost.

All taxi insurance has an excess of around £250, to help lower the cost of insurance further it may be possible to increase the amount of the excess. This may lower the premiums; however it may not be a cost effective saving if you need to make a claim on an older vehicle.

Car Hire, How To Successfully Rent A Chauffeur Car

There are some guidelines required to follow for chauffeur car hire. Licensed chauffeur car provides style and safety in London. The process for flattering a licensed chauffeur driver in London is directed by the PCO- Public Carriage office. Transport for London i.e. TFL controls the public carriage office.
The main role of Transport for London is to execute transport policy and deal with transport services from corner to corner of the capital. The Public carriage office persist that chauffeur hire vehicles should be reserved in advance by way of a hiring operator of licensed private. Drivers are free to work in London if they undertake bookings by way of licensed operator. In order to become driver of Chauffer car, license is required to be obtained from Public carriage office.
For becoming a Public carriage office licensed chauffer, an applicant must acquire driver’s license for chauffeur car hire. To hire a London’s Chauffeur license following things are necessary to be fulfilled:
1. Age limit of applicant should be above 21 years provided that other requirements including medical fitness are fulfilled.
2. Criminal and Driving Records of the applicants are checked before providing license. For this purpose improved criminal records proof is to be obtained from CRB- Criminal records bureau.
3. Medical fitness is also required for chauffeur hire license. Applicants are needed to prove their medical fitness by undertaking medical examination. Definite condition such as poor eyesight can result in rejection of application.
For getting a license to drive a chauffeur car, the ability to reveal a variety of route finding abilities such as route selection and map reading are tested. For this purpose Public Carriage Office has hired several centers of topographical testing. The varieties of topographical abilities to be revealed are:
1. Capability to read map.
2. Local route selection.
3. Intermediate route selection.
4. Long distance route selection.
5. General topography.
Thus, if these topographical abilities are not proved license will not be approved.
Public carriage office private hire operators can be consulted after successfully obtaining PCO driver’s license. You can buy your own car or hire it from operator’s car fleet depending upon your preferences and circumstances. It is appropriate to acquire you own car as it will provide you greater potential and greater flexibility.
Thus, a chauffeur car can be successfully rented by you simply by getting license from Public Carriage office. Also their terms and conditions are required to be fulfilled for obtaining a license along with registering your vehicle.

Three Ways to Prevent Accidents When Driving a Minibus

Nobody wants to be involved in a traffic accident, especially when you could be transporting up to 16 other people in a minibus.

This article identifies three ways of minimising the chance of an accident and therefore saving you money on your minibus insurance by reducing the need for making claims.

1. Be aware of other road users.

This may seem obvious but surprisingly this advice is often overlooked. Many road users are not as responsible as we would like them to be. For instance some drivers still feel the need to use their mobile telephone even though it is now against the law. If you are following a driver using a mobile phone give them extra space as there is a higher risk their actions may cause an accident.

If a motorist is driving to close to the back of your minibus don’t react aggressively to their poor judgement. It is easy to get wound up by tailgating but if you can take a deep breath, stay calm and let the vehicle pass, your chances of being involved in an accident are greatly reduced.

2. Driver Training

The Community Transport Association (CTA) is the lead UK body for voluntary and community transport. They oversee two minibus driver training schemes, MiDAS and CommunityDriver, which are recognised by the majority of insurance providers.

MiDAS (Minibus Driver Training Scheme) covers all areas of driving a minibus safely. It is suitable for an individual or for companies that operate a fleet of vehicles. The test helps to increase a driver’s confidence and passenger safety is improved.

The CommunityDriver scheme helps a minibus driver obtain a D1 licence. This is now required for all driving licences issued after 1st January 1997. To obtain a D1 licence a driver must pass a theory test, a hazard perception test and then undertake a full medical. The CommunityDriver scheme provides all that is needed to obtain the licence, including locally based trainers and learning materials. Tests are arranged at convenient locations for the driver.

Driver training will greatly reduce the risk of an accident. And evidence of such training may result in a discount on your minibus insurance.

3. Passenger Awareness

Transporting passengers is the main reason for driving a minibus. But in many instances their behaviour can be the cause of an accident.

Don’t start chatting with any of the passengers. If a passenger comes up to the front of the minibus and tries to engage you in conversation, remind him or her that there is a safety issue.

Try to keep all passengers in their seats at all times. If passengers are moving about, or if there are more at one side of the vehicle than at the other, it can cause instability.

Ask passengers to fasten their seat belts. It is now law for seat belts to be used at all times by the driver and passengers. Children below 135cm in height need to wear a child restraint in addition to a seat belt.

If your minibus is fitted with a microphone do not use it while the vehicle is moving, unless in an emergency. It may seem perfectly normal to point out places of interest to your passengers but it will be a distraction that could cause an accident.

And don’t allow passengers to drink alcohol on a minibus. Alcohol is actually illegal on buses going to and from sporting fixtures.

If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident then the best advice is to stay calm. Losing your temper, however angry you may feel, will not help an already difficult situation. By taking a controlled approach to the situation you will help ensure your passengers’ safety. And be sure to collect as much information at the scene as possible. It may help resolve any legal or minibus insurance issues that may follow.

Different Taxi Insurance Options

There are numerous different taxi insurance options widely available. Fleet insurance for taxis can be a very effective low cost option if you own or operate two or more taxis.

Many insurers will cover two or more taxis under their fleet insurance, but the actual number of taxis needed to qualify varies between insurance companies. As such smaller taxis firms will need to check out insurer’s legibility criteria to see whether they can apply.

Most insurers are flexible with the variations of taxi, minicab, MPV, minibuses or private hire vehicles which can be included on their fleet insurance policies.

Owning several taxis will mean that you have many different drivers. Insurance costs can be reduced if you opt to have named drivers – some insurance companies will also cover spouses to use the vehicle for social purposes at no extra cost. If you have a number of young and inexperienced taxis drivers it may be more cost effective to insure your fleet for all drivers rather than named.

Women drivers are considered to be a lower risk than men by some insurance companies, so it is worth informing them if you have any women driving vehicles for you. The insurance companies will be happy to discuss and advise you as to which will be your best options.

All insurance companies reward careful drivers with a no-claims history. New drivers without a no-claims history are typically welcomed by the insurance companies; many offer introductory low rates for new drivers and business ventures. Check out the online offers to see what is available.

Taxis operating in high risk areas may be able to significantly reduce their insurance premiums if the taxi is kept in a garage when not in use.

Local councils across the UK are helping to protect taxis drivers from assault and damage to their vehicles by installing CCTV type cameras. Although at present the insurance companies are not offering specific discounts for having cameras fitted inside taxis and private hire vehicles should you be unfortunate to be a victim the camera footage may well help with insurance claims.

Although it is nice to have all of the extra perks that many insurance companies offer, those who own older taxis should give consideration as to the pros and cons. Added extras mean high premiums. Ask yourself if you really need the added extras and if they are going to benefit you in any way before deciding which insurer to go with.

Higher excess levels can help reduce the cost of taxi insurance, however bear in mind if you are involved in an accident and make a claim the more you will have to pay.

Most insurance companies realise that paying for insurance of any type can be quite a large outlay. Many offer payment options for a small additional charge.

With the number of different options available getting the right taxi insurance is a relatively painless process. It is worth remembering that it is a criminal offence not to have taxi insurance which meets at least the minimum requirements, typically this is Third Party Only insurance.