Operating a taxi or minicab, which is also know as a Private Hire Vehicle, legally will mean that you will need to have the correct type of valid insurance. There are many different taxi insurance options available to meet individual and company needs.
For taxi companies who own multiple vehicles a taxi fleet insurance can offer huge savings in actual money and administration time. The number of vehicles required to constitute a fleet varies considerably between insurance companies.
Even if you only have two or three taxis it is worth shopping around online to see if a fleet insurance is available. The great advantage with most taxi fleet insurance is that all different types of vehicles can be insured.
For example a mixed fleet comprising of taxis, mini cabs or mini buses can all be included on the same policy. It is also possible to have your own private car included in some instances which includes cover for a spouse with no additional costs.
Contact an insurance company who specialise in taxi fleet insurance to see whether this money saving option is available to you.
Having a fleet of taxis will mean that you have a number of different people driving the vehicles. There are various taxi insurance options available. Insuring the fleet for any drivers is usually the most expensive options.
However, this does mean that the drivers are not restricted to only being able to drive one vehicle. Any driver cover means that drivers are able to alternate between vehicles should one be in for repair or a specific size vehicle is requested by customers.
By having named drivers on the policy will provide you with lower insurance premiums. Each driver will need to inform you of any driving convictions or penalty points they have on the license.
If an individual person is seen as a high risk by the insurance company it may be more cost effective to have an individual policy for that specific person than include them on the fleet taxi insurance policy. This also applies if you have a young and inexperienced driver on your fleet.
Women drivers are generally seen as a lower risk than men! As unfair as this may seem many insurance companies will look favourably on women drivers and offer lower premiums. So it is well worth reminding the insurance company if you have women driving your taxis.
Informing the insurance company of all driver’s no claims history can also help reduce insurance premiums. Insurance companies reward driver’s with no claims by offering discounts of up to a massive 60%.
Proof of no claims will be required before these sorts of savings can be offered. The number of no claims will also be taken into consideration by the insurance company.
Many will be looking for a minimum four years no claims before they offer the large discounts.
Experienced driver’s can also reduce the amount of the premiums. Taxi insurance companies will usually calculate their proof of experience by the number of years the driver has held their local authority taxi license.
