Let's be honest: an insurance company writing a blog post is rarely a thrilling sign. Stick with us anyway, because this one's actually useful. There are two ways to insure your taxi, both are good, and by the end you'll know which one's yours. Oh, and we've saved a bit of news for the bottom of the page.
The two ways to cover your taxi
Most taxi insurance falls into one of two camps: telematics and standard. Neither is 'better' across the board. They just suit different drivers, and knowing the difference before you buy saves a lot of second-guessing later.
Telematics insurance, in plain English
Telematics means your driving gets measured, usually through an app or a small device in the car. It looks at things like your speed, your braking and the hours you're working.
The upside is that safe driving can work in your favour. Drive well, and your cover can reflect how you actually drive rather than lumping you in with everyone else on the road.
It tends to suit newer drivers, or anyone who's confident behind the wheel and happy to let the data do the talking. It's also helpful if you're just starting out as a private hire driver and need to build your no claims discount, or if you’re new to the country and don't have a long UK insurance history yet. In both cases, letting your driving speak for itself is taken into account, rather than a track record you haven't had the chance to build.
The trade-off is real, though: you're opting in to being measured, which some drivers genuinely like and others do not.
Standard insurance, in plain English
Standard taxi insurance works the way most people expect insurance to work. In fact normally you wouldn’t call it ‘standard’ at all - just plain ‘taxi insurance’. Your cover is priced on the usual things, like your experience, your vehicle, where you drive etc. Whether your account is managed through an app or not, standard insurance does not measure your driving.
It suits drivers who want to keep things simple, or who'd rather not have their driving measured. If you've got years of clean driving behind you, you might feel you've got nothing to prove to a piece of software.
The honest trade-off: because no driving data is being fed in, your good habits behind the wheel aren't part of the picture in the same way. What you gain in simplicity, you give up in potential savings and perks.
So which one should you pick?
It comes down to you. Here’s a rough guide:
Telematics might suit you if you:
- are newer to taxi or private hire work
- want your cover to reflect how you actually drive
- are happy being measured, and like the idea of getting rewarded for good driving
Standard might suit you if you:
- have plenty of clean driving experience already
- want something straightforward that you only have to sort out once a year
- would simply rather not have your driving measured
There's no wrong answer here!
The news: we now offer standard taxi insurance
For a while, Zego was best known for telematics. Rewarding good drivers with cover that reflects how they actually drive is still very much what we do, and plenty of drivers wouldn't have it any other way.
But we heard the other half loud and clear. Not everyone wants their driving to be measured, and that's completely fair. So we now offer standard taxi insurance too. Same Zego, same team, just more options in how you’re covered.
Whichever way you lean, the good thing to do is pick the cover that fits you. If you’re interested in learning more about the options at Zego, visit our private hire page.