Public hire taxi insurance
Cover for hackney carriage and black cab drivers
Rank and hail work needs the right licence and the right cover. Public hire policies are arranged over the phone with our team, who will talk you through your options and get you a price.
Hire and reward cover for licensed hackney carriage drivers
Monthly (30 days) or Annual (12 months) policies
£5m public liability as standard, £10m optional
Your certificate and documents in the Zego app
Driving a hackney carriage? Call our team to talk through public hire cover
What is public hire taxi insurance?
Public hire insurance covers drivers licensed to carry paying passengers in a hackney carriage. That is Hire and Reward cover, and it is a legal requirement. Standard car insurance will not cover you, even with business use added.
A hackney carriage can be hailed in the street and can wait on a rank, as well as taking pre-booked work. That right to pick up without a booking is called plying for hire, and it is what separates public hire from private hire. You will also hear the same cover called hackney carriage insurance or black cab insurance.
Not sure which licence you are working under? Taxis and private hire vehicles explained.
Public hire or private hire: which cover do you need?
Your licence decides it, not the vehicle you drive or the work you happen to be doing this week.
Public hire
You hold a hackney carriage licence. You can be hailed in the street, wait on a rank, and take pre-booked jobs too. Vehicle standards, and often a taximeter, are set by the council that licensed you. This page is for you.
Private hire
You hold a private hire licence, also called PCO or minicab. Every job has to be pre-booked through a licensed operator or an app like Uber, Bolt or FreeNow. You cannot be hailed or use ranks.
Choose your cover level
Two levels, in plain English. [PH: most public hire competitors also sell Third Party, Fire & Theft. Confirm whether we offer TPFT on public hire — if we do it needs a third card, if we don't we should expect the comparison to come up.]
Third Party Only
The legal minimum. Covers damage or injury you cause to other people, their vehicles and their property. It will not cover your own cab.Fully Comprehensive
The highest level of protection. Everything in a third party policy, plus cover for theft of or damage to your own cab. You can add extras on top.
How your public hire cover works
- Monthly or annual. Choose Monthly (30 days) or Annual (12 months) cover. Monthly suits drivers waiting on a plate, working weekends, or trying the work before committing. Annual suits public hire as your main income.
- One policy, work and personal. Hire and Reward for your rank and hail work, plus Social, Domestic and Pleasure for your own driving. Food and parcel delivery included.
- Public liability as standard. £5m included, with the option to upgrade to £10m. Some councils ask for a minimum level, so check what yours expects. More on public liability.
- How your price works. Your price depends on your cab, where you are licensed, how long you have held your badge and your claims history. Our team will go through it with you on the call.
- Everything in the app. Once you are covered, your certificate, documents and support all live in the Zego app, a few taps away. No waiting on the post before you can work.
- Our own product, not a panel of other people's. Most public hire cover you will find online is a broker or a comparison site passing you to someone else. We underwrite our own taxi insurance, so the cover, the app and the support all come from the same place.
What's included with your public hire policy?
Fully Comp | Third Party Only | |
|---|---|---|
Public hire work, food and parcel delivery work, plus personal driving | ||
Unlimited liability for causing damage to other vehicles or property while driving | ||
Unlimited liability for causing injury or death to other people while driving | ||
Public liability cover up to £5m as standard, with the option to upgrade to £10m | ||
Loss, damage or theft of your vehicle and its spare parts | ||
Windscreen (£25 excess for repairs or £100 for replacements) | ||
Audio, communication, and navigation equipment cover (£500 limit) | ||
Taximeter and rank-and-hail equipment |
Upgrade your public hire cover with these extras
Breakdown cover
Combined roadside, recovery and home cover within the UK.£40
with annual
£8
with 30 Day
Replacement vehicle
Keep working while your cab is being repaired.£65
with annual
£10
with 30 Day
NCD protection
Protect your no-claims years for a maximum of one at-fault claim.+7%
of the price of your premium
How to get public hire cover
Public hire cover is arranged over the phone with our sales team rather than through our online quote journey. Lines are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9am to 7pm, Thursday 10am to 7pm, and 10am to 4pm on bank holidays. We are closed Saturday and Sunday.
1. Call our team
Ring 020 3053 9815 and tell us about you and your cab: your licence, your vehicle, the authority that plated you and your claims history. Have your badge and driving licence to hand.2. Choose your cover and how you pay
Third Party Only or Fully Comprehensive. Monthly (30 days) or Annual (12 months). Add breakdown, a replacement vehicle or NCD protection if you want them.3. Get covered
We can set your policy up on the call. Your certificate and documents land in the Zego app, ready for your licensing authority or your operator.
Why we're the right choice
94m
policies sold
750k
drivers have chosen us
96%
of Sense drivers save money
Public hire insurance FAQs
Trusted by hundreds of thousands of UK drivers
Call our team to talk through public hire cover and get a price. Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri 9am to 7pm, Thursday 10am to 7pm. Closed at weekends.
"94 million policies sold..." - based on the total number of policies sold by Zego as of 10/06/26.
"750k drivers have chosen us..." - based on unique customers who have held a Zego policy as of 10/06/26.
"96% of Sense drivers save money" - based on Zego customers who have been insured on Sense policies and have a Driver Score, between 01/06/2025 and 01/08/2025.
[PH: add a public hire pricing disclaimer once a "from" price is confirmed, in the same format as the private hire one. Remove the Sense statistic if Sense is not available on public hire at launch.]