PUBLIC HIRE TAXI INSURANCE

Public hire taxi insurance is hire and reward cover for drivers licensed to carry paying passengers in a hackney carriage. A hackney carriage can be hailed in the street and can wait on a rank, as well as taking pre-booked work.

You may also see the same cover called hackney carriage insurance or black cab insurance. Standard car insurance does not cover carrying paying passengers, whichever licence you hold.

It comes down to the licence you hold, not the vehicle you drive.

Public hire covers licensed hackney carriage drivers. You can be hailed in the street and wait at ranks, which is known as plying for hire, and you can take pre-booked work as well.

Private hire covers pre-booked work only, arranged through a licensed operator or an app such as Uber, Bolt or FreeNow. Private hire drivers cannot be hailed or use ranks.

Insuring public hire work on a private hire policy leaves you without cover, and can put your licence at risk as well as a claim.

No, and the two get mixed up often. PCO insurance is a term for private hire cover in London. The name comes from the Public Carriage Office, which licensed London drivers before Transport for London took the job on.

So despite the word public in the name, PCO insurance refers to private hire work. If you hold a hackney carriage licence, public hire insurance is what you need.

Yes. Your cover has to match the licence you hold, not the work you happen to be doing that week. If you are licensed as a hackney carriage driver you need public hire cover, even if in practice every job comes through an app or a phone booking.

Usually, yes. Because a hackney carriage can be flagged down in the street and picked up from ranks, journeys are less predictable and passenger turnover is higher. Insurers price for that.

Your own price still depends on your vehicle, where you work, how long you have held your licence and your claims history.

Cover is available by the month or by the year. A 30-day policy gives you flexible cover with no long-term commitment, bought in one payment. An annual policy gives you long-term cover, paid in one payment or in monthly instalments after a deposit.

Call our team on 020 3053 9815 for a price for your cab.

Yes. London-licensed taxis are exempt from the Ultra Low Emission Zone. Private hire vehicles are not, and pay the daily charge if they do not meet the emissions standard.

It is one of the few areas where holding a hackney carriage licence works in your favour on running costs. More on driving a taxi in London.

Yes. Our all-in-one cover protects you carrying passengers, delivering food or parcels, and using the vehicle for your own personal journeys.

Yes. Choose Monthly (30 days) or Annual (12 months) cover. Monthly suits drivers waiting on a plate, working weekends or part time, or trying the work before committing to a year. Annual suits public hire as your main income.

It depends on where you are licensed. Hackney carriage vehicle standards are set locally, and some authorities require every hackney carriage to be wheelchair accessible while others do not.

Check with the council that licensed you, as the rules on vehicle age, size and accessibility vary a lot between authorities. Whichever vehicle you are plated for, what you need from us is hire and reward cover.

Public hire cover is arranged over the phone with our sales team, not through our online quote journey. Call 020 3053 9815 and we will talk you through your options, check you are eligible and in most cases set the policy up on the call.

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.

Once you are covered, your certificate is in the Zego app, ready for your licensing authority or your operator.