There are a number of important differences between private hire vehicles and taxis and this affects the type of insurance policy that is required
. Unlike taxis private hire cars are not legally permitted to take public fares, as they have to be pre-booked due to the licence that they own and the relevant insurance cover they have.
Many people within the UK turn to private hire taxi driving as a way to boost their income, however there are a number of laws and regulations that must be met. If you are not correctly licenced as a public taxi but have a licence for private hire then you can only pick up prearranged fares that have been booked through the operating agency. If a private hire car picks up a fare that has not been pre booked then they risk receiving penalty points on their licence, a driving ban or even a jail sentence. However these legal requirements for public hire taxi are only in place to protect the public.
A private hire taxi driver is still required to pass a number of local authority tests and meet criminal records checks before being licenced. All private hire cars journeys are recorded and logged, and every private hire driver is required to wear all relevant identification.
Another requirement to operate legally includes having the relevant private hire insurance that meets with the licencing authorities criteria. The reason private hire insurance is so specialised is because that it has to take into consideration public liability cover, and this must be part of the policy for a driver to operate legally. In order receive the correct insurance that provides adequate cover it is recommended that the driver use an insurance broker that specialises in providing private hire insurance policies. If you are unsure of the level of cover you will need an experienced insurance broker who specialises in that insurance will be able to guide you and provide you with all relevant information on what the policy would need to include.
Whilst annual premiums for private hire insurance can appear to be very high there are a number of ways that it can be lowered.
Being an owner-driver often provides a much cheaper policy quote than if you did not own the private hire vehicle. It also helps to have a clean driving history with an accumulated no claims bonus. The biggest discounts are often given to drivers who have not made a claim for a long period.
Insuring your vehicle for third party only is another way that premiums can be substantially lowered, however this is not without added risk, as the extent of your cover will be very low and its worth weighing up the risk to cost ratio.