How to Keep Taxi Insurance Cheap

Depending on the nature of your business, taxi insurance can be very expensive. From looking after the cars, themselves, to protect drivers and passengers from the costs associated with claims, you could end up paying a great deal for cover.

However, there are a few techniques you can employ to reduce the cost of your taxi insurance. From shopping around to hiring the right kind of drivers, the steps you take now can help bring about a more competitive price when it comes to renewing your policy.

Shop Around for Taxi Insurance

The first and most obvious advice is not to take the quote you get from your first taxi insurance broker, as shopping around often produces better results. It is highly recommended that you speak with multiple brokers, not just because of the price but also because different insurers provide different packages all containing various inclusions and exclusions.

It is also a good idea to know what kind of cover you want going in. For example, you could opt for a third party only (TPO) insurance, which would cover the costs of damage to a third-party vehicle if you cause an accident. TPO is rarely enough for taxi drivers, however, as it will not cover the costs of repairing your own car.

Third-party, fire and theft (TPFT) is a step up from TPO, providing cover for your own vehicle if it is stolen or sustains fire damage, however it is still not enough to protect taxi drivers from the many situations that might arise while working. For full coverage, comprehensive taxi insurance is the best option.

Hire Quality Drivers with Clean Records

If your drivers have clean records and good driving ability, they will cost less to insure. This is because their own statistics prove that they are safe and therefore present less of a risk to other drivers on the road.

In order to keep the cost of your taxi insurance at a minimum, you should try to hire drivers that are not only clean but also over the age of twenty-five. Drivers below this age are statistically more likely to get into an accident and are therefore more expensive to insure.

You can also work on minimising costs by deciding whether you want to implement any driver or named driver policy. If your driver uses the same vehicle every day, a named driver policy might be better, however, if they pick up a car from a base, meaning it might be different each time, then any driver policies could work out cheaper.

Use Vehicle in Low Insurance Groups

In the UK, taxi insurance brokers split cars into groups from 1-50. The lower numbered groups are cheaper, whereas the higher numbered groups are more expensive to insure. There are many factors that combine to ascertain which group a car should be in – including their accident statistics, how easy they are to repair, and how much replacement parts cost, among other things.

If you can choose cars that fit into the lower end of the groups, you will always be paying less than if your fleet was made up entirely of Mercedes Benz. It is recommended that you do your research and see if there is a way to replace the more expensive vehicles in your fleet with cheaper and more efficient models.

You might want to investigate electric and hybrid cars as well. Although this does not use too wide now, they are becoming more popular and might offer a niche experience for customers. Not just that, but there are certain grants and incentives on offer from local councils if you start using cars that are better for the environment.

Just these three simple tips could help you bring the cost of your taxi insurance premium down to a more manageable amount. Don’t forget that there are many companies out there all vying for your business, so make sure you look around and compare quotes to find yourself the most competitive price.