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Taxi and private hire
Taxi fleet insurance puts several hackney carriages or private hire vehicles on one motor policy, usually covering any approved, licensed driver. It matters because each vehicle still needs licence-ready insurance, and one policy makes renewals, driver changes and claims easier to control.
Part of: Taxi and private hire insurance
In short
A taxi fleet policy insures a group of public hire or private hire vehicles, or a mix of both, under one contract with one renewal date. Each vehicle still needs its own licence, and councils must see insurance complying with Part VI of the Road Traffic Act 1988 before licensing it. Fleet policies usually cover drivers who meet the insurer's criteria and hold the right badge, rather than one named driver. Insurers look closely at claims history, driver vetting, telematics and how quickly vehicles are added and removed. The minimum fleet size depends on the insurer.
A fleet policy covers a schedule of vehicles rather than one car. For a taxi business it can include hackney carriages, private hire saloons, executive cars and wheelchair-accessible vehicles, each recorded with its licence type so the permitted use matches the licence. The number of vehicles needed before an insurer will write a fleet policy varies by insurer, and smaller businesses are sometimes offered a multi-vehicle policy instead. Our general fleet insurance guide explains how fleet underwriting works across other trades; this page sits within our taxi insurance section.
Common set-ups include a proprietor who owns several plated vehicles and employs or engages drivers, an operator that owns cars and rents them to self-employed drivers, and a mixed business with some owner-drivers on their own policies and some company cars on a fleet.
Vehicles join and leave taxi fleets often, as cars are replaced under council vehicle age policies or come off the road after accidents. Tell the insurer promptly when a vehicle is added or removed so that the Motor Insurance Database record, the certificate and the council's paperwork all match. A gap between a new vehicle being licensed and being added to the policy is an easy way for a fleet to end up with an uninsured car on the road.
| Fleet policy | Individual policies | |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal dates | One | One per vehicle |
| Drivers | Usually any driver meeting the insurer's criteria, sometimes with age and experience limits | Usually named drivers |
| Rating | Mainly on the fleet's own claims record once it has one | Mainly on each driver and vehicle |
| Adding vehicles | Added by notifying the insurer, often with cover held from notification, depending on the wording | New policy for each vehicle |
| Admin for licensing | One schedule, with certificates per vehicle or class | Many certificates to track |
Neither is automatically better. A fleet with poor claims experience can find terms harder to obtain, while a small business with experienced owner-drivers may be better served by separate policies.
Insurers usually set driver criteria: minimum age, years holding a full licence, conviction limits and, for taxi work, the relevant council badge. Licensing authorities run their own checks; the Department for Transport's statutory standards recommend enhanced DBS checks with barred list checks for drivers and checks every six months through the DBS Update Service. Insurers commonly ask how you onboard drivers and keep their documents current.
Telematics and forward-facing cameras are common on taxi fleets. They can help defend disputed claims and spot risky driving, and some insurers ask for them on larger fleets. See telematics for fleets and driver scoring. The standards also ask licensing authorities to consult before requiring in-vehicle CCTV, so check your council's current policy before fitting systems that record passengers.
On a fleet, the claims record usually drives the terms offered at renewal. Insurers look at frequency as much as cost: many small bumps in busy town-centre traffic can count against a fleet as heavily as one large claim. Reporting incidents promptly, keeping camera footage and recording driver statements all help. Our fleet claims defensibility guide and the telematics dispute scenario show how evidence changes outcomes.
Illustrative: a twelve-car private hire fleet has a run of rear-end collisions involving two newly badged drivers. The insurer offers renewal with a higher excess for drivers in their first year with the fleet. Driver training and camera evidence give the business something to show at the next renewal.
Fleet motor cover deals with the vehicles. A taxi business usually also needs employers' liability if it has employees (minimum £5 million under HSE guidance), public liability for its premises, and possibly business interruption cover for a depot or office. Operators taking bookings should read our private hire operator insurance guide, and executive fleets our chauffeur insurance guide.
Apex arranges taxi and private hire fleet insurance. A broker reads each enquiry and comes back with options, with no fee for a quote; cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms. To quote we need your business activities, turnover, location and claims history, plus a vehicle schedule with licence types and values, your licensing authorities, driver criteria and numbers, how drivers are engaged, any telematics, and at least three years of fleet claims experience if you have it.
It depends on the insurer. Some will write a fleet policy for a handful of vehicles, while others set a higher minimum and offer smaller businesses a multi-vehicle policy instead. The type of vehicles, the mix of public and private hire, and your claims record also affect what is available.
Often, yes. The schedule records each vehicle's licence type, so hackney carriages carry public hire use and private hire vehicles carry private hire use. The council for each vehicle must still be satisfied that insurance is in force, so check that the certificate wording works for your licensing authority.
Fleet policies commonly cover any driver who meets the insurer's criteria, such as a minimum age, years licensed, conviction limits and holding the right council badge. Drivers outside those criteria usually need the insurer's agreement first. A driver outside the criteria may not be covered, or the insurer may seek to recover what it pays from the policyholder.
Mainly the fleet's claims frequency and cost over recent years, plus fleet size and mix, driver criteria and turnover, vetting, telematics or camera use, where vehicles are kept overnight, and the type of work done. Clear claims records and evidence of risk controls help when presenting the fleet.
Usually, if the insurer agrees and the replacement is added to the schedule. For licensed work, the replacement also needs to be licensed for the same type of hire by the council, or used under whatever temporary arrangement the council allows. Courtesy cars from a repairer are not automatically licensed or insured for hire work.
Tell us what your business does, your turnover and any claims. A broker reads every enquiry and comes back with options. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a commercial enquiry Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
