For-hire livery insurance includes taxi insurance as a subset of business insurance. It is also regarded as a particular variety of commercial auto insurance.
What Is Covered by Commercial Auto Insurance?
Make sure the insurance plan you select addresses all of the hazards you can encounter as a cab driver. Comprehensive coverage should be provided by a taxi insurance policy for the following:
Auto Liability: Most cab drivers are obliged to carry this sort of commercial auto insurance, which is the most prevalent. This can cover burial costs, third-party medical costs, legal fees if you’re sued, potential loss of income for the injured party, and damage to or replacement of cars.
Comprehensive: If your cab is damaged, this insurance will pay for the cost of repairs or replacement. In the event that your cab is harmed by weather, theft, or vandalism, this insurance will pay for repairs—or replacement—costs.
Collision: As long as the policyholder is at fault, collision will pay for any damage done to the taxi. Repairs are the responsibility of the responsible party if another person damages your taxi.
Underinsured or uninsured driver: Most states mandate that you have this insurance. It offers protection if the negligent party who caused the accident does not have insurance, or does not have enough insurance to pay for the potential losses.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP): If you or any of your passengers are hurt in an accident, PIP will cover your medical bills and lost wages. Whether you are at fault or not, PIP pays out.
Additionally, optional “accessories” coverage is available.For items like GPS, mileage meters, phones, and other non-attached items to your company car, you can also get optional “accessories” coverage.
Two Different Taxi Types
The cost of your insurance and the conditions to qualify for coverage may vary depending on which of these categories of taxi services you come under. Describe them.
Public Hiring: Taxis that are available for public hiring are ones that passengers can flag down on the street without making a reservation.
Private Hire: Private-hire taxis need to be reserved in advance and are not permitted to display taxi signs.
You will need to obtain taxi insurance coverage according to the driver’s license that you hold. But you definitely need to buy insurance for Private & Public Hire insurance.
Can you use your own car as a taxi?
Depending on where you live and whether it’s permitted, you can register a personal vehicle locally as a taxi. You may be able to register a personal vehicle locally as a taxi, depending on where you live and whether it is allowed. A ridesharing service like Uber or Lyft also accepts applications from people who want to drive for them. You will still want taxi insurance if you decide to drive for a living while operating a personal vehicle. Personal auto insurance is insufficient.
The Need for Insurance for Taxi Drivers
In their daily operations, taxi businesses confront a great deal of risk. Additionally, in order to protect oneself from liability in the event that you cause property damage or personal harm, most states require taxi insurance before you may operate a cab. We’ll use the following instances to demonstrate our point:
Example #1: The absolute minimal amount of required taxi insurance has been obtained by you. You get rear-ended by a vehicle as you are taking a passenger to the airport. While your passenger is taken by ambulance to the hospital because they are complaining of neck ache, you are OK. The lack of insurance by the other driver is discovered after the fact, yet you do not have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Sadly, you will be responsible for paying the passenger’s medical expenses.
Example #2: You are the unfortunate victim of a multi-vehicle collision on the freeway. Fortunately, there isn’t anyone else in the taxi with you. However, your car has severe damage, and your liability insurance doesn’t cover comprehensive collision. Your insurance provider will might be able to help you a little with this. Your insurance company will pay for a portion of the repairs, but you are responsible for the balance.
In both cases, saving money by reducing your taxi insurance expenses resulted in a net loss.
Conditions for Obtaining Taxi Cab Insurance
Almost all taxi insurance providers ask for the following in order to insure a driver:
- You must be at least 25 years old. However, if you’re over 65, several insurance providers won’t cover you as a cab driver.
- Your taxi insurance has a specific region of coverage. You could not be protected if you leave the designated region.
- Your vehicle’s age is a consideration. Some taxi insurance brokers refuse to cover older vehicles.
- You cannot have a conviction for vehicular or drug possession.You cannot have been accused of vehicle attempted manslaughter, substance or weapon possession, or have been pulled over for drunk driving.
The specifications will change based on the insurance company.
What Does Insurance For Taxis Cost?
Taxi drivers’ insurance premiums range from $5,000 to $10,000 per year. Why does insurance for cabs cost so much more than most commercial auto policies? There are several causes:
- Taxi drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident than other types of motorists since they spend more time on the road.
- It is not up to taxi companies to decide where they drive. During rush hour, they might find themselves in more clogged traffic, which would raise the likelihood of an accident.
- The likelihood of personal injury lawsuits rises when you frequently carry people.
What other factors affect taxi insurance quotes prices?
- How long has your company been around?
- How your claims history appears
- The policy’s coverage limits that you select
- what year(s) your vehicle(s) are
- Whether you operate a public or private cab
- Regardless of whether you select a multi-driver policy,
- Your age and prior driving history
- The rating of your company’s credit
- An expert insurance broker can assist you in locating affordable taxi insurance that provides your company with the coverage it needs.
How to Save Money on Cab Insurance?
There are a few methods you can use to obtain affordable taxi insurance cheap coverage:
Your insurance company may offer you any applicable discounts if you can pay your annual taxi insurance premium in one lump sum at the beginning of the policy year. If you can pay your annual taxi insurance premium in one lump sum at the beginning of the year, your insurance provider may be able to offer you discounts.
You can save money if you don’t have any claims in your driving history or if you don’t make claims that aren’t essential. Always be cautious when you are driving. To reduce and eventually eliminate the danger of accidents, you can also set up a safety program or method for you and your drivers.
Your rate may be reduced by selecting a higher deductible that you can still afford.
Last but not least, for taxi insurance compare insurance providers. The most economical insurance that you are eligible for should be easy to find with the assistance some skilled taxi insurance brokers.
The pursuit of cheap taxi insurance is not always a good idea. You want to confirm that you continue to receive complete coverage.