How Does Private Hire Taxi Insurance Work?

If you have decided to start your very own private hire Putney Taxis business in any part of the United Kingdom, you will need to buy the relevant cover for all your vehicles. Not only will cover protect you in case of an untoward incident but also you are obligated by law to have an insurance policy in hand before you can start your business. As a matter of fact, relevant cover is one of the criteria to get your taxi operators license; to get the document, you will need to prove that you do have relevant cover.

In order to understand the cover required for a private hire taxi service, it is essential to understand how your business differs from regular taxis services. As opposed to the Hackney taxis which can be seen all over the street of London and other areas of the UK, a private hire vehicles can only operate from a designated point. That is, a private hire vehicle cannot be on the streets looking for customers, the operators of such vehicles must wait at a fixed location or city Centre from where they can be called by a customer to pick the client up from a specific location.

Once the client has been dropped to his desired destination; the private hire vehicle must return to the designated spot to pick up additional business. This routines should be adhered to strictly or you could get in who simply hail them on the road are fined heavily and in the worst case scenario, your operator's license may also be revoked particularly if you are repeat offender.

This mode of business means that private hire vehicles do not make the same amount of money as the regular public hire operators. Given this fact, private hire vehicle cover will cost you a lot less than what you would generally have to pay for a regular taxi. The premiums on such policies are quite affordable because insurance companies realize that over the top premiums could send the operator out of business.

Apart from the savings on premiums private hire vehicle operators also enjoy other benefits such as relaxed rules for non-timely payment of premiums. This particularly holds true if the invoice of the operator is lost in the mail or the circumstances that led to the non-payment of dues were beyond the control of the business owner.

Depending on the type of cover that you desire, there are three types of private hire Putney Taxi insurance policies that you can buy. Here is a look at the protection that these policies provide:

* Third-party Cover: This is basic cover required by law and it protects the operator in case of accidents that lead to vehicle damage and/or physical injury to the driver of the other vehicle or a pedestrian.

* Comprehensive Cover: Also known as all-inclusive cover, this type of policy protects the operator against a host of eventualities such as all the major risks associated with operating a 'for hire' vehicle business.

* Theft and Fire Third-party Insurance: This type of cover will safeguard the interests of the business owner in case of theft and vehicle damage caused due to fire.