Do taxi drivers need public liability insurance?

Driving a taxi isn’t without risk, but insurance can lower the financial cost to you should the unexpected happen. While taxi insurance covers your car or fleet, it might not be enough to cover the risks you face when dealing with members of the public, but public liability insurance can help.

To help you work out if public liability insurance is something you need, we look at how it works, what it costs, and whether it’s a legal requirement.

• What is public liability insurance?
• What does public liability insurance for taxi drivers cover?
• Do taxi drivers need public liability insurance?
• How much does public liability insurance cost?
• Public liability insurance for peace of mind

What is public liability insurance?

Public liability covers legal fees and compensation costs if a member of the public blames you for injuries or damage to their property. For example, if a customer slips on a wet floor in your taxi and breaks their arm or their laptop is damaged.

What does public liability insurance for taxi drivers cover?

If you’re a taxi driver, public liability can protect you against claims made by the public, if they believe your business is to blame for injury or damage. For example, if:

• you accidentally trap a passenger’s hand in the taxi door;
• a passenger leaves belongings in your taxi and another passenger sits on them causing damage;
• you accidently drop and damage your passenger’s luggage.

If a member of the public takes you to court, your policy should cover your legal fees and any compensation you’re told to pay.

Does standard taxi insurance include public liability?

If you’ve got taxi insurance your policy will typically cover car damage caused by an accident, fire, theft or attempted theft. Typically, these policies don’t include public liability as standard, so you may not be covered for incidents that happen through the course of normal business activities.

Do taxi drivers need public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance can be invaluable if you need to defend yourself in court, so it’s well worth considering in addition to your standard taxi insurance. If you don’t have a policy in place, you’d have to cover your own legal and court costs which can spiral into the thousands.

Is public liability insurance a legal requirement?

It isn’t a legal requirement, but most taxi licensing districts will require it as a condition of your licence.

Do taxi operators need public liability insurance?

If you have a taxi office that’s open to the public, a policy could be a sensible option. For example, if someone trips or slips in the waiting area and hurts themselves, they may blame your business for injuries.

If you’ve already got business insurance for your taxi premises, check if it includes public liability. If not, you’ll usually be able to add it as an optional extra (it’s not generally available as a standalone policy).

What level of cover do I need?

Most policies offer between £5 million and £10 million of cover, so you’ll need to decide what’s a realistic amount for the type of taxi business you run.

Bear in mind that if you want to operate school runs or are bidding for contracts, some large organisations and local authorities will expect you to have a certain level of public liability insurance. If they do, they’ll specify the value of cover needed.

How much does public liability insurance cost?

As with the cost of taxi insurance, what your policy costs very much depends on the level of cover you need. As well as this, insurers will consider other factors, for instance, when and where you operate, whether you’ve made any recent claims and how you pay for your policy (annually or monthly).

Public liability insurance for peace of mind

Any insurance policy you choose should reflect your needs. If it doesn’t, you could find yourself responsible for covering your own costs, which could have a devastating effect on your business.

That said, it can be tricky to work out exactly what you need to avoid under or over insuring. To get expert guidance on taxi insurance and public liability cover, speak to our team on 01603 482882.