Black Cab Insurance

On market value unless something else is agreed, and cab values do not track ordinary car prices. It is worth asking whether an agreed value is available before you need to find out.

Some policies require an approved network, and for a purpose-built vehicle that is usually sensible anyway. Check it, because it affects how quickly you get back on the road.

On a cab, more than most. Repairs take longer because of the specialist parts and the narrow network, so the section that keeps you earning is worth the cost for many drivers.

Not by the motor policy. The plate has a value in areas where numbers are limited, but that is a licensing asset rather than something the vehicle cover responds to.

Where the council permits it and the insurer knows. Every driver has to be on the policy, and a cab worked in shifts is rated differently from one driven by its owner alone.

They form part of the vehicle, so they are included in the declared value. On a purpose-built cab the ramp and restraints are simply part of what the vehicle is.

Not usually. Cabs are built for long lives and councils set their own age limits, so an older well-maintained cab is a normal risk rather than a difficult one.

No. Carrying passengers for payment is excluded, so the policy would not answer a claim made while you were working. It is the single most common and most expensive misunderstanding in this trade.

Where social use has been included, which is usual but not universal. Ask directly, because a quote written for hire and reward alone leaves your own driving out.

Passenger liability responds to injury to them, and it is carried at every level of cover. It is the section that distinguishes a taxi policy from an ordinary one.

They are rated rather than automatically refused, and specialist insurers deal with them every day, though the choice of insurer narrows as the record grows. What causes real problems is failing to mention one and having it emerge after a claim.

A replacement vehicle section, or loss of earnings cover. Neither is standard, and for a driver whose income stops with the vehicle they are usually worth more than a small saving on the premium.

Because that is where the vehicle spends most of its life. Theft and damage risk attach to the address, so describe the actual arrangement rather than calling a street a driveway.

Yes, and shift working is normal in this trade. Each driver is rated separately, so adding a newly badged one will move the price more than adding an experienced one.

It does. Pre-booked work, rank work, airport runs and app jobs produce different journey patterns, and insurers price the pattern rather than the badge on the door.