As previously reported, a local private hire firm had employed a ‘mobile’ booker at various locations within the City to take pre-booked journeys for customers. A handheld device is used to send the private hire booking to the base and the customer is issued with a receipt for their journey.

This method of taxi booking has caused anger and resentment within the Hackney Carriage trade. A licensed public hire driver is able to pick up customers without prior bookings as per the conditions of their taxi licenses. The mobile taxi booking system, the first of its kind in Hull is seen as a threat to the livelihood and earnings by the public hire drivers.

Because the mobile system does not solicit for fares, Hull’s licensing committee has deemed the venture perfectly legal, following an investigation after receiving a complaint.

After the investigations, the private hire firm received a letter from the Council stating that the mobile taxi booking system does not contravene any licensing laws and other related legislations.

Also this scheme ensured that the members of the public were being transported in vehicles that that were licensed and had the correct private hire insurance.

Active, has been providing low cost private hire and taxi insurance to licensed drivers since 1993. For a competitive quotation please visit our website at Active Insurance.

There are many instances where a short term insurance policy is very useful. For example you are going on a long journey with a friend, family member or a colleague and require the driving to be shared. Temporary car insurance is perfect for this example.

Other instances you may require a day car insurance cover could include a drive-away cover after purchasing a car or a van. Perhaps you could be borrowing a car and need days insurance cover. The daily car insurance policy gives you the option of either fully comprehensive or third party only cover.

The short term car insurance policy is available for 1 day to a maximum of 28 days. Both van and car temporary insurance policies are available. Please ensure you read the full acceptance criteria on the insurers website before taking out a daily car insurance policy.

Typical conditions set by the insurers include the types of cars that can be insured on a daily insurance policy. The age of the drivers is another factor, some short term insurance providers minimum age requirements are the driver has to be at least 25 years old. Other day insurance povidors minimum age start from only 21 years old and over.

Other acceptance conditions which are typical requirements for any short term insurance cover is that the proposer must have had a full UK/EU licence for at least 12 months. Also the number of claims, accidents and driving convictions are rating factors.

Most daily car insurance providors offer a quote and buy facility online. The short term car insurance customer can enter their details on the quote page after having ensured they meet all the acceptance criteria. A premium is displayed for the level of cover selected together with important details regarding the temporary insurance policy. The customer then has the options to be for the short term insurance cover by either a debit or a credit card. After the payment has been successfully processed the temporary car / van insurance policy documents are produced for the customer to print. Also a set of these documents are emailed to the customers email address declared during the quotation state.

Many customers assume this type of insurance will incur huge costs and takes a lot of time. The reality is completely the opposite. Short term car insurance policies only take minutes to complete online. It is far cheaper to have a short term insurance policy in place then risk driving without any form of cover.

Some insurers will also provide temporary car insurance for rented cars. Maybe you have rented a car for a few days and the rental company requires you to have your own insurance policy then a short term insurance policy is extremely handy.

Please remember that most daily car insurance policies are not suitable for where the vehicles have been impounded by the police. This is usually clearly stated on the certificate of insurance.

Well the good news is that competition between the different taxi cab insurance providers is still fierce and deals can still be found if you take the time to shop around a bit. Most taxi insurance customers choose to go online to get the best possible rate for their taxi vehicle. This method is probably the most effective as you can easily search for multiple providers very quickly from the comfort of your home.

By going online and getting a quotation from a specialist taxi insurance broker you can easily save £100’s of pounds from your existing renewal. Insurance agents that specialise in hire and reward insurance policies are the best source for obtaining the best possible taxi insurance quote. They will have in depth knowledge of the taxi trade and will search a panel of taxi insurance companies to get you the best possible price on your private hire or hackney carriage vehicle.

Also with a taxi broker you will most likely be offered to have the payments on your taxi policy to be spread over 9 or 10 months via a premium finance provider. You can also opt to get a quotation for all levels of covers, such as comprehensive taxi insurance, third party fire & theft and third party only policies. In addition to this certain taxi insurance companies also offer short term taxi insurance policies. These can be extremely useful for someone new entering the taxi business and wishing to test the business before committing to annual policy.

As well as taxi car insurance policies you also have the option to get a quote for taxi breakdown assistance cover, personal accident and taxi public liability insurance cover. Most councils require a minimum of £5,000,000 public liability insurance cover if you doing school contracts.

When obtaining quotations for your taxi car ensure that you declare all material facts to your insurance advisor. This can include any penalty points and convictions you may have on your driving licence. All accidents, claims, thefts and incidents must be reported whether at fault or not. Also if you have private car no claims bonus let the advisor know about them as more and more taxi insurance companies now give introductory discounts.

An important thing to remember is that the term ‘taxi insurance’ is normally used on most websites. This term is used to reflect both public and private hire vehicles. At the quote stage you can let the advisor know whether you’re a private hire minicab driver or a public hire taxi driver. Most companies will provide quotations for saloons, MPV’s, black cabs and minibuses for hire and reward use.

Another important point to consider is ‘is cheap the best’. As with any product experience tells us that the cheapest is not always the best policy for your needs. If you are offered an exceptionally cheap taxi insurance policy, find out exactly what the cover entails including the excesses on the policy or any other conditions.

Active Insurance have been delivering cheap taxi insurance solutions for public and private hire drivers for 16 years. Expert knowledge and advise from the taxi insurance specialists.

Having said that, there are still many deals to be found on cheap taxi insurance, especially if you know where to find them. This will obviously involve some work for you by shopping around and filling tedious forms. But then in the long run it will pay off by you obtaining a great deal on your taxi insurance. With so many brokers and taxi insurance companies on the market all plying for your business and offering various deals you really are spoilt for choice. There new internet portals opening where you fill in one form and the quotation is submitted to a panel of taxi insurance brokers on your behalf. How easy is that! Each broker will call you back with a quotation outlining what their policy covers and more importantly what it doesn’t cover. A cheap taxi insurance is not necessary always the best policy. Find out exactly what you are being covered for. Also go through the risk questionnaire with the advisor to make sure that all the details are correct. Otherwise it could cost you a lot more if there are any errors or omissions.

To drive a vehicle for hire and reward purposes you do have to have a taxi insurance policy. Any taxi car that is used on a public highway has to have a motor insurance policy with a minimum of third party cover. It is compulsory! Failure to have the correct insurance in place land you in a lot of trouble with penalty points, fines and even your taxi licence being revoked by the licensing authority. With most taxi insurers know plying for your business on the internet, this has made it a lot easier for you to find a great deal so take full advantage of this opportunity.

Obtain a taxi insurance quote from one company first. Approach a second company and tell them the quote you have been already offered. This will save you both time and money. If they think they can beat your quote they will try to do so. If they think they will not be able to match or beat your quote, most likely they will tell you this from the outset saving you time answering the same questions again.

Do your homework, shop around and you are most certainly able to find a highly competitive deal on your taxi insurance requirements. Many insurers have room for negotiations in the current climate. As the saying goes, ‘persevere and you shall succeed’.

Active Insurance providing free online taxi insurance quotes. We compare taxi insurance quote from the leading insurers on your behalf.