Pre-booked cover
Private hire taxi insurance for pre-booked work
Private hire taxi insurance covers journeys booked in advance through a licensed operator, whether by phone, website or app. Here is what the cover includes and what insurers want to know.
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Minicab, executive and app workWhat private hire taxi insurance covers
Private hire taxi insurance covers a licensed private hire vehicle while it carries passengers on journeys booked in advance. It includes work dispatched by local minicab offices, executive accounts and ride-hailing apps.
It does not cover picking up from a rank or being flagged down in the street. That is public hire work, and it needs a public hire policy.
Private hire in numbers
Sources: Department for Transport (13 August 2026). Full list at the bottom of this page.
Who needs a private hire policy
Anyone driving a licensed private hire vehicle for an operator, from a two-car local firm to a national app. The cover needs to match the licence issued by your council, or by TfL in London, where drivers often call it PCO car insurance.
Private hire is the fastest-growing part of the trade. Outside London, licensed private hire vehicles rose 20% between 2024 and 2026[1], while operator licences grew 17%. Insurers have more policies for app drivers, part-timers and drivers who rent their car than they did a few years ago.
What the apps and operators check
Operators and apps ask to see your certificate before you take work. Uber, for example, asks that the policy covers private hire or carrying passengers for hire and reward, and that the name matches the driving licence[2]. Drivers on a fleet policy may also need a permission letter from the fleet.
If you work for more than one operator or app, one policy can usually cover all of them. The guides to multi-app driver insurance, Bolt and FREENOW explain what each one looks for.
Private hire vehicles and the work they do
Private hire covers more than minicabs. It includes executive cars on corporate accounts, chauffeur work, airport transfers and minibus taxis with up to eight passenger seats. Only 2% of private hire vehicles in England are wheelchair accessible[1], so drivers running accessible vehicles often have specialist equipment to declare.
- saloons and estates on local minicab work
- MPVs and seven-seaters for groups and airport runs
- executive saloons on account work
- electric and hybrid cars, now required for first-time PHV licences in London
What insurers look at
What affects the price of private hire taxi insurance
Every insurer weighs these differently, which is why quotes for the same driver and car can vary.
- Operators and appsThe type of work each one sends you, from local runs to long transfers.
- Mileage and hoursFull-time app work and occasional weekend shifts are rated differently.
- The vehicleValue, seats, repair costs and whether it is electric or hybrid.
- Licensing areaCity work and rural work carry different claim patterns.
- Driving recordClaims, convictions and how long you have held your licence.
- Drivers on the policyJust you, or shared with other licensed drivers.
FAQs
Private hire taxi insurance questions
What is private hire taxi insurance?
It is taxi insurance for vehicles that only take journeys booked in advance through a licensed operator, including apps such as Uber and Bolt.
Does private hire insurance cover street pick-ups?
No. Picking up passengers who hail you or wait at a rank is public hire work and needs a public hire policy.
Can one private hire policy cover several apps?
Usually yes. Tell the broker every operator and app you work for so the policy reflects all of them.
Is private hire insurance the same as PCO insurance?
PCO insurance is the name London drivers use for private hire cover on a TfL-licensed vehicle. It is private hire insurance.
Can I get private hire insurance quotes online?
Yes. The CoverMyTaxi form takes your council licence details, the car's registration and how you get bookings, then passes you to MyMoneyComparison.com so private hire brokers can respond.
Sources
Figures on this page come from the sources below. Each was checked on 11 November 2026; figures may change when a source is updated.
- Department for Transport, Taxi and private hire vehicle statistics, England: 2026, published 13 August 2026.
- Uber, Uploading your documents, accessed 11 November 2026.
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CoverMyTaxi is a trading style of Mymoneycomparison.com Ltd. It is an information website and is not an insurer or an insurance broker. Quotes are provided through MyMoneyComparison.com and the brokers it works with, subject to insurers' acceptance criteria.