Taxi cover for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days

Temporary Taxi Insurance

Comprehensive private and public hire cover for a badged driver in a plated vehicle, sold for a week, a fortnight, three weeks or four weeks and nothing shorter, with the certificate in your inbox the moment you pay.

7, 14, 21 or 28 day policies
Private and public hire
2 claims, 9 points accepted
No black box, no daily cover

In partnership with GoShorty

FCA-regulated cover

Every policy is arranged by an authorised UK insurance broker
7 to 28 days

Sold in blocks of 7, 14, 21 or 28 days, nothing shorter
Certificate emailed to you

Your policy number and documents, minutes after paying
MID updated four times a day

So a roadside check shows the vehicle as insured

What Is Temporary Taxi Insurance?

Temporary taxi insurance is a comprehensive private and public hire policy for a badged taxi driver in a plated vehicle, sold for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days instead of a year.

It is for the driver who needs cover for a fixed stretch: a locum stepping into a plated cab, a driver between operators or between vehicles, a newly plated car waiting for its annual policy to start, or a busy month when a second badged driver is needed. It is written for hire and reward, so it allows what temporary car insurance in its ordinary form never does: carrying passengers for payment, plus parcels.

There is no hourly or daily taxi cover on this product. The shortest policy is seven days and the four lengths are fixed. If you need a single shift, this is not the product.

How Do You Get Temporary Taxi Insurance?

Enter the registration, add your licence and badge details, choose 7, 14, 21 or 28 days, then read the quote and the policy wording before you pay.

1
Enter the registration

The number plate pulls up the make, model, seats and value of the vehicle, which is most of what the quote is priced on. The vehicle must be plated, owned outright or leased in your own name, and worth no more than £50,000.
2
Add your licence and badge details

Your driving licence, held for at least two years, your address, your taxi badge and the council that issued it. The plate must come from the same council. Have the badge number to hand.
3
Choose the length

Seven, 14, 21 or 28 days, from the start time you set. Count from the day you start work, not the day you buy, and note that the driver age band is wider on the 28 day policy than on the shorter three.
4
Read it, then buy

Check the use shown, the excess and the optional extras. The certificate lands in your inbox the moment you pay, and that certificate, not the quote, is what the licensing officer and the police will ask to see.

What Are the Badge and Plating Rules?

You need a taxi or private hire driver licence, the badge, and the vehicle needs its own licence, the plate, and GOV.UK says both must come from the same authority before the vehicle can work.

GOV.UK sets out the driver licence: you need one to drive a taxi or private hire vehicle in England and Wales, issued by the local council outside London or by Transport for London in the capital, and the driver, the vehicle and any operator must all be licensed by the same authority. Most councils expect a full driving licence held for at least 12 months, an enhanced criminal records check and a medical. The standard criteria for the cover on this page ask for two years on the licence, which is stricter than most councils.

The vehicle licence page adds that you can be prosecuted for driving a vehicle as a taxi or private hire vehicle without a vehicle licence, and that the vehicle must be licensed by the same authority that issued your driver licence. That is why the quote asks for the council: the badge and the plate have to match before the insurance can.

Taxi or private hire

GOV.UK’s distinction is simple. A private hire vehicle can only be pre-booked. A taxi, the hackney carriage, can also be hired at a rank or hailed in the street. This policy covers both kinds of work, but your badge and plate decide which kind you may actually do, and the policy does not widen that.

London is excluded

Vehicles licensed by Transport for London, the London PCO, are outside the criteria for this cover. Most councils in England, Wales and Scotland are inside it. If your plate is a TfL plate, the quote will say no, and no amount of re-entering the details changes that.

Ready when you are

Find out what a week of taxi cover would cost.

Just the registration to begin. Comprehensive, 7 to 28 days.

Get Quotes

Who Can Get Temporary Taxi Insurance?

Drivers aged 30 to 74 for 7, 14 and 21 day policies, or 23 to 75 for 28 days, with a full UK licence held for two years, a valid taxi badge, and a plated vehicle from the same council.

Policy length	Driver age
7 days	30 to 74
14 days	30 to 74
21 days	30 to 74
28 days	23 to 75

The vehicle

Owned outright or leased in your own name, worth up to £50,000, with up to seven or eight seats including the driver, depending on the insurer, so a seven passenger MPV or a wheelchair accessible vehicle on a standard chassis may qualify. It must be plated by the same council as your badge.

Points and claims

Up to two claims and, depending on the insurer, six or nine penalty points in the last three years are accepted and priced. More than that falls outside the standard criteria for this cover. The quote asks for the record exactly as the DVLA holds it, and a policy bought on a wrong answer can be voided at the moment you need it.

Who it is not for

A driver without a badge, a vehicle without a plate, a TfL licensed vehicle, a driver under 23, or anyone who needs a single day. A friend or relative borrowing the cab for private use needs ordinary weekly car insurance with the taxi use switched off, and must not carry fares on it.

When Is Temporary Taxi Cover the Right Choice?

It suits a badged driver who needs cover for a defined stretch of one to four weeks, where an annual taxi policy would be more than the job needs or cannot start in time.

Locum and relief driving

A driver covering for a regular driver who is ill, away or suspended, or taking on an operator’s spare plated vehicle for a month, can buy the exact length. The four lengths are fixed, so choose the one at least as long as the work.

A newly plated vehicle

A car that has just passed its plating test and is waiting for the annual policy to begin can work legally in the meantime. Buy the temporary policy to start the day the plate is issued, and let the annual policy take over when it starts.

Between operators or after a claim

A driver moving between operators, or whose annual policy has lapsed or been cancelled after a claim, can keep earning for a month while a new annual policy is arranged. Two claims and up to nine points are accepted by at least one insurer on the panel.

When it is not the right product

A single shift, a few days, or a contract that will plainly run past 28 days. Passengers carried for payment are not covered by any ordinary short-term car policy, so there is no workaround with hourly or daily car cover, and back to back 28 day policies cost more than an annual policy would.

What Does Temporary Taxi Insurance Cover?

Comprehensive cover for the vehicle, third party liability for passengers and the public, and hire and reward use for passengers and parcels, for the length you buy.

The vehicle and the public

Third party liability for injury and damage to other people and their property, which every UK motor policy must carry, plus accidental damage, fire and theft cover for the vehicle itself, subject to the excess on the schedule. Hire and reward use means the paying passenger journey is inside the cover, not an exclusion.

Passengers and parcels

The policy allows carrying fares and parcels. Whether food or app deliveries between fares are covered depends on the insurer, so check the policy before relying on it. If most of your work is deliveries rather than passengers, temporary courier insurance is written for that and is priced differently.

No black box, no cameras

You do not need a telematics box or a camera fitted to the vehicle. The detail of what is and is not covered is set by the broker and the insurer, and it is in the policy wording and the insurance product information document rather than here, so read both before you pay.

How Much Does Temporary Taxi Insurance Cost?

No starting price is published for temporary taxi cover, so the only honest figure is your own quote, and this page will not invent one.

Taxi cover is priced on the vehicle, the driver, the badge and the council that issued it, the claims and points declared, and which of the four lengths you choose. Those figures vary more widely than ordinary car cover does, because the council and the type of work change the risk as much as the driver does.

If the quote is more than the work justifies, monthly car insurance shows what ordinary 28 day cover costs for the same vehicle used privately, but it does not allow a single fare.

What sets your price

1 The vehicle Value, type and number of seats.
2 The driver Age, years on the licence, claims and points.
3 The badge and plate The council, and whether the vehicle is private or public hire.
4 The length 7, 14, 21 or 28 days.

Temporary Taxi Cover Compared With 30 Day and Annual Policies

Temporary cover buys exactly one to four weeks with no commitment. A 30 day rolling policy and an annual policy are different commitments, and the table sets the three side by side.

The 30 day rolling products sold by app-based insurers are a different thing from the temporary cover here: they are designed to be renewed, they build a no claims discount over time, and they are usually private hire only with named platforms. If you need a defined few weeks, this is the product that does that without a contract.

	Temporary, 7 to 28 days	30 day rolling	Annual
Typical use	A locum, a gap, a newly plated car	A part-time driver working most months	A full-time driver
Commitment	None beyond the days bought	Renews monthly until cancelled	Twelve months
No claims discount	Not earned	Usually earned after a year of consecutive cover	Earned and discounted
Starts	Within minutes of paying	Usually same day	Days, after underwriting

What Happens If You Drive a Taxi Without the Right Cover?

Carrying a fare on an ordinary car policy is driving uninsured: a fixed penalty of £300 and six points, or an unlimited fine and disqualification at court, the vehicle can be seized, and the licensing authority can take your badge.

GOV.UK sets out the penalties for driving without insurance: a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points, or at court an unlimited fine and possible disqualification, and the police have the power to seize, and in some cases destroy, the vehicle. A policy that covers social and domestic use does not cover a paying passenger, so a plated vehicle on the wrong policy is uninsured for the work it is doing, however valid the certificate looks.

The badge is the second risk. Licensing authorities treat working without hire and reward insurance as a fit and proper person issue, and a suspended or revoked badge takes longer to get back than a policy takes to buy. Keep the certificate with you, check that the use on it says hire and reward, and do not take a fare until it does. For work that is business visits and goods rather than passengers, business car insurance explains what class 1 use includes.

Questions

Temporary Taxi Insurance: FAQs

Can I get temporary insurance on a taxi?

Yes, if you hold a valid taxi badge and the vehicle is plated by the same council. Temporary taxi cover runs for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days, is comprehensive, and includes hire and reward for passengers and parcels. It is sold to the badged driver, not to a friend borrowing the cab.

Can I get taxi insurance for one day or a few hours?

No. Temporary taxi cover is sold for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days only, and nothing shorter. A single shift cannot be covered on this product.

Can I drive a taxi on normal insurance?

No. An ordinary car policy, annual or temporary, excludes carrying passengers for payment. Driving a plated vehicle for hire on it means you are uninsured for the work you are doing, with the same penalties as having no insurance at all, and the licensing authority can act against your badge.

How much does temporary taxi insurance cost?

No starting price is published for this product, so the only honest answer is the quote. Taxi cover is priced on the vehicle, the driver, the badge and council, the claims and points declared, and which of the four lengths you choose. Elsewhere in the market, short-term taxi cover is typically quoted by the week, and a 28 day policy costs less per day than four separate weeks.

How old do I have to be?

For 7, 14 and 21 day policies, drivers must be aged 30 to 74. For a 28 day policy the range is wider, 23 to 75.

Is this private hire, public hire or both?

Both. The policy covers private hire and public hire, with hire and reward for carrying passengers and parcels. Your badge and plate decide which kind of work you may do: a private hire vehicle can only be pre-booked, while a taxi can also work a rank or be hailed.

Do I need a taxi badge?

Yes. You need a valid taxi badge, a full UK licence held for at least two years, and a vehicle plated by the same authority that issued the badge. Without all three a quote cannot be given.

Does it work in London?

No. The cover is available for most councils in England, Wales and Scotland, but vehicles licensed by Transport for London, the London PCO, are excluded. If your badge and plate are from TfL, this is not the product.

Will my points and claims stop me getting cover?

Not necessarily. Up to two claims and, depending on the insurer, six or nine penalty points in the last three years are accepted. Declare everything exactly, because the price is set on the record you declare and an inaccurate answer can void the policy.

Can I insure a vehicle I lease?

Yes, if you own it outright or lease it in your own name. The vehicle must be worth up to £50,000 and have up to seven or eight seats including the driver, depending on the insurer, so a seven passenger MPV may qualify.

Will I need a black box?

No. This policy does not require a telematics box or cameras to be fitted to the vehicle.

Does it cost anything to get a quote?

No. Getting a quote is free and you are under no obligation to buy. We may be paid a fee by the broker if someone takes out a policy after being introduced by us. It does not change the price you are quoted.

Need cover today?

Get Your Temp Insurance Quote