INSURANCE INSIGHTS
WHY LOWER PREMIUMS SHOULDN’T STOP DRIVERS SHOPPING AROUND
By David Sweeney, Head of Taxi Broking The Taxi Insurer
www.taxiinsurer.co.uk
This month’s article is full of positivity for taxi and private hire drivers – but it also comes with a warning.
Let’s start with the good news: insurance premiums have come down significantly this year. Throughout my career, we’ve generally seen taxi and private hire insurance prices increase year on year. In some years they may have risen by 10%, in other years by as much as 30%.
This year, it’s been the opposite. We’re seeing many customers, whose premium last year was in the region of £1,400, paying anything between £950 and £1,100 at renewal in 2026.
The knock-on effect of these cheaper premiums is higher renewal retentions than we’ve experienced for around a decade, and that’s a trend affecting the whole industry.
Factors that can influence premium levels
To put these price decreases in context, some customers have already attained their maximum no claims bonus, so it’s not a case of their discount increasing. They’ve achieved nine years or more of no claims bonus, and they’re now subject to market fluctuations in price.
Vehicle age is another factor. Although your premium may decrease as your car gets older and loses its value, you could be penalised at the same time. Some insurers will only cover vehicles up to a certain age, because they represent higher financial and safety risks than younger cars. Similarly, some councils will only license cars that are five years old or less, as they believe that older vehicles reflect poorly on their town or city.
36 The implications of higher renewal retentions
Prices are cheaper and I believe we’re seeing a reduction in new business enquiries purely because customers are receiving their renewal premium and thinking: “That’s good. I’ll have it.” Meaning they’re not shopping around.
However, it can still pay to explore the options available. Brokers have access to different insurers and schemes, so the range of options available can vary.
At The Taxi Insurer, we have access to 10 insurers and 11 schemes. At renewal, we review the options available across our panel to see what is available for each customer, taking account of their individual requirements. This means customers can make their renewal decision knowing we’ve explored the options available through our panel.
Although we review our entire panel for every customer every year at renewal, to ensure we’ve offered the very best deal that we can, some brokers may be content to just offer the renewal price quoted by their existing insurer.
Getting the best possible deal
Customers have a couple of options to help ensure they’re getting the best possible deal when they renew their policy.
The first is to always give themselves enough time to shop around for the best quote. That’s not just to make sure they’ve done sufficient research to be comfortable they’ve secured a good deal to cover their needs. It’s also because insurers actively provide a better price the further in advance of the policy’s start date that they’re contacted by a driver, as they aim to secure new business as early as possible.
The second is to discuss their requirements with a taxi insurance broker. These specialists have spent years nurturing relationships with a trusted panel of insurer partners, and focus on finding products and policies that meet their clients’ needs and expectations.
NOVEMBER 2026 PHTM
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