For the most part, taxi insurance coincides both in coverage and expectations as fleet-style insurance. Dispatching taxis to various locations can lead to uncontrollable incidents like getting rear-ended, or even worse, causing an accident. Sexual harassment and carrying multiple passengers with disabilities are often areas of concern that taxi companies dwell on often.
We’re entering an era where Uber, Lyft and similar individual cab companies are breaking into the transportation world, and the face of a once-secure driver job has changed forever. This means individual drivers just became individual taxi owners. Which means insuring cars just became ‘interesting’ to say the least.
How will this affect taxi insurance and the carriers that provide it?
Fleets of…Ubers?
More than just your life, taxi insurance coverage is both vital for all cabs within your fleet to carry and can save your bank account quite a bit in paying out for liabilities caused by accidental collisions, injuries to others and to self while in transit. That much we know.
As all major insurance companies have some form of fleet insurance, taxis that are owned by individuals, licensed as individuals but are used as business vehicles will definitely be interesting for underwriters to sort out. It becomes more interesting because you’re also considered a business by virtue of contracting through another business which you pay commissions to.
This could either lower taxi companies’ out-of-pocket costs, or incrementally make it difficult for self-employed taxi drivers to get insured without bonding. It’s really, really tricky at best.
Could there be taxi companies formed by multiple Uber drivers? Or will taxis get insured differently altogether? The year is still young and we will just have to wait. If you’re worried about job security as cab drivers, fear not: big cities will always need cab companies regardless how many Ubers are around.
Current Taxi Drivers?
Taxicab owners who’ve successfully run their companies for decades probably won’t see much changing insurance-wise, although comparing insurance prices may significantly lower rates. Since Donald Trump is expected to pass sweeping reforms that help small businesses like cab companies, expect premiums to lower slightly in 2017.
To stay competitive with Uber and Lyft, adopting changes that both lower fares and make cabs safer will be needed. Remember, adopting safety features can significantly lower premiums in multiple cars. For example, having airbags deployable in back seats, having blind spot detection and small changes like that could save thousands when multiple vehicles in taxi companies have these add-on features.
Shopping Competitively
Taxi company owners know the power of comparison shopping. If you’ve opened up shop in 2016, or have been around 100 years, the suggestion remains the same: never commit to one company until you’ve looked over all options, seen deductibles, seen what add-on services are available, then purchase based on wise choices.
Nothing industry-wide is changing in terms of sweeping taxi insurance reform. Sure, mobile apps have made everyone cab owners, but for the most part, everything will be normal in 2017 even though the industry is shifting.
1 Comment
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Nice post on the changing of Taxi Insurance in 2017. Taxi insurance coincides both with coverage and expectations as fleet style insurance. Nowadays many individual cab companies like uber are available. Nothing industry-wide changing in terms of sweeping taxi insurance reform. Everything will be normal in 2017 even though the industry is shifting. I have some idea about My Money Comparison provides all type of insurance service like car, taxi, van, bike etc. Thanks for sharing the post with us.
