As you start your journey to becoming a private hire driver, you’ll come across a handful of critical licenses, policies and regulatory frameworks that you have to navigate.
One of these is PCO car hire insurance, but what exactly is it, and how does it work? Let’s take a quick look at the main points you need to know about as a prospective private hire driver.
What is PCO car hire insurance?
As a private hire driver, you aren’t just using your car for personal use; it’s essentially your business. As a result, you’re required to have a much more comprehensive car insurance policy, which covers you for a specific kind of professional driving.
While normally, you would have to purchase this insurance policy separately for your own vehicle, with PCO car hire services, the right level of insurance is often included in the vehicle rental agreement.
This kind of insurance is a type of hire and reward insurance. Essentially, it means that you are covered for driving which is done as a service for someone else, who you have paid to do that work.
How does it work?
PCO car hire insurance is essentially there to cover you for accidents that happen while you are working. That includes damage to your vehicle or someone else’s vehicle, but importantly, it also includes protection in the event that one of your passengers is hurt or their property is damaged.
The exact kind of policy that you’re provided with can differ between rental companies. As a result, it’s important that you check which kind of policies (if any) they provide before you sign your contract.
What do you need to be eligible?
For a hire and reward policy to be valid, the driver and vehicle will both need to be suitably licensed. If you’re hiring the car from a supplier like Westgate Hire that specialises in PCO vehicles, then that side of things will already be taken care of.
All that you’ll need to do is make sure that your PCO license is valid and up to date. If you haven’t yet applied for one, it’s worth getting the ball rolling as soon as possible, as the application process can take a while.
The benefits of PCO car hire insurance
While it is possible to buy your own car, register it with TfL as a private hire vehicle, and then sort out your own hire and reward insurance, all of this takes time, effort, and a lot of money.
For most drivers, it’s a lot more accessible to at least start off with a comprehensive service, that provides you with a licensed vehicle that’s ready and insured to work in. You can then focus on actually earning money, rather than having to spend your time sorting out documents and filing paperwork.
Having the right insurance policy in place is one of the most important things to take care of as a private hire driver. Whether you’re doing it yourself or it’s included with your rental agreement, it’s important that you look over your policy, and make sure that it meets and exceeds all of the core legal requirements.
Disclosure: This is a featured post.
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