What Insurance Does Uber Require In The UK?

The Short Answer: Private Hire Insurance With Hire And Reward

You need private hire insurance that covers hire and reward. Uber's private hire insurance requirements say your policy must cover hire and reward use and meet the requirements of your licensing authority. That's the body that licenses you and your car: TfL in London, or your council elsewhere.

Hire and reward is the use that covers carrying paying passengers. The detail is in our guide to hire and reward for private hire.

Uber isn't the insurer for this cover. Uber says it does not underwrite insurance or decide the premium, cover, eligibility or claims outcome, so you arrange the policy with an insurer or broker yourself. If you're getting set up, you can compare insurance for Uber drivers once you know what your licence asks for.

Uber work sits on the private hire side of the trade, not the taxi side. GOV.UK's guidance for England and Wales says a PHV can only be pre-booked, while taxis can also be hired at a rank or hailed in the street. Uber jobs reach you as bookings in the app, so the cover Uber asks for is private hire rather than public hire. For how app work fits with other taxi work, see the full guide to taxi and private hire cover.

Does Uber Give You Any Insurance?

Yes, but not the kind Uber requires. Uber's Partner Protection insurance is personal accident cover, and Uber says it isn't commercial motor insurance or a substitute for your compulsory motor insurance.

Uber says eligible partners are automatically insured by Allianz Partners while On-Trip. That cover includes medical expenses, death, permanent disability, hospitalisation and injuries.

On-Trip runs from the moment you accept a trip until it's completed, and for 15 minutes after. If an accident On-Trip leaves you medically certified as unfit to work, Uber says you may get a daily payment for up to 30 days.

Partner Protection is cover for you as a person, mainly while you're On-Trip, with some Off-Trip life-event benefits for eligible partners, all on Uber's terms. It doesn't replace the private hire policy that Uber and your licensing authority check, so you need that policy either way.

London: TfL And Uber's Accepted Providers

If TfL licenses you, your insurance must come from a provider Uber accepts in London. Uber says that provider must also be integrated with the Instadoc verification process.

Instadoc is the verification process Uber's London document check runs through. So in London it isn't enough for the policy to cover hire and reward. The provider behind it has to be on Uber's accepted list and linked to that process too.

Your London licences come from TfL Taxi and Private Hire. Plenty of drivers still search for PCO insurance, but TfL's private hire operator handbook says the old Public Carriage Office name is no longer in use. PCO is just the old name for TfL's licensing team, so a policy sold as PCO insurance still has to meet TfL's and Uber's requirements.

A policy from a provider outside Uber's London list is unlikely to pass Uber's checks, even if it covers hire and reward. If you're TfL-licensed, check the provider is one Uber accepts before you buy.

Outside London: Your Council's Rules Come First

Outside London, you have a wider choice of insurer. Uber says you may choose another insurance provider, provided the cover meets the requirements of your licensing authority and Uber's document-verification requirements.

Your licensing authority is the council that issued your private hire driving licence and the PHV licence for your car. Councils set their own licence conditions, so check the insurance requirements with your council's licensing team before you pick a policy.

Your certificate still has to pass Uber's document checks, so the wording on it matters as much as the insurer's name.

If you also take bookings from a local operator, your insurer may want to know about every operator you work for.

Documents Uber Asks You To Upload

Your licence and insurance documents are a private hire driving licence, a PHV licence and a current insurance certificate or cover note. Uber asks for others too, such as your DVLA licence and check code, a vehicle inspection and the logbook. Uber's list of required documents sets these out for UK drivers.

The insurance document has to be a current and valid certificate or temporary cover note. Uber says it must cover private hire, or carrying passengers for hire or reward. Uber says it won't accept a policy that covers public hire, Hackney carriage or business use instead, so check the certificate wording.

Uber also says MOTs for private hire vehicles are only valid for six months. That's Uber's own document rule, not the law, so an MOT that's still in date by law may not be in date for Uber. There's an exception for newer cars. Outside London, Uber doesn't ask for an MOT if the PHV licence was issued in the car's first year, and in London it wants one before the car's first anniversary.

If Uber Rejects Your Insurance

Uber checks your certificate or cover note against its requirements, and in London against its accepted providers. The name on the certificate must also match your DVLA licence, and the car's details must match your logbook and Uber profile, as these mismatches also get documents turned down. If yours is turned down, the guide on why Uber won't accept your insurance covers the common reasons.

Does Your Policy Need To Cover You Between Trips?

Not for hire or reward at all times in London, but your car must be covered when it's licensed and whenever it's used as a PHV. The TfL private hire driver handbook says every PHV must have hire or reward insurance that's valid at both of those points.

That's only about hire and reward cover. The car still needs motor insurance whenever it's used on the road, and it has to stay insured unless it's declared off the road with a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).

TfL brought in a rule in 2016 that a London PHV had to be insured for hire or reward at all times. TfL's notice on insurance requirements says that rule no longer applies, but the car must still be covered at licensing and when in use as a PHV.

Outside London, check your council's licence conditions on this point, as TfL's rules only apply to London licences.

Driving between jobs, on the school run or at the weekend is a separate question. Whether your policy includes personal use depends on its wording, and the guide to restrictions in private hire policies covers what to look for.

Ian's note: Treat Partner Protection as a top-up for you, never as cover for the car. The document Uber and your council check is your private hire certificate, so make sure it names private hire or hire and reward before you upload it.

Checklist Before You Go Online

Check your licences, your certificate's wording and, in London, your insurer before you upload anything.

Check the certificate names private hire, or hire and reward. Check the cover meets your licensing authority's requirements. If TfL licenses you, check your insurer is one Uber accepts in London and that it's linked to Instadoc.

If your current policy doesn't cover private hire work, you may need a different policy before you go online. You can compare private hire insurance quotes when you're ready.

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