Transporting passengers? You need Taxi Insurance.
If you own and/or operate a taxi you need to protect your investment, and your livelihood, with taxi insurance, which specifically caters to this vitally important industry. Why? Because your regular vehicle insurance won’t cover your claim.
By as early as 2017 the South African National Taxi Council, or Santaco, estimated that there were approximately 200 000 taxis on our roads, carrying roughly 65% of the then 2.5 billion annual passengers in the urban environment. One can only imagine that these numbers have increased significantly during the last four years.
Taxis – your taxis – travel 100’s of kilometres every week, with intertown transport racking up even more mileage. That is a lot of driving and, statistically speaking, the more you are on the road, the more likely you are to be involved in an accident or other vehicle-related incident. Drivers of private vehicles most often claim from and are paid out under their personal motor vehicle insurance policies. But if your vehicle is used to transport passengers, normal car insurance will not cover your damage or loss.
So, how do you define “transporting passengers”? When you charge a fee to take someone from point A to point B, you are transporting a paying passenger. And your personal auto insurance policy will not cover you if you submit a claim. So then, why waste your money? Make sure you and your asset are appropriately covered.
Here are a few of the most important benefits of taxi insurance:
- This type of insurance is custom made to meet your needs as a taxi owner, driver and operator. That means that your transport business will enjoy coverage for things that traditional vehicle insurance policies do not normally cover.
- Some insurers include policy cover and extensions for minibus, midibus, e-hailing, metered taxi, tuk-tuk, shuttle and even chauffer services.
- You can choose from basic to comprehensive cover including or extending to own damage, fire, theft, hijacking, damage to third-party property and personal accident cover for drivers and passengers.
- You are responsible for your passengers’ safety, making passenger liability insurance a necessity should the Road Accident Fund not respond appropriately.
- Some policy plans cover trailers and/or the loss of or damage done to luggage.
- Certain policies offer compensation for loss of earnings when your vehicle can’t operate due to loss or damage. We highly recommend this cover as it means you can keep up with your earnings, finance, insurance, and other fixed payments associated with your vehicle.
Unfortunately, with insurance, the devil is in the detail and it is critical that you stick to your side of the bargain of your insurance contract and familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions of your policy. Luckily for you however, our world-class risk advisors at Taxisure will ensure that you are clued up as a policyholder. We will ensure that you are familiar with all the necessary nitty gritty so that you can approach a claim with confidence.
Some other quick advice… beware if you decide not to take out an “open driver policy” as no cover will be afforded if someone else has an accident while driving your vehicle – make sure you always let us know if your driver changes. Lastly, always be honest when applying for cover – insurers share information and since insurance contracts are based on the principle of “utmost faith” any deviation from the truth will count against you… just remember that as much as it is the insurer’s business to pay out claims they are also in the business of reducing the amount they need to pay out – don’t get caught out!
Making sure that passengers reach their places of work safely, taxis are an important part of keeping our economy going and growing. You also take friends to enjoy outings together and family members to visit their relatives. You are an integral part of South African society and you should be protected. Contact us now to help you cover your fleet and to keep you, your taxis, your drivers and your passengers safe. Khwela sihambe!
