A hackney vehicle requires a special form of hackney insurance to cover the vehicle. The hackney refers to a carriage or vehicle for hire in the UK and they are regulated by the Public Carriage Office in London or the local authority in the non-metropolitan areas of Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, the Department of the Environment regulates the hackney vehicle. Due to the regulations, involved, hackney vehicles must conform to certain designs. The vehicle cannot be allowed to ply for work unless it has been checked and verified by the right authority. In London, drivers have to pass a test that checks to see the drivers are familiar with London streets. Other authorities only require a background check and a fair driving record. Some communities require the driver to pass a local form of The Knowledge, as most London drivers must for London. Random checks are often performed to ensure drivers are in compliance.
Maintaining the hackney vehicle is very time consuming and expensive for a driver and the owner. The insurance for a hackney vehicle is not any more expensive than for most other specialty vehicles in the UK. You can find discounts and ways to save money just as most other taxi drivers can through clean driving records, number of vehicles, type of vehicle, and location of service. However, because the hackney is closely regulated, many drivers need extra coverage to ensure they are protected especially from third party damages. For this reason, the hackney insurance policy can be higher than a regular taxi policy. If you are looking for hackney insurance, be sure to consider the insurance broker you can compare many different specialty companies to find the one that is right for you. You do not want to cut back on coverage to get an affordable policy because it will not do you any good if you have a serious accident and do not have the coverage to protect yourself. Protect your livelihood and find the right hackney insurance for your vehicle at a cost you can afford. The consequences of not having the insurance are too high to pay.