Your policy needs to cover the work you actually do. Ordinary personal motor insurance, or a generic business-use description, should not be assumed to cover carrying paying passengers. Check hire and reward cover with your insurer and licensing authority before accepting bookings.
Questions to ask before buying cover
- Does the policy cover private hire passenger work and every operator you use?
- Are food or parcel deliveries covered if you also do that work?
- Which vehicle, drivers and period of cover are named?
- What excesses, mileage restrictions or conditions apply?
- Does the policy meet the licensing authority’s requirements, and can you provide the required certificate?
London drivers can check TfL’s private hire vehicle licensing guidance. Elsewhere, check the authority that licenses your vehicle. A platform accepting a document does not replace reading the insurer’s terms.
What determines the insurance cost?
Quotes vary with the driver, vehicle, location, cover and insurer’s assessment. Compare policies on equivalent terms rather than relying on a single advertised premium. This page does not rank insurers, arrange insurance or promise a typical saving. Ask the insurer or an authorised broker to explain exclusions that matter to your work.
Can insurance be claimed for tax?
Under the actual-cost method, the allowable business share of insurance is considered alongside other running costs. With simplified mileage, insurance is already included in the flat amount; adding the premium again duplicates the deduction. Keep invoices, the policy schedule and evidence of private use for whichever method applies.
Car purchase, lease and finance payments have their own treatment. Accounting depreciation and the full monthly repayment are not automatically deductible. Read the mileage versus actual costs comparison before choosing a method.
For the contract details, use our car rental, lease and finance tax guide to separate hire charges, capital repayments and interest, and collect the right documents.
A useful vehicle-cost file
- Purchase invoice, lease or finance agreement and any records for selling or replacing the car.
- Insurance schedule, renewal invoices and payment evidence.
- Fuel or charging receipts, repairs and servicing invoices.
- Business-mileage log and total mileage readings.
- Separate records for business parking and charges, with fines clearly excluded.
Our expense deductions service can review the tax records; mileage tracking support can help establish the business-use evidence. For insurance suitability, take the policy questions directly to your insurer or authorised broker.
When your vehicle records are ready, use the Uber tax return service to bring the agreed claim into your annual Self Assessment.
Sources checked 8 October 2026: Mileage · Expenses · Car.
Back to all articles