GoShorty launches temporary taxi insurance as demand grows for more flexible cover
- Perry Richardson
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
GoShorty has expanded its commercial motor insurance range with the launch of a temporary taxi insurance product designed for licensed taxi and private hire drivers seeking short-term hire and reward cover. The insurtech firm has also updated its impound release insurance by allowing named drivers to collect seized vehicles on behalf of eligible policyholders.
The new temporary taxi insurance policy became available on 30 July and provides standalone comprehensive hire and reward cover for periods of seven, 14, 21 or 28 days. According to GoShorty, the policy is intended to offer an alternative to traditional annual taxi insurance and is aimed at drivers working seasonal shifts, testing the trade or combining taxi work with other employment.
The company says the policy supports both private hire and public hire operations under the same cover, allowing drivers to switch between passenger work and multi-drop courier deliveries during quieter periods. GoShorty believes the product reflects changing working patterns across the gig economy, where some drivers prefer greater flexibility rather than committing to a 12-month insurance policy.
Department for Transport figures referenced by the company show there are more than 313,000 licensed taxi and private hire vehicles in England. GoShorty says its pay-as-you-go model is intended to reduce barriers to entering the trade by offering shorter policy durations without affecting a driver’s personal no claims bonus. The insurer also states the product does not require telematics devices or in-vehicle cameras as a condition of cover.
Phil Evans, Managing Director at GoShorty, said: “The traditional 12-month taxi insurance model simply no longer aligns with how professional drivers want to manage their businesses today. Whether someone is testing the waters of the trade to see if the lifestyle fits, picking up extra shifts during high-earning seasonal peaks like Christmas, or handling part-time hours around another job, forcing them into a rigid annual policy creates a massive financial barrier.”
Alongside the taxi insurance launch, GoShorty has introduced a named driver option across its temporary car and van impound release insurance products. The change allows policyholders who are legally or physically unable to collect a seized vehicle from a police compound to add a trusted friend or family member to the policy so the vehicle can be driven away legally. The company said the change could help motorists avoid escalating storage charges where they are unable to recover the vehicle themselves.
Evans said: “We know that having a vehicle seized is an incredibly stressful experience, which is frequently made worse by rigid recovery rules. If an owner is caught in a situation where they are legally unable to drive the vehicle away themselves, daily storage fees quickly mount up. By expanding our temporary impound release insurance to cover both cars and vans to support named drivers, we are providing a practical, compliant solution that allows a trusted friend or family member to help them get back on the road safely and legally.”
