Patons Insurance launches new taxi cover with Admiral Business partnership
- Perry Richardson
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Patons Insurance has launched a new taxi insurance product in partnership with Admiral Business, marking the insurer’s first move into the UK taxi and private hire vehicle sector.
The tie-up, announced on 26 March, brings together Admiral Business’s wider motor insurance experience with Patons’ established position in the taxi insurance market. The launch forms part of Admiral Business’s wider plan to build out commercial insurance products through selected broker partners with specialist knowledge in their sectors.
For Patons, the agreement adds another provider to its existing taxi insurance panel at a time when brokers and drivers continue to face pressure on cover availability, pricing and product fit. The new offer is initially aimed at owner-drivers and private hire proprietors operating across England, Scotland and Wales.
The firms said the first phase of the product will focus on motor insurance for those segments, with cover for purpose-built hackney carriage vehicles and multi-vehicle or fleet owners expected at a later stage. That phased approach suggests Admiral Business is starting with the part of the market that can be brought to market more quickly before expanding into more specialist and potentially more complex taxi risks.
New product targets owner-drivers and private hire proprietors across England, Scotland and Wales, with fleet and hackney vehicle cover set to follow.
The move also gives Admiral Business a route into a sector that has traditionally relied on specialist underwriting knowledge and broker-led distribution. Rather than launching directly to customers, the South Wales-based insurer has chosen to work through a limited panel of insurance brokers with sector experience, with Patons among those selected for the taxi-focused proposition.
Outside the taxi market, Admiral Business already has a commercial portfolio covering products such as non-taxi motor fleet, public liability, professional indemnity, and tools and materials insurance. Those lines serve a broad range of sectors, from trades to professional services, but the Patons deal marks a more targeted push into licensed passenger transport.
Patons said the new arrangement adds further strength to its existing insurer panel, which already includes many of the UK’s established taxi insurance underwriters. The broker said that breadth of provider support helps it offer a wide range of taxi-specific products and services to customers, with the new Admiral-backed product now forming part of that line-up.
Darren Roberts, Patons Insurance Managing Director, said: "Patons has been providing taxi and PHV insurance for more than 50 years and we are constantly trying to find new ways to improve the products and services we provide to our customers.
"Admiral is a major UK motor insurer, covering almost 20% of the private cars on our roads. That depth of knowledge brings a wealth of expertise to our sector along with an extensive claims network of approved repair facilities across the country – something that our taxi customers may now benefit from through the potential of insuring their private hire or taxi vehicle with Admiral (Business)."
For Mr Roberts, as well as improving the insurance offering, it was important that Patons found a partner that matched its own ethos and values, including the all-important factor of having customer service at the core of its offering.
He said: "When talking to Admiral Business, it became clear from the outset that we would complement each other well. We are a family business and we maintain such values dear – putting people first and helping them with the needs and challenges they face. Admiral Business is part of a huge UK insurance group, but its approach to people and to putting customer service at the heart of its business sits hand-in-glove with our culture and I’m confident our customers, will benefit over an extended period of time as a result of this development.”
