.jpg)
Taxi insurance quotes vary more than THREEFOLD by licensing authority, insurd data shows
Taxi and private hire insurance quotes can vary sharply depending on the licensing authority, according to analysis of more than 100,000 quotes collected by specialist broker insurd in summer 2026.
Across the 100 most-quoted authorities, the five with the highest average quotes recorded £4,929, against £1,519 for the five lowest. The difference was 3.2 times, the company said.
The data covers quotes from July to September across 370 licensing authorities. The 100 most-quoted authorities accounted for 88% of insurd’s quotes during the period. The figures are average annual quotes supplied by insurers on the broker’s panel; bus and coach insurance quotes were excluded.
The averages reflect drivers quoting for each licence, rather than conditions solely in the authority’s area. Insurd noted that some authorities license drivers who live and work elsewhere, so the results should not be read as a direct comparison of local operating conditions.
Driver experience also affected prices. Drivers with at least four years’ no-claims bonus received an average quote of £2,166 across all authorities, £1,023 below the £3,189 average for all drivers. Insurd said differences between authorities remained for this group.
The Public Carriage Office, which licenses London taxi drivers, had an average quote of £4,588, the fifth highest among the 100 authorities. That was about 44% above the average for all drivers in the data.
The data release also highlighted substantial differences between authorities within the same regions. In South Yorkshire, the average for Doncaster-licensed drivers was £5,342, compared with £2,269 for Sheffield, a difference of £3,073. In Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen averaged £4,818, against £2,023 for neighbouring Hyndburn.
Craig Shaw, insurd director, said: “These figures show how much taxi insurance quotes can vary across the UK. Location plays a big part, meaning where you live and where the taxi is kept overnight, but insurers also weigh who is driving, how far they drive and the taxi itself.
“When quotes can differ this much, comparing a wide panel matters. We work with some of the top-rated insurers, including Admiral, KinetiQ, Q, Inshur, KGM, Eridge, Collingwood, Markerstudy, SEIB, Sabre, Trident and ERS. We search them for each driver, and this summer 8 different insurers on our panel were the cheapest option for at least one driver."
The comparison of the five cheapest and five dearest authorities excludes one authority with an unusually high average, which was more than a third above the next highest. The next most-quoted authority was included instead. Insurd said authorities licensing large numbers of drivers who work elsewhere were included in the figures but not singled out individually.
