We had planned a trip to a small village; far from the busy city life. We wanted a personal vehicle as we were 6 people altogether. It was my birthday and unexpectedly my father gifted me a nice luxurious car. It was a big surprise for me. I was very happy. I loved the car as soon as I saw it and thought of taking my own car for the trip, instead of hiring it. On our way to the village, suddenly my car stopped working. I tried every possible thing, but nothing worked.

I didn’t know what had happened but my friend told me that I will have to pay a lot for the repairing of my car. I didn’t even know whether my car was insured or not. Good that I was carrying my laptop; I started searching on the internet about car repairing service. At that time my dad told me that he had taken low cost insurance of my car and by checking all the auto car insurance quotes online. Later, I called up the same car service provider to fix my car and the insurance agent to give me details on the insurance. It proved very helpful to me as I didn’t have to shell out much from my pocket.

After seeing everything you should be covered for, you know might know that taxi insurance sure can be expensive and it is definitely not like regular car insurance. You must have heard of a deductible. A deductible is part of the insurance which you pay. If you pay a low deductible, then your insurance payments will be higher. So, in order to have a lower insurance payment, it is wise to make a higher deductible. If you are operating a company, it is better to include the names of your drivers under the insurance claim. When parking your taxi, it is always best to park it in a closed garage if possible. It is strictly wise to obtain an additional policy which covers you and the business in case something might go wrong. Especially, if your vehicle is a high class vehicle and it is your main income source, than it is highly recommended to get additional insurance. Some of the common ones are called; Loss of Income, Legal Expenses, Breakdown & Assistance, Glass & Windshield and Theft & Fire. We will go through each one in-depth.

Breakdown and Assistance: As the name signifies, it is just in case your vehicle does breakdown. Your car might need to be towed to a garage or need some road side boosting. This type of insurance is not a must for many taxi drivers. A breakdown and assistance insurance is needed if the taxi drives long distances on the highway or anything similar.

Glass & Windshield: Taxi drivers are on the roads day and night, and their vehicles take in a lot, especially the front side (the glass & windshield). With hard weather conditions, the glass can be hurt really badly in one season. The insurance will cover the glass and windshields on your vehicle, which make your passengers, feel safer when in your car. Some taxi drivers, who have their local mechanics working on their vehicle, do not generally obtain this insurance.

Legal Expenses: Since you are a taxi driver, you will get into little problems with other drivers and they can lead to court cases. You do not want to go deep down in your pockets to pay for legal fees. This is where this insurance comes into play. Every penny of your legal expense is paid by the insurance company. This way, it takes a load off you, and you may just focus on winning the case and collecting that extra cash if there is any.

Loss of Income: Some taxi drivers have more than one business. Most do not. If taxi driving is the main source of income for your family, it is generally wiser to obtain this insurance. If the vehicle you are using is a valuable vehicle and it gets stolen, you have no income. To prevent this, insurance companies have developed the loss of income insurance policy.

Theft & Fire: This insurance is very basic, if your vehicle gets stolen or it is caught on fire, the insurance company covers the cost.

Alright, so what’s the right type of insurance for your vehicle? Well, that question can’t be answered the same way for everyone. It depends on several factors; which are as follows.

+ The Manufacturer
+ The Year
+ The Drivers Driving History
+ The Drivers Age
+ The Drivers Gender

There are two main types of car insurance. The first one is called Liability Only Insurance. The second is known as Full Coverage Insurance. Both these are sometimes referred in Canada as one way insurance and two way insurance. There is a significant difference between the two types, and we will discuss it in the next section. Usually drivers who own older vehicles don’t go with Full Coverage Insurance. So, let’s take a look at what they actually are.

LIABILITY ONLY INSURANCE: Your cities government level officials may have different regulations depending on your state. The only similarity between all the states is that, every driver must have a Third Party Liability Insurance. The amount of coverage you require does not really matter for the state, it’s your decision along with your broker. Liability Insurance covers the damage cost of the other vehicle and their assets in question. This is a minimum requirement; you can not drive at all without this insurance. Some regulations have been put out in order to set a minimum coverage amount; some states have it at ten thousand dollars while some have it at thirty thousands dollars. Your insurance broker would be able to provide the exact amount in your state. The only bad thing is that, if the cost of damage is forty thousands dollars and your coverage is only twenty thousands dollars, you would be out another twenty thousands.

FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE: This insurance is the best option for many new drivers. This type of insurance gives you coverage for you and the other driver. The third party liability insurance is included in this, which is what covers the cost of the driver. Collision coverage is an extra benefit which you add in order to protect your car from damage expenses. People who finance or lease their vehicles will need to obtain this type of insurance. Another extra benefit which you may add is called a comprehensive insurance which will insure your vehicle of any damage caused by anything other than another vehicle. Some regular examples are fire and theft. Other things you are covered from are if an animal runs into your vehicle or if you hit it without you seeing it.

Auto insurance premiums depend on various factors. These factors are as follow; the driving history, your age and gender. New drivers will have to pay higher premiums while older drivers pay much less of a premium for the same coverage. Male drivers pay more money than female drivers, and single adults pay more than married adults. However, there are some tips you can follow to decrease your insurance premium. Drive safe for a while and build up a record, this way your premium gets lower. Some vehicles have a higher insurance premium, like luxury vehicles. So, decide right when your buying your car. If you can get an older driver to sign under the insurance policy, it would really help.