A Guide to Insuring your Minibus
What is a Minibus?
A minibus is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more passengers than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan but less than a bus or coach. Typically they are between 9 and 17 seats and are a great low cost way of transporting small groups of people around.
Do I need specialist Insurance to drive a minibus?
Minibuses can be used for a wide range of uses and often by multiple drivers therefore you will require specialist insurance to drive a minibus. To ensure you have insured your minibus correctly we would also recommend speaking to a specialist Minibus Insurance broker that has experience in this market and can therefore recommend a product that best suits your needs.
Will I be able to find Minibus quotes online?
Minibus Insurance typically is more expensive than insuring small vehicles such as estates and salons. Minibuses carry more passengers and as such are more expensive to Insure. It is best to speak to a broker as we have found online websites generating quotes but not supplying the correct cover because it hasn’t picked up the fact that the vehicle has more seats.
Can I insure a minibus for a short period of time?
Here at Quotax we have an exclusive short term minibus scheme with a leading Insurer, if you would like to discuss cover options please call our team.
If I take out Minibus Insurance can I drive other cars and minibuses Third party only?
Unfortunately we don’t know of any Insurer that allows cover to driver other vehicles when taking out a Minibus Insurance policy.
What are the requirements if I wanted to drive a minibus not for ‘hire and reward’
We always recommend speaking to the Vehicle and Operators Services Agency and the Driver and Vehicle licensing Agency but current guidance as of the 14/08/2017 is as follows:
✔ 21 or older
✔ Had your driving licence for at least 2 years
✔ Meet the group 2 medical standards if you’re over 70 – check with your GP if you are not sure you meet the standards
✔ You’re driving on a voluntary basis and the minibus is not more than 3.5 tonnes – or 4.25 tonnes including specialist equipment for disabled passenger, for example a wheelchair ramp
✔ You’re not towing a trailer
We are a Not for profit organisation and would like to make a small charge towards the running costs of the minibus, will I need Private Hire Insurance?
If you are an organisation providing transport on a ‘’not for profit basis’ you can apply for either a section 19 or section 22 permit. These permits allow an organisation to make a charge towards the running costs of the vehicle, without a view to profit.
How quickly will I be able to get a quote for my minibus?
We have a specialist minibus team available to take your call between 9am & 5pm, often we are able to run through details which usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes and deliver a quote within half an hour. If you would like to discuss your requirements with our team please call us on 0208 691 9691.
