What Insurance Do I Need To Drive With CitySprint?

CitySprint are one of the UK’s leading courier/delivery businesses, employing over 5,000 couriers in the UK and operating more than 40 sites across the country. As the market for eCommerce and home deliveries continue to grow, you may be considering signing up with them—courier work can be a great option for anyone with their own vehicle looking to earn.

CitySprint does provide you with some insurance coverages, however these are primarily designed to cover the goods you transport, and don’t protect you or your vehicle. This article will cover everything you need to know about getting properly insured to drive with CitySprint.

What insurances do I need to be a courier for CitySprint?

At minimum, you’ll require a form of hire and reward or courier insurance in order to drive with CitySprint. However there are additional coverages it’s worth being aware of that can help you stay covered in the event of an incident.

Courier Insurance/Hire & Reward

While the two are sometimes referred to interchangeably online (often confusingly, too!) there is an important difference between them.

Courier insurance policies are typically annual policies, and will generally include both your Social, Domestic & Pleasure (SD&P) protection and the insurance you need to deliver goods in return for payment. Once you’ve signed up for one, you’re covered all the time, whether you’re driving for work or social purposes. These policies are generally best for full-time couriers.

It is also possible to get top-up or pay-as-you-go hire & reward policies, which are designed to only cover you while you’re working as a courier. It sits “on top” of your existing SD&P coverage, and typically matches its level—meaning if your SD&P coverage is Third Party Only, then your hire & reward top-up would only cover you for Third Party Only damages as well.

Top-up/PAYG hire & reward policies may be preferred by part-time couriers, or anyone who doesn’t view courier work as a long-term employment solution. Be aware that many SD&P providers do not accept pay-as-you-go/top-up coverage as valid, leaving you at risk of voiding your coverage, so if you are going to go down that route you’ll want to check with your provider before signing up.

Is 'Business Use' Insurance enough for a Courier?

Some businesses, such as Amazon, state that Business Use Class 3 insurance may be enough to cover you to drive with them, because they can provide the 'hire & reward' cover. In most cases, however, a motorist using their own vehicle for courier work will need hire & reward ('business use' not being sufficient).

Courier Annual Insurance Price vs Pay-As-You-Go/Top-Up Price

Cost-wise, an annual courier/commercial policy starts from around £2,000 per year (including your SD&P coverage too). Hourly PAYG/top-up coverage usually costs between £1-£3 per hour, depending on your driver profile and vehicle, so is certainly a more cost-effective option for any part-time/short-term drivers—assuming your current SD&P insurer is happy for you to take a policy out.

Courier Public Liability Insurance

While not a requirement to drive for CitySprint, public liability is popular with professional drivers across the country. It covers you in the event that you’re at fault for an accident that causes damages to other businesses or third parties while you're not behind the wheel driving.

Courier insurance is a fairly specialist insurance type, and as such providers often like to differentiate themselves from the competition by creating well-rounded policies. As such, many courier insurance policies will already include a form of public liability within them, so if you’ve signed up to one check to see exactly what you are and aren’t covered for.

While it can feel like an unnecessary additional cost, AXA has reported that the average public liability settlement in the UK is around £13,500, and considering policies start from just over £100 per year it’s well worth considering—especially when motor vehicles are involved.

Injury/Accident Insurance

While working with CitySprint, you are technically recognised as a self-employed driver—not a CitySprint employee. This means if you’re unable to work for whatever reason you won’t receive any income from them. This is fairly common in the UK courier market, and while food delivery app JustEat is taking a first by offering its UK couriers holiday/sick pay it’s unlikely to change market-wide in the immediate future.

An injury/accident policy will generally start from around £35.00 per year for a non-smoker, and insures you for between 55%-70% of your monthly income (pre-tax), depending on your provider. It’s well worth considering if you’re not sure how you’d cover your bills in the event of something going wrong.

What insurances does CitySprint provide for its drivers?

CitySprint does cover the goods and packages you deliver, so if something does happen and they’re damaged accidentally while you’re on the move you won’t need to lose any sleep about replacing them.

Once you’ve covered your vehicle you should have everything you need in order to sign-up and drive with CitySprint. As you’re considered an “independent contractor” keep in mind that you aren’t eligible to receive any of the benefits that would typically come with being a full-time employee, such as sick pay or pension contributions.

Not all courier/delivery businesses cover the goods and packages, however, so if you’re using your vehicle for other services (such as furniture removal) then you’ll want to consider a Goods-in-Transit policy.

Goods-in-Transit Insurance

Goods-in-Transit will insure you in the event that the goods you’re transporting are stolen, lost or damaged while you’re moving them. CitySprint covers you for this while you’re working with them, but some other businesses may not, so if you’re going to be taking shifts from multiple job sources it’ll be worth thinking about.

Policies start from as little as £4 per week, but this does depend on the value of goods you’re typically transporting and whereabouts you’re delivering, so expect to pay a little more if you’re regularly carrying valuable product or driving around busy city centres.

How can I save money on my CitySprint Insurance?

Saving money on your CitySprint insurance is exactly the same as you would find trying to save money on other courier/delivery-related coverage.

You’ll also notice that your age and location have a strong impact on any quotes you receive, so expect to pay more if you’re living in/around a big city or are younger than some of your fellow delivery drivers.