What is Amazon Flex Insurance?

What is Amazon Flex Insurance?

It’s safe to say that while 2020 was a tough year for many industries, eCommerce and the home delivery market has flourished. Amazon’s earnings in Q3 this year increased a whopping 37% compared to Q3 of 2019, and with more people than ever considering using their vehicles to generate extra income, you may be thinking about picking up some extra work with them.

When thinking about Amazon Flex UK insurance, you may be wondering what you’ll need to get started, and for what exactly you are and aren't covered—delivery driving is a risky business after all, and you may have already found finding quotes online difficult as larger insurers sometimes shy away from offering policies.

We've put together a guide on how much you can expect to earn while driving for Amazon Flex UK, well worth a read if you're wondering whether or not it's worth it.

This article will cover everything you need to know regarding Amazon Flex insurance here—naturally starting with your Hire and Reward Courier Car insurance. Our partners at QuoteZone work with a number of courier insurance businesses, so if you might like to know what a policy could look like for you fill out a quote form, and they’ll put you in touch with insurers who specialise in protecting delivery drivers and couriers.

Note: wording on the Flex website is extremely unclear—we've reached out to Amazon multiple times for comment on various key questions. The terms of service we referenced from is a copy of the 2017-2018 contract—we've contacted Amazon to request an updated copy.

What Insurance Do I Need To Drive For Amazon?

All Amazon Flex drivers will need a form of commercial insurance to cover their delivery driving, typically referred to as hire & reward. It’s a legal requirement to have this in the UK for a motorist paid to make deliveries. While Amazon may provide this hire & reward cover while on the job (e.g. via 'Amazon Flex') it's critical to ensure you have this cover, as well as social, domestic and pleasure (SD&P) insurance for personal driving (including 'commuting' cover to protect the drive to the depot and back home again at the end of your shift).

Flex’s FAQ’s have a clear (but extremely short) answer to the question about what insurance you’ll need—either “Business Class 3 or Commercial” Vehicle insurance.

The definition of Business Class 3 can vary—many define it as being designed for someone travelling between business locations (i.e. office to office, not from a depot to somebody’s home with multiple stops along the way), so please be sure that your SD&P business use provider is happy for you to drive with Flex—many insurers simply don't cover vehicles used for any form of courier work, so don't be surprised if you're turned away (even if Amazon is technically covering the delivery driving.)

Having a commercial insurance policy with hire & reward, on the other hand, is much less likely to cause confusion—but it's expensive and not everyone will need their own hire & reward policy. But if you are signed up to a commercial car policy (e.g. because you do other courier work), and have specified you’ll be working as a courier, then you should be good to go—your provider should have included your hire & reward cover within your policy assuming you've been clear about what you'll be doing. Claims should still go to Amazon if an accident occurred while you were driving with Flex, of course. (Most drivers will rely on Amazon's hire & reward, and not have their own hire & reward, however, unless they are doing delivery driving for another company or were not eligible for Amazon's cover.)

If looking for your own hire & reward, be cautious of “pay-as-you-go”/”top-up” providers like Zego. Some of these policies will only cover you while you're working, and many SD&P providers do not allow their customers to double-up on coverage. You may risk voiding your SD&P coverage if your insurer doesn't accept PAYG coverage as valid, so be sure to confirm with your vehicle insurance provider that they're happy for you to work for Flex with business use/commercial cover from Zego.

If you have any doubts, we've put together a list of the UK's largest car insurance businesses that do/don't accept top-up coverage as valid.

Once your personal insurance is sorted, you may be wondering what insurances Amazon provides for its drivers. The good news is that Amazon Flex’s insurance policy is actually one of the best on the market, and doesn’t cost its drivers a penny.

What Do I Need For Amazon Flex Insurance?

Amazon’s Flex insurance policy seems to be fairly simple, but it can be difficult to get a definitive answer online. The Amazon Flex Terms of Service do however give us the answers we’re looking for.

Firstly, Amazon is clear that you must hold adequate insurance before driving for them, and be able to present proof upon request. While this isn’t surprising (driving without valid insurance is illegal) they are clear that you are not eligible for Amazon’s Flex insurance if you don’t hold an appropriate policy—meaning if you are involved in an incident while driving for Amazon, and not sufficiently insured, you won’t be covered.

There are a few more requirements you must meet before being eligible for Flex insurance:

If you don’t meet these criteria, it doesn’t mean you aren’t eligible to work with Flex entirely—just that you’ll need to sort out your own hire & reward policy to be able to work—but keep in mind that Amazon may not hire you in the first place if you don’t satisfy the requirements.

What Am I Covered For By Amazon Flex Insurance?

It’s important to understand how Amazon defines when you are and aren’t working for them—your coverage starts when you arrive at the depot to collect packages from them, and ends either when you successfully finish your final delivery or when you’ve returned to the depot to return any undelivered goods. If an accident occurs in between these times, then you’re covered by Amazon.

Amazon Flex insurance doesn’t seem to cover the commute between home to depot and last delivery to home, so a driver should ensure they’ve declared and paid for commuting with their SD&P provider.

If an accident occurs and there’s another vehicle involved, Amazon should take care of damages to the other vehicle—provided you still meet the criteria for Amazon's coverage (held your own qualifying vehicle insurance policy, were 'on the clock' for Amazon).

There is some confusion as to the "doubling up" of your insurances here—we've reached out to Amazon Flex for comment regarding if and when a driver's own Hire and Reward coverage might be required for claims. They've yet to respond as of writing.

What Am I Not Covered For By Amazon Flex Insurance?

The Terms of Service are fairly clear here—if you aren't in the process of completing work for Amazon (either delivering parcels or returning undelivered goods to the depot) then you aren't covered by their policy. Considering what you are covered for (and the fact that it's free) it's hard to complain.

There’s an additional point to note with not being covered for SD&P—if you deviate from your Amazon route (for example to run a personal errand or complete a task for another business) then you will not be covered, so keep this in mind if you’re delivering packages and considering picking something up from the shop or completing a delivery for another company.

Why do I need my own Business Use Class 3/Commercial Insurance policy if I'm covered by Amazon Flex?

Apart from the fact that it's a requirement of signing up to drive for Flex, many SD&P insurers will not cover drivers who work as couriers or delivery drivers due to the additional risks they're exposed to. This could create tricky circumstances for drivers (and potentially Amazon) if a driver has their coverage voided as a result of driving for Amazon.

As a result, Amazon insists all drivers hold the appropriate cover, even though Amazon covers them while on the clock. This means that you should remain covered at all times, irrespective of whether or not you're driving for Amazon.

FAQ's

Where can I find Amazon Flex jobs?

Download the Amazon Flex app UK to see whether or not Amazon is hiring for drivers near you.

What's the best Amazon Flex UK forum for drivers?

As a Flex driver you have a few choices to communicate with your fellow Amazon Flex UK drivers—try the Flex section of UberPeople or the subreddit r/AmazonFlexDrivers.

Where can I find the Amazon Flex app download?

Click here and it'll take you through the process (works on both both iOs and Android!). Otherwise, it should be in the store of any up-to-date iOS or Android device.

Working for Amazon Flex London

Working for Amazon Flex London can be extremely lucrative—but do keep in mind that your insurance costs will be considerably higher than the rest of the country due to the additional risk of accident.

What Next?

If you are thinking of working for Amazon (or other delivery/courier businesses) check out our full guide to Courier insurance to learn more about the different coverages that can protect you, your vehicle and your packages while you’re on the move.

Our guides to the likes of Uber, Deliveroo, JustEat, and UberEats may also prove useful if you’re considering using your vehicle for more than just Amazon.

And finally, if you’re ready to become a Flex driver and want to get your insurance sorted, our partners at QuoteZone can help you get started— just fill out a quote form and they’ll help you gather quotes from a number of the UK’s leading delivery driver insurers.