This is the single most common thing new delivery drivers get wrong — and it’s the one that can actually get you in real legal and financial trouble, so it’s worth reading properly rather than skimming.
Why your normal car insurance doesn’t cover this
Standard car insurance — even a policy with “business use” added — is built around driving to and between places of work. It is not built around being paid to carry goods or passengers from one place to another as the actual activity. The moment you accept payment for delivering food, parcels, or people, you move into a category insurers call “hire and reward” — and a standard policy will usually exclude it entirely.
That means if you have an accident while working under a standard policy, your insurer can legally refuse to pay out — for damage to your own car, the other party’s car, or any injury claim. This isn’t a technicality that rarely comes up; it’s one of the most common reasons delivery drivers get denied claims.
What “hire and reward” cover actually is
Hire and reward insurance (sometimes sold as “courier insurance” or “food delivery insurance”) is cover specifically written for the fact that you’re being paid to transport something. It sits on top of ordinary car insurance — you still need a valid policy, but with hire and reward cover added or included, you’re actually protected while working.
Some platforms (check the specific terms for whichever you’re joining) require you to show proof of hire and reward cover before you can go online and start accepting jobs. Others don’t check upfront but will still leave you personally liable if something goes wrong and you weren’t properly covered — so “they didn’t ask for it” is not the same as “you don’t need it.”
What it typically covers
- Driving to make deliveries or carry passengers for payment
- Waiting between drop-offs while logged into a delivery app
- Carrying the goods themselves (though goods-in-transit cover for the actual parcels/food is sometimes a separate add-on — check the policy wording)
Where to get it
Three realistic routes:
- Add hire and reward as an extension to an existing annual policy, if your insurer offers it — often the cheapest option if you already have a policy you’re happy with.
- A dedicated food delivery / courier insurance policy from an insurer that specialises in this — several UK insurers now offer exactly this product, priced for gig-economy delivery work specifically.
- Pay-as-you-go / hourly delivery cover — some newer insurance products let you switch hire and reward cover on only while you’re actually working a shift, which can work out cheaper if you don’t drive for a platform every day.
Get quotes from more than one before committing — pricing varies a lot based on your vehicle, driving history, and which platforms you’re working for, and it’s genuinely worth the ten minutes to compare.
Questions worth asking any insurer before you buy
- Does this cover apply automatically whenever I’m logged into the app, or only during an active delivery?
- Is there a separate excess for hire-and-reward claims vs. standard claims?
- Does it cover me across every platform I might work for, or just the one I named on the application?
- Is goods-in-transit cover included, or is that a separate add-on?
This is general information, not financial or insurance advice — always check a specific policy’s terms before relying on it, and confirm directly with your platform(s) what cover they require.