Standard vehicle insurance does not cover you while you are carrying goods for payment. Most drivers find this out at the worst possible moment: when a claim is refused, or when a platform rejects their application because the policy on file is the wrong type.
This guide covers what cover you actually need, what it costs by vehicle, which UK providers are worth comparing, which platforms include cover so the cost never reaches you, and the changes that genuinely reduce the bill.
What insurance do delivery drivers actually need?
Hire and reward insurance
Hire and reward insurance is the policy most delivery drivers need. It covers you commercially while you are carrying goods for payment. Standard personal vehicle insurance explicitly excludes that use, and the exclusion is written into almost every personal policy.
Hire and reward cover applies during active delivery work: third-party liability while you are on a delivery run, and on some policies goods in transit. It does not cover you off duty. Your standard vehicle insurance continues to cover all your non-commercial driving, and the two policies sit alongside each other rather than replacing one another.
Public liability cover for cyclists
Cyclists and e-bike couriers need public liability cover rather than hire and reward. It covers third-party claims arising from your work, including injury to someone else or damage to their property during a delivery. It costs a fraction of motor cover and does not require a linked motor policy, which is the main reason cycling is the cheapest way into food delivery work.
Food delivery car insurance is not a separate product
One phrase causes more confusion than any other. "Food delivery car insurance" is not its own product. It is hire and reward insurance for a car used on food delivery work. The policy type is identical whether you are carrying parcels for Evri or takeaways for Just Eat. Some providers market it with food-specific branding, but the underlying cover is the same.
What delivery driver insurance costs by vehicle
What you pay depends mostly on your vehicle and how many hours a week you work. These are realistic ranges at current UK market rates.
| Vehicle | Annual policy | Pay as you go |
|---|---|---|
| Bicycle or e-bike | £50 to £200 a year (public liability) | Not applicable |
| Moped or scooter | £400 to £900 a year | £1 to £3 a day |
| Car (food delivery) | £800 to £1,800 a year | £1 to £4 a day |
| Car (parcel delivery) | £900 to £2,500 a year | £1 to £4 a day |
| Van | £1,200 to £4,000 a year | £2 to £6 a day |
For a car driver, the working figure to plan around is £800 to £1,500 a year, which is the band we use across the site and where most full-time car couriers land. Spread across roughly 260 working days that is about £3 to £6 a working day: a standing overhead that comes straight off your net hourly rate on any platform that does not provide cover.
High-mileage parcel work in a dense urban postcode can push past the top of that band, which is why the parcel row above runs higher than the food delivery row. The spread within every range is wide because insurers price on postcode, annual mileage, vehicle age and claims history. Drivers in London and the larger cities pay materially more than drivers in lower-density areas.
UK providers worth comparing
Several UK providers specialise in delivery driver cover. These are the ones worth putting side by side.
Zego
One of the largest pay-as-you-go providers in the UK, covering cars, vans, mopeds and bicycles for both food and parcel work. Zego also offers telematics-based pricing, where part of your premium is set by your actual driving behaviour rather than your profile alone.
INSHUR
Offers both annual and flexible policies, with strong coverage of the food delivery platforms including Uber Eats. Pay-as-you-go is available if you are not ready to commit to an annual premium.
Veygo
Pay-as-you-go hire and reward cover for cars, with no long-term commitment. Frequently chosen by new drivers for the speed of sign-up.
Markel
More traditional annual policies, generally used by higher-mileage parcel and van couriers who want a fixed premium and a conventional insurance structure.
Whichever you land on, compare again at renewal rather than letting the policy roll over. Your existing insurer has no incentive to lead with its best price, and this market moves quickly enough that a year-old quote is rarely still competitive.
Platforms that include cover, and platforms where you pay
This is the variable that changes the net earnings picture more than most comparisons acknowledge.
Platforms that include cover
Evri has an arrangement with Marsh Insurance providing daily top-up cover at £1.35 per working day, charged only on the days you actually work. It covers third-party liability during active deliveries, so you do not need a separate hire and reward policy. Across roughly 260 working days that is about £350 a year, well under a standalone annual car policy. Our delivery driver pay guide sets out how Evri pay works alongside it.
Amazon Flex provides commercial insurance during active delivery blocks. You are covered for hire and reward purposes while you are working a booked block. Outside blocks, driving to the delivery station or heading home, your own standard vehicle insurance applies. No separate hire and reward policy is needed.
Platforms where insurance is your cost
Just Eat, Uber Eats, DPD Connect and Deliveroo all require you to arrange your own hire and reward cover before your first shift. That is a standing cost regardless of how many hours you end up working in a given week.
For a car driver paying £1,200 a year, that is roughly £4.60 off every working day. It is one of the less-discussed reasons Amazon Flex and Evri often produce better net figures than their headline rates suggest, even against a food platform advertising the same gross hourly rate. The platform-by-platform comparison puts those net differences next to each other.
Annual policy or pay as you go?
The answer depends entirely on how many days a week you plan to work, and the arithmetic is simple enough to do yourself.
Take your annual premium and divide it by the number of days you expect to work in a year. Compare that against the daily rate you can get from the same or a competing provider.
- An annual premium of £1,200 across 260 working days is £4.62 a day.
- Pay-as-you-go car cover runs £1 to £4 a day.
At five days a week, annual cover almost always wins. At one or two days a week it rarely does: the same £1,000 policy spread over roughly 100 working days costs nearly £10 a day, against £2 to £3 for daily cover.
One thing to watch is that drivers who start part-time often scale up. If your working pattern changes, reassess the policy type at that point rather than carrying on with an assumption that no longer fits.
What pushes your premium up or down
Postcode. Urban areas with heavier traffic and higher vehicle theft rates carry higher premiums. London drivers pay noticeably more than drivers in lower-density areas.
Annual mileage. Higher mileage costs more. Declare it accurately, because understating it can invalidate a claim.
Vehicle age and value. Older vehicles with lower market values usually attract lower comprehensive premiums. Safety rating and engine size also feed into the price.
Claims history. A clean record with no at-fault claims produces the best quotes. Most providers offer no-claims discounts, so ask about them explicitly when you compare.
The use you declare. Declare both personal and commercial use. A policy covering only personal use excludes delivery work entirely, and getting this wrong does not simply raise your premium, it voids your cover when you need it.
Telematics. Zego and some others price partly on your recorded driving. If you drive carefully, that can come in meaningfully below a standard policy.
How to cut what you pay
Work platforms that include cover. Evri and Amazon Flex remove the hire and reward cost entirely. Plenty of UK drivers run one of them as their base income for exactly that reason.
Compare at every renewal. Do not auto-renew. Working through fresh quotes takes under an hour and is the single highest-value hour you will spend on your running costs all year.
Try telematics if your record is clean. If your claims history is clear and your driving is measured, behaviour-based pricing can beat a standard policy.
Match the policy to your hours. Pay as you go and annual cover suit genuinely different working patterns. Revisit which is cheaper each time your weekly hours shift.
Declare mileage accurately. Overstating it is money thrown away. Track it properly and declare what you actually cover.
Delivery driver insurance FAQs
Do I need special insurance to deliver for Uber Eats or Just Eat?
Yes. Both require hire and reward insurance before your first delivery. Standard personal car or moped insurance does not cover food delivery work. Arrange it separately through a provider such as Zego, INSHUR or Veygo before you go live on the platform.
How much is insurance for an Evri courier?
Evri couriers do not need a separate hire and reward policy. Evri provides daily top-up cover through Marsh Insurance at £1.35 per working day. You still need standard vehicle insurance for your non-delivery driving, but the commercial element is handled while you are on shift.
Is food delivery car insurance the same as hire and reward insurance?
Yes. "Food delivery car insurance" is hire and reward insurance for a car used on food delivery work. The cover is the same whether you carry parcels or takeaways. Some providers use food-specific branding, but there is no separate product behind it.
Can I use pay-as-you-go insurance for delivery driving?
Yes. Zego, INSHUR and Veygo all offer daily cover that activates when you start a shift. It suits part-time drivers well. At three or more days a week, an annual policy usually works out cheaper per day.
Does Amazon Flex insurance cover me outside delivery blocks?
No. Amazon Flex provides commercial insurance only during active blocks. Driving to the delivery station, sitting in a gap between blocks, or heading home, your own standard vehicle insurance covers you. You do not need to add hire and reward cover for Flex, but your personal policy must be in force at all times.
What happens if I deliver without hire and reward insurance?
Your insurer can decline any claim arising from that delivery, including third-party injury or property damage, leaving you personally liable for the full cost. Most platforms also check your insurance documents before releasing shifts, so in practice working without cover usually just locks you out of the work.
Find delivery work that fits your vehicle and your cover
One free profile lets you apply across Evri, Amazon Flex, DPD Connect, Just Eat, Stuart and 5,000+ other delivery networks in the UK, so you can pick the platforms whose insurance arrangements suit your situation. New to this? Start with the complete guide to becoming a delivery driver.
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