Hire and reward is the class of motor use that applies when you carry somebody else's goods, or somebody else, for payment. It is not an add on to an ordinary commercial van policy: it is a different use class, and a driver working a courier round on a policy rated for own goods is, in insurance terms, uninsured for the work. The distinction catches out a lot of people who started driving for a platform on the van they already owned.
The three use classes, plainly
Social, domestic and pleasure covers personal driving. Carriage of own goods covers a trade carrying its own tools and materials to its own jobs. Hire and reward covers carrying other people's goods or passengers for payment, which is what a courier, a same day driver, a food delivery rider and a taxi are doing. Motor insurance is compulsory under Part VI of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and a policy in the wrong use class does not satisfy it for that work.
What it does not include, and what people assume it does
Hire and reward is motor cover: it answers for the vehicle and for injury and damage to third parties. It does not cover the goods you are carrying. Damage to or loss of a customer's parcel is goods in transit cover, sometimes called carriage of goods, and it is a separate policy or section with its own limit per load and its own conditions about overnight security and unattended vehicles.
Courier work, platforms and the on and off hire problem
Platform work moves between logged in and logged out, and some insurers price that explicitly, with cover that varies by period in the way private hire policies do. A driver doing occasional multi drop work needs to know whether the policy covers the whole day or only while a job is accepted. Asking that question at quote is cheaper than discovering the answer after an accident between drops.
Operator licensing sits beside it
Carrying goods for hire and reward in larger vehicles brings goods vehicle operator licensing into play, with thresholds by weight, and since 2022 that has reached some vans used internationally. It is not an insurance requirement and it is a condition of doing the work lawfully, which an insurer will expect to have been met.
Questions people ask about hire and reward insurance
What does hire and reward insurance cover?
It is a motor use class covering the carriage of other people's goods, or passengers, for payment. It answers for the vehicle and for third party injury and damage while doing that work. It does not cover the goods being carried.
Do I need it for courier or food delivery work?
Yes. Carrying other people's goods for payment is hire and reward whatever the vehicle, and a policy rated for own goods or for social and domestic use does not cover it. Platform work is still hire and reward.
What is the difference between hire and reward and goods in transit?
Hire and reward is the motor use class permitting the work. Goods in transit covers the customer's goods against loss or damage while you carry them. Most couriers need both, and clients frequently require evidence of the second at a stated limit.
Does hire and reward cover passengers?
Carrying passengers for payment is its own branch of the class and brings private hire or taxi rating, with licensing requirements from the local authority. It is not the same product as a courier's goods cover and is not usually offered on the same policy.