What each platform insures, and what it leaves to you
Several apps give you free accident cover, and some pay out when you are ill or have a baby. None of them insures your car. Here is what each platform provides, when it applies, and the policy you still have to buy yourself.
Correct for the 2026/27 tax year. Last checked 29/09/2026.
There are two kinds of insurance in delivery work and drivers regularly confuse them. Motor insurance covers the vehicle and the damage it does to other people and their property; that is the law, and it is always yours to buy. Personal cover pays you if you are hurt, ill or off work; that is what some platforms give away. A free policy from an app does not make your car legal to deliver in.
Side by side
| Platform | Free cover it provides | When it applies | Motor cover you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deliveroo | Personal accident; accident and illness earnings support; new parent payment; public liability | Accident cover from accepting to 15 minutes after the order; illness cover for eligible riders | Car or scooter: SD&P plus food delivery or hire and reward |
| Uber Eats and Uber | Partner Protection from Allianz: accident, sickness, new child, jury service | On trip, plus 15 minutes; off trip for active partners | Car or motorbike: courier or private hire cover |
| Stuart | StuProtect through Onsi: accident, illness earnings protection, GP, physio, counselling | Accident cover during a delivery and 30 minutes after | Motor vehicle: hire and reward, Stuart named as work provider |
| Evri | None free; third-party top-up at £1.35 a day; Evri Plus can buy accident and sickness cover | Days you work for Evri | Car or van: cover for courier work |
| Freenow | Accident and sickness, parental and bereavement cover through Onsi for black cab drivers | As set by the policy | Taxi or private hire cover |
| Just Eat | None published | Not applicable | Car: cover for food delivery |
| Amazon Flex | None | Not applicable | Car: hire and reward plus SD&P; e-bike: public liability and personal accident |
SD&P is social, domestic and pleasure: ordinary private use. Each platform page linked below has the eligibility rules in full.
The accident cover: when the clock runs
Most of the free cover is tied to an order. Deliveroo and Uber cover you from the moment you accept until 15 minutes after the job ends; Stuart until 30 minutes after. An accident while you are online but between orders, or driving home at the end of a shift, may fall outside it. Deliveroo's public liability covers cyclists all the time, but car and scooter riders only while walking to a pick-up or drop-off, because their motor policy is meant to cover the rest.
Sickness and new parent payments
| Platform | Who qualifies | What it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Deliveroo | 30 deliveries in the 8 weeks before | 75% of average daily earnings, up to £50 a day, for up to 30 days, after a 7-day wait |
| Uber Eats | 90 deliveries in the previous 8 weeks | A daily payment from day 8 for up to 15 days |
| Uber | 150 trips in the previous 8 weeks | A daily payment from day 8 for up to 15 days |
| Deliveroo new parent | First delivery 41 weeks before the birth; a set number of deliveries in the last 6 months | £250, £500 or £1,000, once a year |
Both Deliveroo and Uber limit sickness claims to two in any 12 months, and neither pays for a week or less off. These are safety nets, not sick pay, and they are worth knowing about mainly so you claim when you qualify.
The motor policy is the one that matters
Delivering on a policy that does not cover it is driving uninsured. If you have an accident, the insurer can refuse the claim, recover what it paid a third party from you, and you can be prosecuted. Just Eat lists driving without business insurance as a reason to revoke an account, and Stuart refuses an insurance update that does not show hire and reward.
Your policy has to name the kind of work (food delivery, courier, or passengers) and often the platforms. A policy for food delivery does not cover parcels, and neither covers carrying passengers. If you add an app, check your policy still fits. Hire and reward against courier and food delivery cover explains the policy types, and claiming on the wrong policy what happens if you get it wrong.
Pay-as-you-go policies and multi-apping
Pay-as-you-go cover, such as Zego's integration with Deliveroo or Inshur's hourly Amazon Flex cover, charges only while you are online or on a block. That is efficient for a few hours a week. It also means the cover follows the app. Run two apps and make sure your policy covers both, or you have hours on the road where one of them has no cover at all.
Tax
Motor insurance for the work is a business cost, but only if you claim actual vehicle costs: the mileage rate of 55p a mile already includes insurance, so it cannot be claimed twice. Cover that is not about the vehicle, such as Evri's daily third-party top-up or a public liability policy for an e-bike, is claimable whichever method you use.
Sources
Common questions
- Do delivery apps insure my car?
- No. None of the big platforms provides motor insurance for your own car or scooter. You need an ordinary policy plus hire and reward or food delivery cover, and the free cover the apps offer is personal accident and liability cover on top of that.
- Which delivery apps pay you when you are ill?
- Deliveroo and Uber both have schemes for eligible riders and drivers who are off for more than seven days, Stuart offers earnings protection through Onsi, and Evri Plus couriers can buy accident and sickness cover. Just Eat and Amazon Flex publish no equivalent.
- Am I covered by one app while working on another?
- No. Each platform's cover applies to its own orders, usually from accepting a job until shortly after it ends. An accident during an Uber Eats delivery is not a Deliveroo claim, even if the Deliveroo app was open.
- Is pay-as-you-go delivery insurance a good idea?
- For a few hours a week it is often cheaper than a full-time policy. Some are integrated with the apps so you pay only while online, which means the cover stops when the app is off, and the gaps between apps matter if you multi-app.
About the author
Issac Davies, Founder of JoltMile
Issac Davies drives for gig apps in the UK and built JoltMile to show drivers what a shift actually pays once fuel, insurance and tax come off. Every guide here is checked against HMRC and gov.uk guidance, and is information rather than tax advice.
Track this automatically
The JoltMile app works this out from your own shifts, and keeps the figures ready for Self Assessment. Your first 10 shifts are free.
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