Wisconsin Taxi Insurance: It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know

Finding the right broker to handle your Wisconsin Taxi Insurance is vital. Besides the fact that we’ve been one of the leading providers for those who need Wisconsin Taxi Insurance, we give you more than just an insurance policy.

Currently, we insure over 100 vehicles that require Wisconsin Taxi Insurance and because we have been working with both fleets and individual owner/operators for over 35 years, we have created an easy to use online portal for our customers to service their policies 24/7.

We also provide you with a live, customer service rep dedicated to servicing your policy and answering coverage questions during regular business hours. Choosing us as your broker means choosing a well-educated partner who truly understands your business.

Our goal is to keep your vehicles on the road, and your Wisconsin Taxi Insurance active

Aaron Schloemer from Northwoods Cab, LLC in Wasuau, WI has a fleet of about 15 taxi’s on the road. He has been a client of ours since 2015 and says that our online portal helps him to run his business.  Some brokers will require you to send changes to them via email or fax in writing. Then you’ll have to wait days for an approval or ID card. But our portal allows you to make these changes in an instant. Transportation companies often need replacement ID Cards in the middle of the night, need to change out a vehicle at a moment’s notice and switch drivers on their policies with little time to spare.

“We use the online portal and it work’s like a charm. It really helps us. When a cab breaks down, we can go on the portal and easily take it off and put it back on. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night. Another great thing is being able to add drivers 24 hours per day. It’s easy to use and we use it as a point of reference many times. Say we want to make sure a cab is on, we can log into the portal and make sure it’s there. It makes it a lot easier to run the company having a 24/7 portal.”

Schloemer started Northwoods Cab, LLC about 4 1/2 years ago. He started out in the taxi industry the way many others do, by working for another local cab company in town. After gaining experience and traction, he originally started the business further north in Tomahawk, WI. Soon after, he transferred the business into the Wausau area where they currently service about 6,000 calls/trips per month.

Keeping up with the competition

Although Uber has a presence in his area, he says they haven’t affected his business too much because he is able to keep his prices low enough, where riding with him is cheaper than in an Uber. One way he has been able to keep prices down is by hiring his drivers as independent contractors. He pays them 70% of the sales per day, and charges a weekly lease fee.

“A lot of taxi cab companies that have contractors pay 50%, and that isn’t enough to have the drivers stay, pay their bills and make a good income,” Schloemer said.

Some people get into the business to become their own boss and they think it will be easy to run once the basics are set up – obtaining Wisconsin taxi insurance, hiring and training drivers as well as holding monthly safety meetings. But, it isn’t always as easy as it seems.

“Don’t do it if you don’t love people and hard work. Don’t do it if you don’t know how to make decisions and handle problems. Because you are going to have problems every day,” Schloemer shared.

Day to day in the taxi business

While operating a taxi company may seem easy enough, there are daily challenges Schloemer faces that he says others should be aware of before starting out in the industry.

“The hardest thing is maintaining the fleet. The vehicles do get beat up pretty quick. It’s essential to our business that we have at least 10 cars on standby, ready to go, in case one should break down.”

Many people would not think of owning and operating at taxi company as a public service. But Schloemer considers it just that.

“Taking care of people and helping people do tasks they might not otherwise be able to get done,” is one of the benefits Schloemer says he enjoys about owning a taxi company. “Without us, they might not be able to get to their job on time or make it to their dialysis appointment,” he said.

How much insurance do I need?

How much insurance you need to purchase will depend on the type of transportation business you have, and where you are operating. Most limousines, black car or private car service business are overseen by the WI DOT and depending on their seating capacities, determine the limit of insurance that is needed.

Insurance limit requirements for limo and black cars with seating capacities (including driver) listed below:

• 8 or less require $300,000
• 15 or less require $1,500,000
• 16 or more require $5,000,000

While Limo and black car limits are more straightforward, Wisconsin Taxi Insurance limits vary by municipality. Below are some of the requirements for Wisconsin taxi insurance by city:

• Madison, WI – $1,000,000
• Manitowoc, WI
• Menomonie, WI – $1,000,000
• Milwaukee, WI – $50,000/100,000/10,000
• Sheboygan, WI – $100,000/300,000/100,000
• Superior, WI – $500,000

Above are just some of the state specific requirements. Don’t see what you are looking for? Contact us as we are the Wisconsin taxi insurance experts and know exactly where to find this information so you don’t have to!

We would love to bring down the cost of your current  policy! Request a quote online by clicking here: https://abiweb.com/services/taxicab-insurance/

You can also call us at (800) 980-1950 ext. 4