What insurance and licensing does a food delivery courier need?
In the UK, a courier delivering for payment needs hire and reward insurance. Ordinary social, domestic and pleasure car or bike cover does not extend to carrying goods for a fee, and a claim made on the wrong policy is likely to be refused. Beyond that it depends on the vehicle and the goods.
By vehicle
Motorbike, scooter or car: a valid licence for the vehicle, MOT where applicable, road tax, and hire and reward insurance. This is the requirement most often missed, because riders assume their existing policy covers them.
Bicycle: no licence or motor insurance, but public liability cover is worth having and some operators require it.
By what is carried
Alcohol and other age-restricted goods carry their own rules, and the responsibility for lawful age verification at the door sits with whoever arranged the sale. Do not accept an age-restricted delivery unless you have been told how verification is meant to work.
Goods in transit insurance covers loss or damage to what you are carrying. It is separate from hire and reward, which covers your use of the vehicle.
The right to work
You must be legally entitled to work in the UK. Any operator worth joining will check this, and one that does not is telling you something about how it will treat you later.
Scorto verifies identity, right to work, and vehicle documents before a courier can accept anything, and requires those documents to stay current. It does not sell insurance and does not act as your insurer. Arranging correct cover is yours to do, and worth doing before you apply anywhere.