Car Insurance Groups

The amount you pay in car insurance premiums is a reflection of the risk the insurer thinks you pose.
One of the considerations an insurer will look at is the vehicle you are insuring, including its value, power and performance.

As such, every vehicle is designated a 1 to 50 rating based on which car insurance group or band they belong to.

Until January 2010, vehicles were grouped from 1 to 20. The old grouping system was replaced by a more comprehensive system that banded cars from 1 to 50, with one being the lowest and 50 being the highest and most expensive car insurance group.
Group 1 vehicles will tend to be cheaper, low-specification models with smaller engines. Conversely, Group 50 vehicles are high-end high-performance models like Aston Martins.

How car insurance group ratings are determined?

There are at least six factors that determine the insurance group of a car.
Insurers consider how much the vehicle would cost to repair in the event of a claim. They also consider how long it would take to repair, as the longer the repair takes, the higher the cost of labour will be.
Other factors include; the value of the vehicle brand new, the cost of parts for the vehicle, the performance of the vehicle and how secure the vehicle is against thieves.

It therefore stands to reason that vehicles in the lower end of the car insurance grouping system are ones which are secure, and cheap to run and repair.

Checking a vehicle's insurance group

Before buying a new vehicle it is probably worth checking which car insurance group it falls into before you buy, so that you can gauge an estimate of its premium - or at least whether it will be higher of lower than your current vehicle.

 

Reducing the cost of high insurance group cover

If the vehicle you drive falls into a higher car insurance category, there are still things you can do to lower the price of your insurance premium.

As with any insurance policy, there may be savings to be made by agreeing to a mileage limit with your insurer. A restriction on mileage will be seen as a limiting the chances you will make a claim by the insurer.

Driving in a conscientious and sensible manner will help you to build up a no-claims discount, and shopping around for your quote using our comparison tool will help you to find competitive quotes.