A Guide To Car Insurance Groups and Their Meaning

When you’re still weighing up the pros and cons of buying a new car, it’s important to remember that other costs come with owning a car. The biggest one is your car insurance, which is a legal requirement if you want to drive a car in the UK. Whilst premiums can be expensive, there are ways to minimise the cost. One way to do that is to choose a car that is cheaper to insure. Depending on the car’s group rating, you may be able to pay less. Cars are categorised into car insurance groups by the Association of British Insurers. Here’s what you need to know about how this works. 

What are car insurance groups?

What does "group" mean in car insurance? Cars are rated based on their risk levels, and they may be given a group rating from 1 to 50. Other than the car itself, insurers also take into account your age, location, parking area, and driving experience, among others. Whilst insurers consider a number of factors when assessing a car’s group rating, you can keep the costs down by choosing a cheap-to-insure car from the start. 

Why are there car insurance groups?

Insurers started using car insurance groups as a tool to quote and set premiums efficiently back in the 1970s. The Association of British Insurers or ABI assess vehicles and determine how easy it will be to repair them and also estimate how much it will cost. The performance of the vehicles is also a factor in this assessment because it can be an indicator of how likely a particular car will be involved in an accident.  

What do car insurance groups mean?

Originally, the group ratings for car insurance groups were only from 1 to 20. However, by 2009, group ratings became broader, becoming 1 to 50. This means different trims of a certain model may get different ratings. If you get a car with a basic trim level, it will have a lower insurance rating, and it will be cheaper to insure that one with a higher trim level. Higher ratings also mean higher insurance premiums. 

How are car insurance groups determined?

The ABI collaborates with the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre in compiling the insurance classifications for vehicles in the UK. The research centre is more commonly known as Thatcham and not MIRRC, being that it’s located in the town of Thatcham, Berkshire. With these two organisations, studies are conducted to know how much damage different vehicles could sustain in the event of a collision. Along with this, they also find out how easy it would be to repair the vehicle and how much it would cost. Other factors also determine a car’s insurance group rating. 

Availability and Price of Parts

Thatcham makes use of a list comprising the most common car parts that get damaged to know how readily available those parts are, as well as their respective prices. 

Performance

ABI and Thatcham check the 0 to 62mph acceleration figure quoted by the car manufacturer and the car’s top speed. 

Estimated Cost of Repair

Low-speed crash tests with an impact of around 15km/h are performed by Thatcham so that their engineers can study the damage incurred, which parts need to be replaced, and the cost of the parts as well as labour to fix the vehicle and make it roadworthy again. 

Price Tag When New

The price tag of the car, when it is brand new, is also a factor. ABI and Thatcham use this in calculating the cost in the event of a settlement because the car has to be written off. 

Why some cars are cheaper to insure than others

How does the insurance group of a car impact the cost of the insurance? Generally, the higher the insurance group rating of your car, the more expensive your insurance premiums will be. If you want to have the most affordable insurance premiums, it’s important to choose a car with the lowest insurance group ratings. While this may sound simple, and on most occasions it is, you have to keep in mind that insurance companies are not bound to follow everything that is stated in the ABI guidelines. 

For example, a racer car and a practical car may have the same rating, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the racer car attracts a more expensive insurance premium. To be on the safe side, shop for cars belonging to insurance Group 1, such as the Hyundai i10, Nissan Micra, and Kia Picanto. You may want to stick to the basic trim level if your goal is to keep insurance costs down because the insurance group rating of a car is also determined by its trim level. 

How can you find the right insurance policy?

So, what should you consider when choosing insurance for your car based on the group? Before you choose an insurance policy for your car, it’s important to know what’s included in the cover. Take the time to read through the contract before signing anything. A good car insurance policy must cover windscreen repair or replacement, damage of personal belongings in the event of theft or fire, replacement of keys, guaranteed repairs by their approved automotive repairers, car rescue cover if your car breaks down, and a courtesy car if you need to proceed to your destination. 

Be sure that you watch out for accidental damage excess or the amount you need to pay if there’s a claim for accidental damage. A good car insurance policy shouldn’t charge more than £100 for this, although most may go up to £250. These days you often see a set excess fee, plus a voluntary excess on top - so make sure you look carefully at these to see what contribution you would need to make in the event of an accident. You can reduce the cost of the premium by increasing the voluntary excess, but make sure that is an amount you can easily find if needed! Try to find one with the lowest accidental damage excess cost for the annual premium.     

How to Check Car Insurance Group 

When shopping for a car, you may use an online car insurance group checker to find out the group rating of the car you want to buy. You can also check which cars belong to a certain car insurance group list and choose one that belongs to the group with the lowest rating if you want to have the most affordable insurance premiums. If you’re not sure which group is the cheapest insurance, the cars in Group 1 have the lowest cost for premiums. Your dealer is usually able to tell you the group your car is in if you ask them. 

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