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So, what are car insurance groups and how could they affect your insurance?

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It probably won't come as a surprise to learn that you'll pay more to insure a Ferrari than a Fiesta, but there are lots of different factors affecting your car insurance...

  • What is a car insurance group and how are they used to work out your premium?
  • Which group does your car fall in to and why?
  • How can you make sure your car insurance is as cheap as possible?

Every car is placed into an insurance group based on a few different factors...

What is a car insurance group?

Every private car in the UK is assessed and put into a 'Group' for car insurance purposes.

There are 50 different car insurance groups, with Group 1 usually being the cheapest to insure and Group 50 being the most expensive. Usually, cars in the higher groups are high performance models that are more expensive to repair.

Which group has the cheapest cars to insure?

Car insurance groups 1-10 are where you can expect to find lower premiums when it comes to insuring your vehicle. This is down to the lower cost of the cars, their smaller engines, cheaper repair costs and a relatively low likelihood of theft. That’s why cars in insurance groups 1-10 are popular among younger, less experienced drivers who want to keep their premiums as low as possible.

Which cars are in insurance group 1?

Here are a few examples...

Which cars are in insurance group 25?

Here are a few examples...

Which cars are in insurance group 50?

Here are a few examples...

The car insurance groups are set by the Group Rating Panel, which includes members of the Association of British Insurers and Lloyd's Market Association. Thatcham Research, the UK's automotive research centre, provides the panel with most of the information they use to establish the insurance group for every type of private car registered in the UK.

Insurance companies use the group ratings system, together with other information about your car, your personal details and driving history to work out the overall price of your car insurance.

Van insurance groups

Just as cars are put into insurance groups, vans have their own categorisation and specific van insurance groups, used when working out how much your van insurance  will cost. The insurance group your van falls into will depend on things like:

 

• The time and cost to repair
• Availability of parts
• Size of the engine
• Top speed and acceleration capability
• Weight of the vehicle
• Its safety and security features

 Electric car insurance groups

Actually, electric vehicles don’t have an EV-specific group used to calculate your electric car insurance. Instead, all electric cars are placed in an existing car insurance group between 1 and 50, like any other car. You might find some in the higher groups though, due to their value, repair costs and shortage of certain parts.

How does the group ratings system work?

There are several factors influencing the insurance group assigned to your car:

Damage and parts cost

The cost of spare parts is a major factor in pricing insurance for each car. The less likely a car is to be damaged and the lower the cost of repair, the more likely it is to be ranked lower down the group rating scale.

Repair times

The length of time it takes to repair a car and how complicated the repair is will also influence the cost of the repair and therefore the grouping.

Cost of a new car

The price of new cars is a factor as it can be a guide to the cost of replacement and repair.

Price of parts

A standard list is used to compare one manufacturer's parts with another. Lower costs can mean a lower group rating.

Performance

Fast acceleration and high speeds often result in more insurance claims, which is one reason why high performance cars are usually in the higher groups.

Safety

Cars with extra safety features, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking are less likely to be involved in low speed accidents, so this is taken into account.

Bumpers

Bumpers that meet the insurer's criteria receive a lower insurance ranking as their alignment and structure is important in reducing damage.

Security

Security features fitted as standard, such as alarm systems and wheel locks can help to reduce insurance claims and lower premiums.

Which car insurance group is my car in?

You can check which car insurance group your car belongs to with Thatcham Research. You need to log in to the My Vehicle page to access the information. This could be particularly useful when you're looking to buy a new or replacement car as it will give you some indication about the insurance costs.
 

What else affects the price of my insurance?

At LV= the overall price of your premium isn’t just determined by what type of car you drive, its insurance group or any optional extras. We also look at:

  • Your age and driving experience
  • Where you live
  • When and how far you drive
  • Your no claim discount
  • Previous claims and convictions
  • Insurance Premium Tax
  • Cost of labour
  • Increasing cost of personal injury claims
  • Other information about your car not used in the group rating process, such as fitment of different features.

Find out more about how we calculate the costs of your insurance premium.

How can I make my car insurance cheaper?

You could choose a car in a lower insurance group to reduce your insurance cost, but there are also plenty of other ways to reduce the cost of your car insurance. Want to know more? Take a look through our smart tips for buying cheaper car insurance and the cheapest cars to insure.