Insurance Groups Explained

In the UK, cars are assigned to different insurance groups ranging from 1-50. These numbers relate to how much the car costs to insure: cars in the higher group numbers are more expensive to insure, while those in the lower group numbers are the cheapest to insure. Typically, higher-performance cars are at the top end of the scale, with inexpensive, smaller-sized vehicles often falling into groups 1-10. Groupings can vary by model and depend on factors like trim, engine size and extras.

Insurers use research on their claims to decide which cars will fall into each grouping – that’s why your annual premium can vary so much. Over half of the money paid out from motor insurance claims goes towards repair costs, so this is a major factor when deciding the rating for a particular model. They’ll also use other indicators, such as the vehicle’s performance, security and safety measures. The Association of British Insurers Group Rating Panel, administered by Thatcham Research, meets monthly to decide on the insurance group rating of new cars.

Insurance groups in the UK are used by insurers to help decide what premiums should be paid on different cars. When the Group Rating Panel meets to discuss an insurance grouping for a new car, they’ll take into account various considerations. These include:

You’ll normally see an insurance group rating when looking at the specifications of your car from the manufacturer. There are also plenty of online resources that help you find out your car’s insurance group rating. If you’re looking for an insurance group prices table, Parkers, MoneySuperMarket and Comparethemarket all provide car insurance group check tools.

It’s always worth checking the insurance group of a car before you buy – especially if you’re keen on keeping running costs as low as possible. Try comparing the insurance grouping of two or more vehicles before committing to your purchase, just to get a feel for what sort of cars fall into which groups.

If you’re a young or inexperienced driver in particular, a car with a lower insurance group rating could help you save significantly on your insurance costs. Insurance group 1 cars would be a good choice to get the lowest possible premium. This is because other factors that affect your insurance price such as age, driving experience and previous accidents also factor into your price. Your insurance grouping could make it considerably more expensive compared with drivers who have the benefit of a no-claims bonus to help reduce their premium. So, to keep costs low, it’s worth knowing which cars are in the lowest insurance groups.

Popular models with an insurance group of 0-5 include:

Not surprisingly, more expensive, higher-performance cars usually have the highest insurance groupings. If your insurance costs are already going to push your budget, a car in the highest range of groupings may not be right for you.
Examples of models in insurance groups 46-50 include:

When deciding on your new motor, make sure you take a look at the insurance group rating – this way, you can try to avoid any nasty surprises in your insurance costs. A top-of-the-range performance motor might be quite the temptation, but this will usually mean a high insurance grouping and higher premiums.