Car insurance groups explained

If you are budgeting for a new car, it is a good idea to consider the cost of insurance and factors that affect the overall cost of the car. It is important to find out which car insurance groups you are trying to fit into. A small tweak in the selection of your car could save you a lot of money in insurance premiums over the life of your vehicle. Just because you might think the car is boring doesn’t mean it’s cheap to insure!



Cars are rated in groups from 1 to 50. These numbers are determined by the Insurance Group Rating Panel which estimates the risk you incur with the type of car you will be driving. The lower the number your model of car is in, the lower your insurance premium will be. By listing a certain vehicle within a car insurance group, buyers can budget for their long term costs by getting a rough idea of how steep their premiums are likely to be.



Repair costs are the strongest consideration by the panel because repairs account for more than half of the money paid out on claims. However, there are several other factors to consider too. The price of a new car is also taken into account as it is often indicative of the cost of a replacement model. Another factor considered in car insurance grouping is security, clearly the higher the standard security features on a car, the less likely it is to be stolen.

It often comes as surprise that plain-looking cars are in high-priced car insurance groups. The reason for this is that the cost of repair is usually relatively high in comparison to its price and cheap cars are stolen more often than other cars. They are simply much easier to blend in with than expensive cars hence more difficult to recover. The performance of the car can affect the group rating as insurers know from experience that faster or more powerful cars can increase the likelihood of a car insurance claim.



Generally we have a fairly good idea about the value and performance of the vehicle we want to purchase. But to get a clear picture it is best to check with reliable sources. A range of established and impartial motoring services offer easy to use online databases that give you an exact group rating for the make and model of the car you own or are considering buying. Do some research on the costs of insuring, before even considering buying a new car.



You must remember that alongside servicing and road tax, insurance can be one of the biggest purchases you make for a car each year. Therefore, it is important to know the insurance group rating as part of your search for a good deal on cover for your car.