Car Insurance Groups
You've heard it before - cars in a lower insurance group are cheaper to insure. But why? Well first you need to know that there are 50 insurance groups (Group 1 -20) at the moment and cars falling into Group 1 attract the cheapest insurance premiums. Note that before there used to be only Groups 1-20 but this has now been changed.
The panel which decides which insurance group a car should be classified under use research data from Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Repair Centre. With this information at hand, cars are then listed under their specific groups and most insurers will use this information when they calculate your premiums.
Most of the money paid out during a claim goes towards repairing the vehicle and this is why repair cost is a very important factor in the classification of insurance groups. Below is a list of factors which are taken into account when assigning a car to an insurance group:
Repair Costs
This includes the costs of parts to be replaced, the type of labour required and the time it's going to take to make all the necessary repairs. For instance, a plastic bumper can easily be replaced but a bumper with metallic paint finish will take more time to repair and will require a professional to do the work.
Engine Power
The more power you can get from the engine, the faster you can go. However the performance of your car can be a negative factor too as increasing speed has been statistically proven to result in more accident claims.
Security Features
If the vehicle has good security features like engine immobilisation systems/alarms, then it becomes a good candidate for a lower insurance group as this makes stealing more difficult and recovery easier.
Which car insurance group does my car belong to?
If you want to know the insurance group of your car, then you can go to the websites listed below to find out. All you need to do is enter the make and model of your car:
It is best to check the insurance group prior to buying a car so that you have an idea of how much you can expect to pay in premiums otherwise car insurance quotes can come as a really big nasty surprise.
15 Replies
What insurance group is a citroen c4 2.0 hdi?
Can you tell me?
[Migrated from previous topic 11370 dated 03 Sep 2010]
There's a link on this article (at the top) which allows you to select your make/model and it tells you the current group for your car. Have you tried it? If you having trouble locating your car, then let me know and I'll get the information for you.
[Migrated from previous post 1222 dated 04 Sep 2010]
Insurance group for a volvo amazon? (a volvo 122, 123)
Hi, do you know the insurance group for a volvo amazon? (a volvo 122, 123) Thanks a lot, Red New driver
[Migrated from previous topic 11097 dated 30 May 2010]
Just had a quick look on Parkers but I couldn't find either the 122/123 model. You can try Thatcham Insurance Group but you're going to have to register on their site. Volvo Amazon is a classic car and the insurance is most likely to be high for a new driver. Was it passed on to you?
[Migrated from previous post 969 dated 02 Jun 2010]
How to know which insurance group a car falls under?
How do you know what insurance group a particular car falls under, such as group 1 or 3? This could be very helpful in determining what type of car to purchase for a 18 year old with a clean driving record.
[Migrated from previous topic 10381 dated 26 Mar 2009]
If you know the make and model of the car, then you can use the link in the article above to find out where the car belong in the group. As you have already said, this is a pretty useful tool as choosing a car in a low insurance group is likely to reduce car insurance for 18 year olds. Another tip is that cars with smaller engines tend to fall in the lower insurance groups of 1-5!
[Migrated from previous post 514 dated 03 Sep 2009]
What insurance group does a mitsubishi L200 belong in?
[Migrated from previous post 1581 dated 23 Feb 2011]
How come an insurance group 13 car is cheaper than a group 9?
I own a BMW 318 coupe year 2001 that is a group 13 insurance. I am looking to downsize to a MG 1.4 year 2004 group 9 insurance but the quotes are more than the BMW. I am really confused and would appreciate some advice. Thank you
[Migrated from previous topic 11189 dated 03 Jul 2010]
Are you still parking the car the same place? Are you adding other drivers to the policy? Is your no claims bonus (NCB) still the same? Have you had an accident or conviction recently?
If there has been a change in your circumstances, then that would explain why the insurance premiums are higher than what you're paying right now. Can you provide some more details so that we can get a better understanding of your situation?
[Migrated from previous post 1046 dated 04 Jul 2010]
Mini cooper insurance group
What insurance group is a 1.6 mini cooper?
[Migrated from previous topic 10495 dated 12 Jun 2009]
For the Mini Cooper, the insurance varies from 15 to 18. You need to state which year the car was manufactured as well along with number of doors and other necessary details if you want an exact group number.
[Migrated from previous post 486 dated 27 Aug 2009]
Car insurance group 17
I am really confused as far as the car insurances are concerned. I am 19 years old and I have the driving licence for just 5 months. Can you please tell me what's the cost of the car insurance group 16,17,18. I know that the prices may be different from company to company but tell me at least one scale to rely on. Thank you.
[Migrated from previous topic 10743 dated 15 Nov 2009]
Unfortunately, this does not work this way. There are many other factors which are involved in the calculation for the premiums that you have to pay for insurance purposes. Things like where the car is going to be kept, number of miles you'll be doing, car security features etc all come into play. As you correctly said, quotes will vary from company to company and sometimes you can notice a huge difference in the price being quoted, hence I understand your confusion. However what you need to do is go on a car comparison site and check what premiums you're getting for your vehicle and forget about the car insurance groups because it's only an indication and nothing more. Expect to pay more as your car falls into the higher car insurance groups as opposed to the lower ones (Group 1-5).
[Migrated from previous post 712 dated 23 Dec 2009]
I'm 17 and just passed my test what insurance group would I fall under?
I don't understand what insurance group first time drivers would fall into.
[Migrated from previous topic 12117 dated 25 Mar 2011]
Car insurance groups are for cars not people. So it depends on what car you buy. Cars with smaller engine like the Nissan Micra are in the lower car insurance group of 1-5 whilst sports cars are in the high insurance group and are therefore more expensive to insure.
[Migrated from previous post 1628 dated 25 Mar 2011]
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