How are car insurance groups calculated?
Your chances of finding affordable car insurance may be improved if you buy a car in a lower insurance group. If you’re not familiar with insurance group ratings, here’s a brief explanation of how they’re calculated.
Insurance groups range from 1 (the cheapest to insure) to 50 (the most expensive to insure). Sports and high performance cars are good examples of cars commonly found in the higher insurance categories, as are cars which are commonly targeted for theft or cars which lack effective security features.
Insurance group factors
The main factors taken into consideration are:
- The cost of parts and labour to repair a car.
- Parts availability and price - 23 of the most commonly replaced parts on any car are priced up for every model and compared.
- Safety features, e.g. autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Security features, e.g. an alarm system or immobilisation system
- The brand new price of the car
- A car’s performance, e.g. engine size, top speed and acceleration
- The compatibility of bumpers
What is the purpose of insurance groups?
Insurance groups enable insurers to determine which cars are most likely to have a claim and how expensive those claims are likely to be. This helps them calculate premiums, although a car’s insurance group is just one of many factors used when request a quote.
Groups are determined by the Group Rating Panel (GRP), which is administered by Thatcham Research and includes members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Lloyds Market Association (LMA).
What insurance group is your car?
You can find out the insurance group of your car by logging into the Thatcham Research MyVehicle website, where there is also information available about its security and safety.
Group 1 insurance cars
New drivers looking for cheaper insurance might be interested in the following cars, all of which are currently rated in Group 1.
- Chevrolet Spark 1.0i
- Citroen C1 1.0i Vibe and 1.0i Airplay
- Fiat Panda 1.1 Active and 1.2 Dynamic
- Hyundai i10 1.0 S, 1.0 S Air 1.0 SE and 1.0 Premium
- Kia Rio 1.1 Air
- Seat Mii 1.0 S, 1.0 Ecomotive, 1.0 SE and 1.0 Toca
- Skoda Citigo 1.0 S, 1.0 SE, 1.0 Sport and 1.0 Elegance
- Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 Expression
- Volkswagen Fox 1.2 Standard Trim and 1.2 Urban
- Volkswagen Up 1.0 Take Up and 1.0 Move Up
Low insurance group cars
If those cars aren't to your taste, here are some cars in groups 2 to 5 which should also be cheaper to insure.
Group 2
- Vauxhall Corsa Hatchback (03-06) 1.0i 12V Breeze 3d – Group 2
- Skoda Citigo (12 on) 1.0 MPI Monte Carlo 3d (12 on) – Group 2
- Citroën C1 (05-14) 1.0i Rhythm 3d – Group 2
- Smart Fortwo Coupe (07-14) Pure 2d Auto - Group 2
Group 3
- Ford Ka (09 on) 1.2 Style 3d – Group 3
- Peugeot 107 1.0 Urban 5d – Group 3
Group 4
- Volkswagen Polo Hatchback (02-09) 1.2 E (55ps) 5d (05) – Group 4
- Toyota Yaris (11 on) 1.0 VVT-i TR Nav 5d – Group 4
Group 5
- Daewoo Matiz (98-05) SE 5d (00) – Group 5
- Fiat 500 Hatchback (08 on) 1.2 Pop 3d – Group 5
- Nissan Micra Hatchback (10 on) 1.2 Acenta 5d – Group 5