Car insurance can be a complex and costly affair. While factors like your age, driving history, and location play a role, your car itself is a major determinant of your premium. Car insurance groups, a rating system used by insurers, classify vehicles based on their risk profile. Understanding these groups can help you make informed decisions when choosing a car and selecting the right insurance policy.
How Do Car Insurance Groups Work?
Car insurance groups will have an effect on your insurance premiums so understanding what they mean can help you save money insuring your car. Every car is categorised into a group, which is mainly decided on by the ABI Group Rating System, administrated by the Association of British Insurers (but some insurers will use their own system).
The Group Rating System categorises each car by an insurance group from 1- 50, with insurance group 1 cars being the cheapest to insure and those in group 50 the most expensive. The Group Rating System is also supported by the Thatcham Research group who standardise safety and security checks for vehicles. Insurance groups are a good indicator of both insurance costs and the standard of safety features on a vehicle.
The system is intended to advise insurance companies on the relative risk of private vehicles and to maintain their safety standards. They are decided on by a number of factors that go towards calculating the insurance premium of the car named on the policy. Buying low insurance group cars is one way to make your car insurance cheaper.
What are the car insurance groups list?
Insurance Group 1-10
This insurance group features the lowest insurance cars.
Cars found in this insurance category are the cheapest to insure due to them having more safety features, making insurance costs more affordable. Most carry the letter E; this refers to the theft deterrents and exceeded safety requirements. As such, Insurance group 1-10 cars are excellent for first-time drivers looking to cut costs.
Common cars in Insurance Group 1-10 include: Toyota Aygo, Vauxhall Corsa, Kia Picanto, Dacia Sandero, and Fiat 500.
Insurance Group 10-20
This insurance group is next above the 1-10 insurance bracket. 10-20 insurance group cars have reasonable costs but are still more pricey.
Common cars in Insurance Group 10-20 include: Mazda 2, Peugeot 208, Renault Clio, Toyota Yaris, and Ford Fiesta.
Insurance Group 20-30
This is your mid-range insurance bracket. Cars in this insurance group are more costly but are still a viable option if you don’t want to compromise on speed or a larger-sized car.
Common cars in Insurance Group 20-30 include: Suzuki Swift, Citroen C3, Vauxhall Astra, Ford Kuga, and Suzuki Vitara.
Insurance Group 30-40
Coming into the 30-40 insurance group, you can see a shift from practicality towards performance and power. These cars are more likely to include sports models and more costly vehicles.
Common cars in Insurance Group 30-40 include: Abarth 595, Ford Focus, BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Audi A5.
Insurance Group 40-50
This insurance group grants the highest insurance costs.
This collection usually includes more powerful and prestigious vehicles, ranging from top-spec SUVs to grand luxury vehicles.
Common cars in Insurance Group 40-50 include: Jaguar XF, Volvo V90, Jeep Grand Cherokee, BMW 5-Series, and Audi TT.
What do the letters mean on car insurance groups?
The insurance group of a car will be listed as a number and a letter (for example 8E). The letter refers to the level of security features fitted as standard on the vehicle. Security requirements increase as the insurance group increases, so the higher the insurance group the better the security needs to be.
There are 6 letters applied to insurance groups for cars. Here is what they mean:
| A | The car meets all security requirements for its group. |
| D | The car doesn’t meet the requirements for its insurance group and has therefore been placed in a higher insurance group. |
| E | The car has exceeded security requirements for its group and has therefore been placed in a lower insurance group. |
| P | Data for the car is only provisional. P is used when the data used by the rating system was incomplete when the car was launched. |
| U | The car has unacceptable levels of security. The car will still be insured but your insurer may ask for security features to be added or upgraded. |
| G | The car has been imported. Two groups are used for imported vehicles: Parallel imports and grey imports. |
Factors Affecting UK Car Insurance Groups
There are multiple factors affecting the insurance group a car falls into including:
New Car Value:
The price of a new car is taken into consideration by insurance companies.
Damage & Parts:
The likely extent of damage and price of parts are considered by insurers – lower costs usually result in a lower group rating.
Part Prices:
23 common parts are used to compare costings from one manufacturer and model to another helping place the car in a group.
Repair Times:
Higher repair times equate to higher costs. Vehicles which are complicated to repair are likely to be more expensive and so fall into a higher insurance group.
Performance:
Generally, higher-performing cars pose a higher risk of frequent insurance claims, so both acceleration and top speed are considered by insurers.
Safety:
Cars with additional safety features such as automatic emergency braking are likely to fall into a lower category than the same model without additional safety features.
Security:
A more secure car can result in a lower group rating, so look out for features such as alarms, immobilisation and trackers.
These factors also mean that insurance group ratings can vary within the same model depending on the specification/trim you choose.
Car Insurance Groups FAQ
What insurance group is my car?
Your car’s insurance will be determined by whole a host of factors. The type of car you’re driving will not be the only element for the insurer’s premium. Other factors involve age, address, occupation, the time you’ve held your driver’s licence for, and the driver’s history. This list is not exhaustive but highlights some important factors.
How do I check my car insurance group?
Our Stoneacre cars all have an insurance category included under each car’s Technical tab. You can search through our whole range of cars and use Insurance Group as an added filter if you’d like to explore your options.
What is the lowest car insurance group?
The lowest insurance group cars are in the 1-10 insurance group. These are also helpful if they are accompanied by a class E rating, as this shows that they exceed the security requirements, lowering any costs further. This insurance bracket is probably the best for younger drivers.
What is the highest car insurance group?
The cars with the highest insurance are in the 40-50 insurance group. This is usually because cars in this bracket are larger cars or have high-performance stats.
