If you have ever wondered why two people with similar cars pay a very different amount for insurance, then the answer might be hiding in something called car insurance groups. Every car in the UK is allocated a number from 1 to 50 that helps insurers decide how much to charge.
The lower the number, the cheaper the cover usually is, while cars in higher groups can make your wallet a little lighter. Knowing where your car fits within this scale can make all the difference when it comes to choosing a policy or even buying your next vehicle.
What are Car Insurance Groups?
Insurance groups are a way that insurers quantify how much it’s likely to cost to insure your car. It’s a system dreamt up by a committee of UK insurance experts looking to make things fair and consistent across different models. Group 1 is full of the cheapest cars to insure, while group 50 is full of high-performance and luxury vehicles that tend to be riskier and more expensive to repair.
What Determines a Car’s Insurance Group?
Where your car falls on that scale depends upon a number of key factors.
Vehicle value: the costlier a car is, the more it would cost getting it repaired or replaced.
• Engine size and power: the higher the group, the more likelihood of sports cars or high-powered engines.
• Repair costs: With more complication or importation of the model, the rate increases accordingly.
• Safety features: normally, higher ratings are given to those cars that have superior safety systems.
• Theft risk: A model which is the prime target of thieves then it belongs to higher groups.
Age of the vehicle – Sometimes the older models are much costlier to insure as their replacement parts may not be available easily.
Remember, the insurance group, as important as it is, is just one factor that goes toward determining your premium. Your age, location, driving history, and even your annual mileage can all come into play.
How the Groups Work
The norm is that cars which fall within the bracket of groups 1 to 5 are normally small, low-powered models such as city cars and some basic hatchbacks. Mid-range family cars would represent the bracket between group 6 and group 15, while groups 16 to 35 house higher-performance vehicles, executive saloons, and SUVs.
On the other extreme, top groups-from 36 to 50-are home to high-end sports cars and luxury models which can easily make insurers nervous.
Why It Matters When Buying a Car
The insurance group check helps most people avoid large numbers of financial surprises when buying cars. Even though a bargain of a car could be had, it may turn out to be very expensive to insure later. While a small hatchback might be in group 5, the sporty model from that same brand may fall into group 30 upwards, and this difference may come with several hundreds of pounds extra in annual insurance costs.
The insurance group will be useful when comparing used cars for better planning in terms of the overall ownership budget for fuel, maintenance, insurance, and tax.
How to Find Your Car’s Insurance Group
Look at your car’s registration documents (V5 logbook) or check an insurance comparison website. Alternatively, a quicker way to find a vehicle’s insurance group is to enter its registration number on a history-checking site such as Full Car Checks. This service provides the insurance group for free.
Final Thoughts
Understanding car insurance groups is one of the smartest ways to make an informed decision for motoring. Be it a case of renewal or browsing through second-hand cars, it pays to know where your vehicle sits in the 1-50 scale, so you don’t get any nasty surprises along the way.
Lower-group cars save money in the long run, while higher-group cars may give more performance at higher running costs. Take just a few minutes to check before buying, and it could make all the difference to your yearly budget.