UK Car Insurance Groups
What are Car Insurance Groups?
Car Insurance Groups are used by insurers to assist them in determining the premium you’ll pay for your car insurance.
Every make and model of car is associated with a particular group, and the car’s insurance group along with various other criteria (e.g. the age of the driver, number of years no claims, area which the driver lives in etc) are used to calculate the insurance premium.
Who Determines the Grouping of the Cars?
Cars are placed into these groups by the Group Rating Panel.
How Many Car Insurance Groups are there?
The Group Rating Panel assign each car into one of 50 groups (NB this was increased from 20 groups in 2007). The higher the grouping, the more expensive your premium is likely to be.
How does the Group Rating Panel assign Car Insurance Groups?
Insurance groups are assigned based on the following key factors:
- Cost of repair
This takes into account the likely cost for parts, and the cost for labour (i.e. the time it will take to repair)
- Level of security
- The new car price
- Performance
This takes into account acceleration and top speed
How do Car Insurance Groups affect your car insurance premiums?
As the Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimate that over 50% of insurance payouts can be attributed to vehicle repairs, the Insurance Group that your car falls into will directly affect the premium you pay for your insurance.
Do all Insurers Use these Groupings?
Insurers are not obliged to use the Groupings assigned by the Group Rating Panel. They are recommendations, and many insurers do elect to use them, however some insurers use their own grouping system.
How can I check the Group of my Car?
You can check to see which group your car falls into by visiting http://www.thatcham.org/abigrouprating/index.jsp?page=343 are searching the database.
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