Advice
Car insurance groups explained
Cars fall in different insurance groups that tell how much premium you have to pay. Here we explain what the different groups mean.
Words by: Nimisha Jain
Last updated on 10 May 2022 | 0 min read
What is a car insurance group?
Cars are categorised into one of 50 different insurance groups. These groups set the premium you'll pay - with cars in group one paying the lowest premiums and cars in group 50 being the most expensive to insure.
Cars are assigned to an insurance bracket based on how much of an insurance risk they present. The insurance risk is decided by considering factors like how fast the car is, the car’s desirability and the cost to repair and replace parts of the car.
Cars are assigned to an insurance bracket based on how much of an insurance risk they present. The insurance risk is decided by considering factors like how fast the car is, the car’s desirability and the cost to repair and replace parts of the car.
Cars can be classed anywhere between 1-50 insurance groups.
Cars in groups 1-10 are the cheapest to insure. These cars usually have lots of safety features and low costs of repair. This is a great bracket to be in for young and first-time drivers to get an insurance cover that’s not too costly. Related: Best first cars for new drivers Premiums on cars falling in insurance groups 11-20 are still affordable but slightly higher than cars in 1-10. These cars too, usually have a number of safety features and a decent price for repairs. Cars in the insurance groups 21-30 pay a mid-ranged insurance premium for their cover. They are costlier than cars in group 1-10, so it’s not ideal for car owners on a budget, but it’s suitable for those who are looking to avoid the top range insurance premiums. It is a decent insurance group to be a part of if you’re after a mid-size or large car with a good performance. Insurance groups 31-40 offer the second-most costly cover that cars can fall in. Performance focused cars with high speed and power usually fall in this group, such as sports and luxury cars. Cars in insurance groups 41-50 pay the highest amount of premium for their insurance cover. This group includes some of the most luxurious and powerful cars. We’re talking about the likes of Jaguar F-Types and Porsche 911s. Insurance companies also assign a letter after the insurance group number that represents the car’s level of safety: A - The car meets the acceptable level of security requirements D - The car doesn't meet the insurance group’s safety requirements and so it’s been placed in a higher insurance group. E - The car exceeds the security requirements for its group and so it’s been placed in a lower insurance group. P - There isn’t enough data available at the time of launch to decide on the insurance group yet. The letter assigned may change once more information is available. U - The car has unacceptable levels of security. The car could still be insured but the insurer may ask you to add or upgrade the car’s security features. G - The car has been imported. Two groups are used for imported vehicles: Parallel imports and grey imports.
Cars in groups 1-10 are the cheapest to insure. These cars usually have lots of safety features and low costs of repair. This is a great bracket to be in for young and first-time drivers to get an insurance cover that’s not too costly. Related: Best first cars for new drivers Premiums on cars falling in insurance groups 11-20 are still affordable but slightly higher than cars in 1-10. These cars too, usually have a number of safety features and a decent price for repairs. Cars in the insurance groups 21-30 pay a mid-ranged insurance premium for their cover. They are costlier than cars in group 1-10, so it’s not ideal for car owners on a budget, but it’s suitable for those who are looking to avoid the top range insurance premiums. It is a decent insurance group to be a part of if you’re after a mid-size or large car with a good performance. Insurance groups 31-40 offer the second-most costly cover that cars can fall in. Performance focused cars with high speed and power usually fall in this group, such as sports and luxury cars. Cars in insurance groups 41-50 pay the highest amount of premium for their insurance cover. This group includes some of the most luxurious and powerful cars. We’re talking about the likes of Jaguar F-Types and Porsche 911s. Insurance companies also assign a letter after the insurance group number that represents the car’s level of safety: A - The car meets the acceptable level of security requirements D - The car doesn't meet the insurance group’s safety requirements and so it’s been placed in a higher insurance group. E - The car exceeds the security requirements for its group and so it’s been placed in a lower insurance group. P - There isn’t enough data available at the time of launch to decide on the insurance group yet. The letter assigned may change once more information is available. U - The car has unacceptable levels of security. The car could still be insured but the insurer may ask you to add or upgrade the car’s security features. G - The car has been imported. Two groups are used for imported vehicles: Parallel imports and grey imports.
Which insurance group is my car
To find out which insurance group your car is in, you’ll need the car’s:
• Make • Model • Year • No. of doors • Fuel type • Transmission With this information, you can use any insurance group checker, for example Compare the market’s car insurance group checker or Thatcham’s My Vehicle Search to get an idea about how much premium you’ll have to pay to insure your car.
• Make • Model • Year • No. of doors • Fuel type • Transmission With this information, you can use any insurance group checker, for example Compare the market’s car insurance group checker or Thatcham’s My Vehicle Search to get an idea about how much premium you’ll have to pay to insure your car.
What insurance group do electric cars fall into?
Insurance groups work the same way for electric cars, as they do for petrol or diesel cars.
Since electric cars are fairly new and their parts like the battery pack are not as readily available as diesel/ petrol car parts, electric cars may be listed in a higher insurance group. For example, a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus is currently in the 48 group rating. We’ve partnered with Compare the Market to provide you with a cheap insurance cover for your car. If you’re looking for a cheap-to-insure car, you can use the Auto Trader search filter and set your car insurance group.
Since electric cars are fairly new and their parts like the battery pack are not as readily available as diesel/ petrol car parts, electric cars may be listed in a higher insurance group. For example, a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus is currently in the 48 group rating. We’ve partnered with Compare the Market to provide you with a cheap insurance cover for your car. If you’re looking for a cheap-to-insure car, you can use the Auto Trader search filter and set your car insurance group.