Lower your premiums by choosing a car in a low insurance group

You’ve heard it before – cars in a lower insurance group are cheaper to insure. But why? Well first you need to know that there are 20 insurance groups (Group 1 – Group 20) at the moment and cars falling into Group 1 attract the cheapest insurance premiums.

The panel which decides which insurance group a car should be classified under use research data from Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Repair Centre. With this information at hand, cars are then listed under their specific groups and most insurers will use this information when they calculate your premiums.

Most of the money paid out during a claim goes towards repairing the vehicle and this is why repair cost is a very importance factor in the classification of insurance groups. Below is a list of factors which are taken into account when assigning a car to an insurance group:

Repair Cost
This includes the costs of parts to be replaced, the type of labour required and the time it’s going to take to make all the necessary repairs. For instance, a plastic bumper can easily be replaced but a bumper with metallic paint finish will take more time to repair and a professional to do the work.

Engine Power
The more power you can get from the engine, the faster you can go. However the performance of your car can be a negative factor too as increasing speed has been statistically proven to result in more accident claims.

Security Features
If the vehicle has good security features like engine immobilisation systems/alarms, then it becomes a good candidate for a lower insurance group as this makes stealing more difficult.

Which car insurance group does my car belong to?

If you want to know the insurance group of your car, then you can go to the websites listed below to find out by entering the make and model of your car:

Parkers
Thatcham Group Rating

It is best to check the insurance group prior to buying a car so that you have an idea what you can expect to pay for your premiums otherwise car insurance quotes can come as a really big surprise.