Car insurance groups – what you need to know
Including how they affect your car insurance price
Knowing your car's insurance group, or band, is an important part of knowing how insurers feel about your vehicle, and the risk. In simple terms, the lower the car insurance group, the cheaper the premium is likely to be. For more on understanding car insurance grouping, and how it affects the price you pay for your car insurance, do read on...
What are car insurance groups?
When a new car is launched by a manufacturer, every make and model is assessed on a number of factors by the Group Rating Panel. This is administered by Thatcham Research and includes panel members such as the Association of British Insurers and insurance companies.
They work together to give every vehicle a number – a car insurance group between 1 and 50. This is essentially an assessment of how risky each vehicle is to insure, which in turn helps insurers as part of the pricing process when giving a car insurance quote.
The lower the car insurance group is, the cheaper the insurance price is likely to be. This is why it is important to find out what insurance group your vehicle is in before buying it. For what else insurers look for and ways to save, see our Cheap car insurance guide.
What factors are considered when deciding on a car's insurance group?
Many elements of how the car was put together by the manufacturer play a big part, alongside other features such as safety and security. Overall, more than 100 elements of the car are assessed to reach a car insurance group.
Here are some of the key things that are taken into account:
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Cost (and speed) to replace commonly damaged parts. The longer it takes to replace a part, or the more expensive parts are to replace, the higher the car insurance group.
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Replacement value of the car (as new). The greater the value of the car, the higher the car insurance group.
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The overall performance, such as speed and acceleration. We know speed can be dangerous, and this is reflected as part of the grouping process.
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Level of security. A good security system is a positive as part of the assessment, as it's less likely to be stolen.
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Safety features. Better safety features are reviewed as a good thing as it helps to minimise personal injury or fatal incident claims.
Quick questions
Car insurance groups can be changed from the original grouping it was given when launched if the insurance risk to the insurer increases.
The car insurance grouping allocated by the Group Rating Panel is a very close indication of which grouping it should sit in, but insurers are allowed to set it at a different grouping. They may even decide they do not want to offer cover or request additional security.
Can insurance groups be changed?
Does an insurer have to stick to the insurance groups?
How do car insurance groups affect the cost of insurance?
The car you drive – which is reflected in its car insurance group – makes a huge impact on the amount you are quoted. The average premium for a car grouped between 41 and 50 can cost more than double a car grouped between one and 10.
It is worth remembering that other factors such as your age, where you live and claims history can also affect the price (use MSE's Compare+ Car Insurance tool to find the cheapest car insurance for you).
Here are examples of average premiums depending on the car insurance group.
Car insurance group | Average annual premium |
|---|---|
1 to 10 | £440.22 |
11 to 20 | £522.97 |
21 to 30 | £603.53 |
31 to 40 | £776.48 |
41 to 50 | £1,004.77 |
Source: MoneySupermarket – February 2024
What do the letters mean in car insurance groups?
Just as soon as we get to grips with the car insurance groups, and its implications, you may notice that the car insurance group may be allocated a letter after it. For example, it may appear as group 8A, or group 41U.
The letters are usually added as more of an information point to highlight if the vehicle's security or safety features are acceptable, does not meet the requirements, or even exceeds the requirements. Here we'll explain what the letters are, and what they mean.
Letter | The meaning of the letter |
|---|---|
A | Acceptable Security Requirement |
D | Safety Requirement Not Met |
E | Security Requirement Exceeded |
P | Provisional |
U | Security Level Unacceptable |
G | Vehicle is an import |
How do I check which car insurance group my car is in?
Finding the car insurance group for your vehicle, or the car you have your eye on, is now easily possible with a minimal amount of information using free online tools.
You will likely fall into one of the following two categories:
Know the vehicle's registration
Quickest and most accurate as the database will already have all the vehicle details (for example, make, model, engine size and type, year etc).Don't know the vehicle's registration
This process does take a little bit longer and does rely on your knowledge of the car as one slight bit of incorrect information can return an incorrect car insurance group. So, with this option you'll need to know information such as the make, model, year of registration, engine size, the trim/version and what fuel it takes.
Once you have the relevant information to hand, try the free car insurance grouping tools from MoneySupermarket or Parkers to find out where your car sits.
Quick questions
Yes, all cars are given a car insurance group though you may spot some given a provisional insurance group and will appear as a P after the car insurance group number.
Without the car insurance group, the insurer will not be able to calculate a cost of the insurance for you.
As a general rule, the smaller the engine and compact the car, the lower the group should be. So think of a Citroen C1, Fiat Panda or Vauxhall Corsa as some currently sit in the car insurance group band 1.
It is worth knowing that it does depend on the model, trim and year of manufacturer as some could be classed as a higher band for the same engine size.
The highest group is 50 and will include the likes of an Audi Quattro, Audi R8 and BMW 6-series convertible. And let's not forget Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Bentley.
Do all vehicles have a grouping?
What is the lowest car insurance group?
What is the highest car insurance group?
What are the insurance groups of common car models?
To provide an overview of which cars sit in which car insurance group, here is a list of familiar cars giving an indication of its car insurance group.
It is worth knowing that the car grouping of a particular make, model and engine size can differ depending on when it was registered (hence why you may spot the same vehicle across a couple of bands).
Group | Vehicle make and model |
|---|---|
1 to 5 | Citroen C1/C2, Toyota Aygo/Yaris, Vauxhall Corsa, Seat Ibiza/Arosa, Volkswagen Polo, Fiat 500/Panda |
6 to 10 | Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf/Lupo/Polo, Citroen C3/C4, Nissan Micra, Peugeot 106/206, Renault Clio |
11 to 15 | Alfa Romeo Mito, Audi A2, Citroen C3/C4, Ford Fiesta/Focus, Honda Civic, Mercedes A Class, Nissan Micra, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Golf, Mini |
16 to 20 | Audi A3, BMW 116, Citroen C4/C5, Ford Focus/Galaxy, Kia Sportage, Landrover Freelander, Mini Cooper, Skoda Octavia, Mazda 3) |
21 to 30 | Audi A3/A4, BMW 3-series, Ford Galaxy/Mondeo, Landrover Discovery/Freelander, Mercedes B & C class, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Golf/Touran |
31 to 40 | Audi A4/A5/A6/A8, BMW 5 & X series, Mercedes C & E class, Range Rover, Volkswagen Touareg |
41 to 45 | Audi A6/A8, Landrover Discovery, Range Rover, Volkswagen Touareg, Volvo XC90, BMW 5/6/7 & X series |
46 to 50 | Audi A8/R8/Q7, BMW 6/7/X & M series, Range Rover, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini |
How to get cheap car insurance
We've a whole host of car insurance top tips and tricks to get cheap cover. Below is a quick round-up of where we'd suggest you head to next to get a policy...
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Benchmark your cheapest using our Compare+ Car Insurance tool, with personalised cost-cutting tips.
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Read our full Cheap car insurance guide, including nine ways to cut car insurance costs.
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See our full Car insurance section with all our key tools and guides.
Car insurance groups FAQs
Yes. This is one of the 100+ checks carried out when trying to establish a car insurance group.
If the safety features fall short, it can actually put the car in a higher car insurance group.
This is regularly reviewed and is based on the data supplied by car manufacturers to the Group Rating Panel.
Insurers also collect data which they may choose to use to adjust the car insurance grouping, which is primarily based on claims data they have stored.
Insurance companies take in to account a number of factors to assess the risk, such as the car, the age of drivers, driving record and where you live.
There is a lot more to it but we do have more information on this in our What can affect my car insurance quote? guide.
Also see our Provisional drivers' insurance and Car insurance for older people guides if you sit in either bracket.
Do safety features affect a car's insurance group?
How often are car insurance groups updated or reassigned?
How is the cost of car insurance calculated?
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