If you click a link with an * to go through to a provider, we may get paid. This usually only happens if you get a product from it. This is what funds our team of journalists, and keeps us free to use. Yet there are two crucial things you need to know about this.
- This never impacts our editorial recommendations – if it's in, it's in there because we independently rate it best.
- You'll always get as good a deal (or better) than if you went direct.
For a more detailed explanation see How MSE is financed.
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
Car insurance groups – what you need to know
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....
Who's this guide for? Anyone needing car insurance who wants to know how the type of car they drive can affect the price.
Not what you want? If you're looking for more specific guides...
Cheap car insurance | Young drivers insurance | Multicar insurance | Learner drivers' insurance
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.
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:
- 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.
- Replacement value of the car (as new).
The greater the value of the car, the higher the car insurance group.
- The overall performance, such as speed and acceleration.
We know speed can be dangerous, and this is reflected as part of the grouping process.
- Level of security.
A good security system is a positive as part of the assessment, as it's less likely to be stolen.
- Safety features.
Better safety features are reviewed as a good thing as it helps to minimise personal injury or fatal incident claims.
Quick questions:
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.
Average premium by car insurance groups
| 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: MoneySupermaket - 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.
The letter after your car insurance group
| Letter | The meaning of the letter |
| A | Acceptable Security Requirement (the car group could be lower than another similar grouped car where the security requirement is not acceptable) |
| D | Safety Requirement Not Met (the premium is likely to be higher due to the vehicle not meeting the insurance industry security standard) |
| E | Security Requirement Exceeded (this is a positive to insurance companies as the vehicle is likely to have been placed in a lower group due to its security features) |
| P | Provisional (not all the data or information has been collected, and is incomplete, with a chance the car insurance group could change) |
| U | Security Level Unacceptable (which means the vehicle can be classed as a high theft risk, and the vehicle placed in a higher group. Your insurer may also insist on additional security to be installed as a requirement) |
| G | Vehicle is an import (as the vehicle was not built in the UK, this generally means it could be expensive to insure due to the difficulty getting parts). |
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.
Quick questions
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).
Average car insurance groups by vehicle
| Group | Vehicle make and model |
| 1-5 | Citroen C1/C2, Toyota Aygo/Yaris, Vauxhall Corsa, Seat Ibiza/Arosa, Volkswagen Polo, Fiat 500/Panda |
| 6-10 |
Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf/Lupo/Polo, Citroen C3/C4, Nissan Micra, Peugeot 106/206, Renault Clio |
| 11-15 |
Alfa Romeo Mito, Audi A2, Citroen C3/C4, Ford Fiesta/Focus, Honda Civic, Mercedes A Class, Nissan Micra, Renault Clio, Volkswagen Golf, Mini |
| 16-20 |
Audi A3, BMW 116, Citroen C4/C5, Ford Focus/Galaxy, Kia Sportage, Landrover Freelander, Mini Cooper, Skoda Octavia, Mazda 3) |
| 21-30 |
Audi A3/A4, BMW 3-series, Ford Galaxy/Mondeo, Landrover Discovery/Freelander, Mercedes B & C class, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Golf/Touran |
| 31-40 |
Audi A4/A5/A6/A8, BMW 5 & X series, Mercedes C & E class, Range Rover, Volkswagen Touareg |
| 41-45 | Audi A6/A8, Landrover Discovery, Range Rover, Volkswagen Touareg, Volvo XC90, BMW 5/6/7 & X series |
| 46-50 | Audi A8/R8/Q7, BMW 6/7/X & M series, Range Rover, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini |
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
Car insurance groups FAQs
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...
- Benchmark your cheapest using our Car Insurance Compare+ tool, with personalised cost-cutting tips.
- Read our full Cheap car insurance guide, including nine ways to cut car insurance costs.
- See our full Car insurance section with all our key tools and guides.
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
MSE Forum
Have your say in our forum!
Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
-
Tesco shopper? You've got two weeks left to spend £14 million of expiring Clubcard vouchers – or extend them with our trick
17 August 2024![]()
If you've got a Tesco Clubcard, check if you have any vouchers close to expiring, as £14 million-worth are due to run out on Saturday 31 August. -
Received car finance mis-selling compensation out of the blue? It DOESN'T stop you complaining about the latest scandal
13 August 2024![]()
Some MoneySavers have reported receiving car finance mis-selling compensation payments out of the blue. But these are unrelated to the latest ongoing investigation into hidden commission, which means you CAN still complain about that on top. -
Amazon launches new credit card offering rewards on your spending – is it worth getting?
13 August 2024![]()
The Amazon Barclaycard has no annual fee and gives 1% to 2% back on purchases at Amazon and up to 0.5% elsewhere, all paid in the form of gift cards to use at the online retail giant. -
Chase cuts rate on popular 5.1% boosted saver – should you ditch and switch?
13 August 2024![]( "2150786737")
Chase has cut the rates on its linked easy-access 'boosted saver' and standard saver accounts by 0.25 percentage points. -
NS&I launches new British Savings Bonds paying up to 4.6% if you lock your cash away – but how do they stack up?
13 August 2024![]()
NS&I has refreshed its range of fixed-term 'British Savings Bonds' by adding a two-year option paying 4.6% and a five-year option paying 4.1%. And its three-year bond will now pay newbies 4.35% (up from 4.15%). Here's how they stack up.
-
Martin Lewis on pension credit: What over-66s need to know
24 September 2024![]()
Nearly a million pensioners are missing out on pension credit, a vital benefit worth £1,000s a year for many, which tops up your income. -
Martin Lewis: Is it time to ban unnecessary Christmas presents?
17 September 2024![]()
Update September 2017: It’s eight years since I first braved this subject, expecting a snowstorm of protest. Instead, year after year more join in, like Julia who recently tweeted me, “@MartinSLewis, finally took your advice and told my family I can’t afford Christmas presents. What a weight off my mind. Thank you.” One year even the Archbishop of...
MSE tools & calculators
Clever ways to calculate your finances
