Top tips for cheaper insurance
Find out more
Car insurance group checker
Use our tool to find out which insurance group your car’s in – lower groups are cheaper to insure.
What are car insurance groups?
All cars are put into one of 50 insurance groups to help insurers decide how to price your premiums. Small, cheap and low power cars are in the lowest insurance groups. More expensive, rare or powerful cars are seen as a higher risk and are put in higher insurance groups.
Insurers take into account lots of other things like your address and driving history as well when they calculate quotes – it’s not based purely on the insurance group.
But if you want to buy a car that’s cheap to insure, then it’s worth checking its car insurance group before you part with your money.
What do insurance groups mean?
Generally, the higher the car insurance group, the more you'll pay to insure it, while lower groups are cheaper to cover – you can quickly find out with our tool.
Insurers look at your car’s insurance group alongside your history as a driver, whether you’re keeping the vehicle in a safe place, and your annual mileage while they’re calculating your quote.
Each insurer will classify the risk of these things differently, which is why they don’t all charge the same amount.
That’s why it’s always worth comparing car insurance before you buy, so you know what your premium will be.
Compare and save on your car insurance
Get quotesCommon cars and their insurance groups
| Insurance groups | Vehicle make and models |
|---|---|
| 0-5 | Fiat Panda Active, Citroen C1, Skoda Fabia Classic, Toyota Aygo, Ford KA, Vauxhall Corsa |
| 6-10 | Chevrolet Matiz, Citroen C3, Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500, Mazda 2 |
| 11-15 | Audi A2, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Kia Cee'd, Mitsubishi Colt |
| 16-20 | Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Audi A1, Citroen C4, Ford C-Max, BMW 116 |
| 21-25 | Audi A3, BMW, 118, Citroen C5, Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord, Renault Megane |
| 26-30 | Audi A5, BMW X1, Ford Escort, Landrover Defender, Mercedes-Benz C Class, Volkswagen Golf |
| 31-35 | Audi A6, Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-Benz CLK, Skoda Octavia, Vauxhall Vectra, Volvo C70 |
| 36-40 | Mitsubishi Shogun, Peugeot 308 Hatchback, Volkswagen Golf Hatchback, MG ZT Saloon, Volvo S60 |
| 41-45 | BMW Z4 Roadster, Land Rover Discovery, Porsche Cayman, Subaru Impreza Saloon, Honda Legend Saloon |
| 46-50 | Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi TT Roadster, Ford Mustang, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Porsche Boxster |
Do all vehicles have a group?
Yes – it’s not just cars. Van insurance groups are used by insurers in a similar way to car insurance groups and there are also motorbike insurance groups used by bike insurers.
How are car insurance groups decided?
The Group Rating Panel – a board of representatives from the insurance industry – meet regularly to decide which car insurance groups different vehicles should be in.
They use data from Thatcham Research to identify which cars are likely to cost insurers the most in insurance claims.
Car models are then given a number between one and 50. As a rule of thumb, it’s high performance cars that top the scale, while cheaper run-arounds are lower down. That’s because they’re considered less risky by insurers.
But it’s not just about the price of a vehicle, there are lots of different considerations. Here’s a quick rundown of what they factor in:
1. Cost of repairs
When Thatcham advises the panel, it looks at how much it would cost to return a car to its pre-accident condition following a 15km/h crash impact. The panel looks at how much it’ll cost for parts and labour, and how long it takes to repair the car.
2. Vehicle performance
A car model’s performance, including it’s 0-60mph acceleration time and top speed, all contribute to its group. More powerful cars typically end up in higher insurance groups.
3. Security
If it’s more easily broken into than other vehicles, the car will end up in a higher category.
4. How safe it is
It’s not just about the potential damage to the vehicle, but also the damage it might cause to others. That means the panel will also factor in a car’s safety features, like autonomous emergency braking.
5. New car value
Cars with a higher price and specification give an indication of the cost of potential replacement and repairs costs.
6. Bumper compatibility
Cars with bumpers that are compatible with the insurer's criteria will qualify for lower insurance ratings.
7. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
A newer development in car safety that involves the car monitoring the road ahead and braking automatically if the driver fails to brake when there’s a risk of a collision. Cars with this feature will be in lower groups than cars without it.
How is the cost of car insurance calculated?
It’s not just your insurance group that determines your premium. Insurers will also take into account:
-
Your age
Younger drivers are usually assessed as being a higher risk than older drivers, so their insurance costs more
-
Claims history
If you’ve made claims in the last five years your insurance might be more expensive, especially if you lost your no-claims discount
-
Other drivers
Adding a second driver to your car insurance might make your insurance more or less expensive, depending on whether the insurer classes them as a high or low risk
-
Driving convictions
Just like claims, you have to declare convictions including speeding fines from the last five years and these can push up the cost of your premiums
-
Occupation
What you do for a living affects the cost of your insurance as some professions are seen as riskier than others due to hours spent behind the wheel or driving at unsociable times
-
Type of cover
Although comprehensive insurance is the highest level of cover, surprisingly it’s often also the cheapest