Car insurance bands

Buying car insurance can be a daunting process and after receiving your quote, it’s easy to become confused and a little bewildered as to how the provider arrived at that price. There are many things that affect the cost of your quote such as your age, your gender, where you keep your car at night and how many miles a year you typically drive. However, the main criteria which will determine whether your price is nice and cheap, or incredibly expensive, is which group, or band, your car falls into. Here is a look at what car insurance bands are and what you can do to.

What are car insurance bands?

Thatcham, otherwise known as the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, carries out extensive research into every passenger vehicle built to UK standards. This research is then passed on to the Group Rating Panel which is made up of representatives from many of the top UK insurers as well as members of the Association of British Insurers. The group meets once a month to discuss which car belongs in which group.

There are currently 50 groups in total, with one being the cheapest and 50 the most expensive.

Why is each car in each group?

How a vehicle is categorised depends on a number of factors, with the main one being repair. After a crash, typically the most expensive cost involved in getting the car back on the road is repairs. This can include everything from obtaining parts to the labour involved. If there is plenty of a particular model of car on the road – for example, a Ford Mondeo – parts are easier to acquire than a Porsche.

Secondly, the size of a car’s engine is taken into account. A more powerful engine is obviously capable of higher speeds and this therefore can affect how likely the car is to be involved in a crash.

The last most significant factor is the cost of a car when new; this is perhaps the most obvious factor as if the accident a vehicle is involved is particularly severe, the entire car will need to be replaced and therefore the more money the insurance company is liable for.

How to keep the cost of cover down

The main thing to bear in mind is obviously which car you intend to buy. There are plenty of sites available which detail car insurance bands and you can check where your desired car lands. A rule of thumb to consider is the smaller and less powerful a car, the cheaper your insurance quotes will be. Cars with environmental considerations such as hybrids can also receive a substantial discount.

Just because a certain vehicles fall into certain car insurance bands, this does not mean the price of a policy is fixed – and you should not necessarily rule out a desired car simply on its car insurance group. By carrying out lots of research on a car insurance comparison site, you can compare many different providers, which might allow you to buy your dream car after all.