Car insurance groups explained

Have you ever had car insurance groups explained to you? If not, it might be advisable for you to read this article, as it may be pivotal when deciding how much you will pay in premiums per annum.

Car insurance groups allow all vehicles that have been manufactured to be categorised into 50 groups through research compiled by the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre, in an initiative known as Thatcham. All of this data is then passed onto insurance companies, and when you are filling out a form on a car comparison website like ours, the vehicle details you enter will be matched to one of the entries on this database.

Numbered from one to 50, cars in lower groups generally yield cheaper premiums because insurance providers perceive them as being less of a risk. This could be down to two factors: it doesn’t have a powerful performance, or it won’t take long to be fixed by a general mechanic.

Research shows that cars with a high specification and strong performance are likelier to require claims and repairs, and more than half of the money paid out every year by insurance companies relate to mechanical and engineering work. As Bentleys and Mercedes cars may have high calibre engines and specialist parts, it will typically be more expensive for an insurer to pay for these components when compared to a generic engine used in a wide range of Vauxhall cars.

In addition, as many mainstream vehicles use the same components, the materials needed to mend a motor can be sourced far more quickly. The length of time a repair will take matters if the insurance policy a customer chooses offers a courtesy car while mechanical work takes place. As you can imagine, if a Vauxhall can be repaired in three business days but a high-end car will take three weeks to hit the road again, this will mean that the insurer is liable for more costs when the car is more upmarket.

There you have it – car insurance groups explained. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t invest in that gorgeous Range Rover you’ve been saving up for. If you are able to keep your car secure in a garage, or if the high-spec vehicle includes a groundbreaking security system, insurers will rest assured that there will be less chance of a theft, and resultantly a lower risk of the company paying out the market value for an expensive vehicle in the event of a robbery. What’s more, by comparing competitors on the market, building up a no-claims discount and by paying for 12 months in advance, you could find that the premium for a high car insurance group may be comparable to an average policy quote.