What are auto insurance groups?

Insurance is one of the main costs of operating a car and it can vary greatly depending on your age, type of car and where you live. However, one of the main factors that insurance companies take into account when calculating the premium (how much you will pay) is your car's insurance group. Here we explain what insurance groups are and why they are important.

What is an auto insurance group?

Auto insurance groups are essentially a rating system used by the UK insurance industry to help calculate how much your insurance premium will cost. The groups are numbered from 1 to 50 - the higher the number, the higher your bonus. Generally, small inexpensive cars are in the lower groups, while fast and expensive cars are in the higher groups.

Looking at insurance groups can be helpful when deciding which car to buy if you want to keep your insurance costs down, which is a priority for many new drivers.

How are insurance groups determined?

Before a car goes on sale in the UK, an independent research institute paid by the auto industry gives it an insurance group rating. When making a decision to assign a rating, an institution takes into account a number of factors.  

These include the price of the car when it is new, how fast it can go, how safe it is, and how good its security systems are. The cost of 23 ordinary parts, the complexity of repair after an accident, and the duration of the repair are also taken into account.

Generally speaking, lower-insurance cars are cheaper, have relatively underpowered engines, and are relatively inexpensive to repair. Cars in higher insurance groups cost more, have much more power, and are often more difficult and expensive to repair.

How are auto insurance premiums calculated?

Insurance group ratings are a very important factor that car insurance companies use when calculating insurance premiums. However, they also take into account other factors such as your age, your job, where you live, whether you have points on your driver's license, and whether you've been in an accident.

Insurance companies use this information to determine the likelihood of you making a claim. For example, new drivers are much more likely to make claims than experienced drivers, so insurance for new drivers tends to be more expensive. And people who commute to work every day are more likely to file complaints than those who work from home.

Which cars are best insured?

Any car in insurance groups from 20 to 50 (out of 1) should be relatively inexpensive to insure. However, if you really want to minimize your costs, you need to purchase a car from the XNUMX group. Such vehicles tend to be small city vehicles with fairly basic equipment. 

It may sound off-putting, but even the most basic modern car has better standard features than some of the premium cars of 20 years ago. They are also inexpensive to buy and run, and their relative simplicity means they are less likely to break down than a more expensive car.

There are surprisingly many cars in the first insurance group. Check out our roundup of the 8 best group 1 used insurance vehicles.

Which cars are the most expensive to insure?

At the top of the scale of insurance groups is Group 50. Cars in Group 50 are usually expensive, productive and rare. They are also typically made from materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber and have complex electrical systems that make them difficult and expensive to repair. 

Luxury cars like the Bentley and Rolls Royce and supercars like the Ferrari and McLaren tend to be in the group of 50. But if you can afford these cars, you probably aren't particularly worried about the price of insurance.

Which insurance group includes electric vehicles?

There is no hard and fast rule about which insurance groups include electric vehicles. However, the usual rules apply - a small inexpensive electric car will be in a lower group than a larger and more expensive one.

However, generally speaking, electric vehicles tend to be in a higher group than similar petrol or diesel vehicles. This is because electric vehicles are still a relatively new phenomenon, and while they have fewer mechanical parts than gasoline or diesel vehicles, the cost of maintaining and repairing them over time is more than unknown.

Can I get a car with insurance included?

Car subscription services give you access to a new or used car for a fixed monthly fee that covers everything you need to keep your car on the road, including insurance. The Cazoo subscription includes car, insurance, maintenance, maintenance and taxes, and you can choose the duration of the subscription for 6, 12, 18 or 24 months.

Cazoo has a variety of high quality used cars and now you can get a new or used car with a Cazoo subscription. Just use the search feature to find what you like and then buy, fund or subscribe to it online. You can order home delivery or pick up at your nearest Cazoo customer service center.

We are constantly updating and expanding our range. If you're looking to buy a used car and can't find the right one today, it's easy set up promotional alerts to be the first to know when we have vehicles that suit your needs.