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The Sun
7 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Car insurance code that could be the key to finding cheaper insurance when you buy a new motor
A LITTLE-KNOWN code could be the key to unlocking cheaper car insurance. The average cost of motor insurance has fallen in recent months - from £621 in the final quarter of 2024 to £589 between January and March, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). But it always pays to cut costs where possible, starting with the model you choose. You may not have heard of the car insurance grouping system which places vehicles in certain cohorts and gives you an indication of what you're likely to pay for your premium. But how exactly does the system work, and how does your car insurance group affect what you pay? Here's what you need to know. What are car insurance groups? The car insurance grouping system was established by the ABI, which represents insurers, and Lloyds Market Association (LMA). These two bodies meet regularly to decide which insurance groups car and vans should be put into. The system is used by insurers to assess the risks associated with insuring a vehicle. Every time a new car gets a rating, it's added to the Group Rating System, managed by Thatcham Research. Car insurance groups are determined by a number of factors, including a new car's value (the showroom price) and the cost of replacement parts. How long it might take a mechanic to repair a vehicle after a crash and the type of brakes it uses are also used to decide what group it goes in. Five ways to cut your insurance costs Rhydian Jones, motoring expert at explained: "What group your car sits in depends on things like its value, security and safety features, top speed and acceleration, and potential repair costs. "Higher value cars with higher speeds, which are generally more costly to repair would be considered 'riskier' than others, and would therefore be in a higher insurance group. "Equally, those with anti-theft features, or more advanced safety features imply they're less likely to be involved in an incident, or stolen, which would put them in a lower insurance band." How groups affect what you pay and how to check what you pay The car insurance grouping system sees vehicles assigned a number from 1-50. Motors in the lower groups are the cheapest to insure while those in group 50 are the most expensive. According to insurer Allianz, a lower end Citroen C1 or a higher end Fiat 500 will likely be in groups 1-10. What is car insurance? Consumer reporter Sam Walker talks you through what car insurance is and what it covers you for... Car insurance pays out if your vehicle is stolen, damaged, catches on fire or is involved in an accident. As a minimum, it protects you against any damage you case to other road users, the public or their property - these are called third parties. You only need to claim on your car insurance when an accident is your fault. If another motorist is to blame, their insurance should pay out instead. Car insurance, unlike home insurance, is a legal requirement and if you don't have it you can be fined up to £1,000. You can also have your vehicle seized and destroyed. However, you don't need to insure your car if it is classed as "off-road", or holds a statutory off road notification (SORN). The vehicle has to be kept on private land and not a public highway though. A lower end Land Rover Discovery or higher end Porsche Boxster will be in groups 41 to 50. Of course, how much you'll pay for your car insurance is also dependent on other factors like your age, where you live and your estimated mileage. However, numbers crunched by comparison website MoneySupermarket show you could end up paying £640 more per year based on what group the vehicle is in. The figures below are based on policyholders who: are aged between 30 and 39 have no penalty points have held a licence for one year or more have a vehicle with just one person insured on it have an estimated mileage of 5,001 to 10,000 miles have no modifications on their vehicle use their vehicle for socialising and commuting Letters (suffixes) are also assigned alongside a vehicle's car insurance group number which tell insurers about a vehicle's level of security. The better level of security, the lower your insurance premium is likely to be. These are the suffixes and what they mean: A: Acceptable and meets the standard requirement for the car insurance group D: Doesn't meet requirements for the group, meaning the car has been placed in a higher group than normal E: Exceeds requirements for the group, meaning it's been placed in a lower group than normal P: Provisional, meaning not enough data was available when the car went on sale to rate the car's security level U: Unacceptable, meaning the car falls below security requirements and insurers may require an upgrade to security features before insuring it G: Grey import, meaning the car has been imported and will require extra checks to ensure it's legally okay to drive on roads There are a number of free-to-use tools where you can find what car insurance group a vehicle fits into, such as MoneySupermarket or Major change from early 2027 Thatcham Research is in the process of rolling out a new car insurance rating system, known as the Vehicle Risk Rating (VRR) system. It officially launched in September 2024 and applies to all vehicles registered after August 1, 2024. However, if you have a car registered before August 1, 2024, it will keep its old Group Rating. Meanwhile, both the Group Rating (1-50 scale) and new VRR scores are currently being provided to insurers, while only the Group Rating system can be seen by motorists online. Thatcham Research says the new VRR system will be the only rating system used for both insurers and motorists from early 2027.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Webinar: How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable
Vehicle testing organisation Thatcham Research's new Vehicle Risk Rating represents the biggest change to the car insurance industry in decades. This new rating system, which scores cars from 1-99 across five assessment bands, has been designed to deliver more accurate insurance premiums. It replaces the current Group Ratings that have been in place for more than 25 years, and takes into account performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security. Ben Townsend, head of automotive at Thatcham Research, Victor Zhang, UK country director at Omoda and Jaecoo, Scott McCammon, head of motor repair at Admiral and Felix Page, deputy editor at Autocar will discuss what this change means for UK car insurance and the car industry as a whole. Join our webinar 'How a fresh approach to gauging risk will make modern cars insurable' on 8 May at 11:00 to find out more about this industry-changing shift, how the new rating system works, how the vehicles are assessed, and how Thatcham Research can assist manufacturers with the process. Click here to sign up ]]>
Telegraph
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Car insurance groups: Costs and how do they work
Every make and model of car in the UK falls into one of 50 car insurance groups. These groups are defined by the Group Rating Panel and published by Thatcham Research. The group rating system was designed to help insurers assess risk when setting car insurance premiums. Generally, vehicles that fall into group one are the cheapest to insure, while those in group 50 are riskier and the most expensive to insure. Note that for new cars registered after Aug 1 2024, group ratings have been replaced by a new Vehicle Risk Rating scheme. Cars registered before this will continue to use the traditional group rating system. Here, Telegraph Money explains the following: How do car insurance groups work? Car insurance groups Average insurance cost by group Can your car insurance group change? Other factors that affect your insurance premium How do car insurance groups work? The Group Rating Panel is made up of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Lloyds Market Association (LMA), and uses data provided by Thatcham, a risk intelligence organisation. When compiling the insurance classification for UK cars, the panel reviews more than 125 data points and considers the following factors: New car value: The more expensive the car when new, the more it will cost to replace or repair, putting it into a higher insurance group. Damage and parts costs: Insurers will aim to repair a car where possible. Vehicles with cheaper repair costs will fall into a lower group. Repair times: Longer jobs mean higher labour costs, which also affects the grouping. Performance: Vehicles with powerful acceleration and high speeds are at a higher risk of being involved in an accident, placing them in a higher group. Safety features: If a vehicle has improved safety systems, such as an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, it is less likely to be involved in an accident and will be placed in a lower group. Car security: Insurance claims tend to be lower for cars with fitted security devices, such as alarm systems and immobilisers, and these will fall into a lower insurance group as a result. Where security has been rated, a letter may also follow the insurance group number to indicate the result of the assessment: A = Acceptable. The car meets the set standards for its group. D = Doesn't meet the set requirements for its group, so the car has been placed in a higher insurance group. E = Exceeds the set requirements for its group, so the car has been placed in a lower insurance group. P = Provisional. The rating system was incomplete when the car was launched, so the data for the car is only provisional. U = Unacceptable. The car's security falls well below requirements. Insurers may require an upgrade to security features before it can be insured. G = Grey import. The car has been imported, so it can't be rated. Car insurance groups The table below outlines the different car insurance groups and examples of the types of cars that typically fall into each one:
