Car Insurance Groups - What group am I in?

Currenlty, there are 20 insurance groups in the UK, insurance companies place every car into one of these groups, there are a number of factors which influence this, firstly, what group your car falls into and secondly how this affects your car insurance premium. If you are looking to save money and buy cheaper car insurance then it is worth

looking at how the car insurance group can have a major affect on your car insurance premium, obviously the lower insurance group your car falls into the cheaper your insurance premium is going to be, so its worth knowing how insurance firms work this out.

Car insurance groups are set by the ABI (Association of British Car Insurers) and LMA (Lloyds Market Association), this
panel meets every month to reccomend an insurance group for each and ever new passenger car in the UK. Most of the information used in deciding these groups is provided by thatcham (Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre).The groups which are decided by this panel however are only intended as a reccomendation and insurance companies may choose their own groups. Recently Thatchem started a new grouping of 50 cars which means cars can be more accurantly grouped with cars of a similar type and performance. Some insurance companies are now using these 50 groups!

Repair costs feature heavily on deciding which group each car is placed and according to the ABI the cost of motor repairs
accounts for over half the money paid out in the UK for car insurance claims. There are however a number of other factors
which determine the car insurance group of your car:

Repair Costs and Cost of Parts of Your Car

This includes the likely cost of damage to each car and the costs of parts for each car involved in the repair. The ammount of time each takes to repair is also a major determining factor, the longer a car takes to repair the higher the pottential cost to an insurance comapny and of course the higher the premium would be. In essence the cheaper a car would be to repair, the lower its determined insurance group would be and the cheaper its motor insurance premium. One thing worth watching out for is the paint finish as this can also have a determining effect on its car insurance group.

New Car Values

The price of a new car helps to determine its car insurance group, obviously this is often a good indication as to the cost it would be to repair, for example the cost of repairing a BMW 5 series would be significantly higher than the repair costs
of a Fiat Punto, this is obviously also reflected in its new car value.

Body Shells

The availability of the basic frame of the car is also a determining factor in your car insurance group, obviously these are essential for damage repairs and can greatly affect the repair costs, so body shells from a UK manufacturer should in theory be easily obtained however an american import would be significantly more difficult to obtain, and this is reflected in the car insurance group and car insurance cost.

Car Performance

Performance of a car is also a detremining factor, the beter the performance (eg the higher its top speed and its acceleration and also its engine capacity) the higher the group and pottential premium. Insurers are well aware that high
performance cars generally result in more frequent and higher value claims.

Car Security

Security features fitted in car greatly help reduce a cars insurance group and premium, the better the security the more chance you have at reducing your car insurance premium. Features such as alarm/immobiliser systems, high security door locks, glass etching, locking devices for alloy wheels, coded audio equipment and VIN numbers all help to lower the insurance group. if your new car doesn't come with these as standard it is always a good idea to secure your car as much as you can as this is an easy way to reduce your premium, but remember to tell your insurance company if you have altered your car in any way, particularaly with any security devices.

Understanding and determining your car insurance group can go a long way in reducing your car insurance premium but can also help decide which car to buy, when buying a car always keep in mind the pottential car insurance group to avoid any nasty surprises when obtaining your car insurance. A good source for information is the ABI website, which has a search facility to help determine your car insurance quote, obviously this is a guide as previously mentioned some insurace companies use their own data to determine these groups.

About The Author

Written by Oscar Blake, who has over 15 Years experience in UK and European Property & Finance, as well as having around 10 years experience in webdesign and development. Oscar is currently working on a number of projects (current project Dating Tips For Guys), bringing helpful and informative articles and websites to consumers. For Further Articles and Information on Car Insurance Visit the website http://carinsurance.tastic-fantastic.co.uk