What do car insurance groups mean?
Every car sold in the UK is rated from 1 (cheapest to insure) to 50 (most expensive) by Thatcham Research for the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The lower the group, the cheaper your premium tends to be.
Value a car by its reg to see exactly where it lands on this scale.
What pushes a car up the groups?
Value & repair cost
Pricier cars and pricier parts cost more to fix or replace, so they sit higher.
Performance & power
More bhp and a quicker 0–60 means higher risk — hot hatches and performance trims jump up the groups.
Parts & availability
Cheap, common parts (Fiesta, Corsa) keep a car low; rare or imported parts push it up.
Safety & security
Alarms, immobilisers and a strong NCAP rating pull a car down a group or two.
New or young driver? Aim for groups 1–10
The cheapest cars to insure are small petrol hatchbacks. These typically sit in the lowest groups:
Common questions
Does a lower group always mean cheaper insurance?
It's the single biggest factor on the car side, but your premium also depends on your age, postcode, mileage, no-claims and how you use the car. A low group helps a lot, but it's not the whole price.
Why is my car shown as a range (e.g. 6–24)?
Groups are assigned per exact derivative (engine + trim). When we only know the make, model and year, we show the span across that model's trims — the entry-level car sits near the bottom, the performance trim near the top.
Can I change my car's insurance group?
No — the group is fixed for that exact car. But choosing a lower trim, a smaller engine, or adding an approved alarm/immobiliser to an older car can land you in a cheaper bracket.
Group vs band — what's the difference?
There are 50 groups. They're sometimes shown with a letter band (E/A/D/U) for how the car scored on security — but the 1–50 number is what insurers use most.
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