How Do Car Groups work?
Insurance Car Groups should be considered when deciding on your next purchase. Which car groups your vehicle and your insurance fall into is one of the most important rating factors in motor insurance. The ‘ABI Group Rating Panel’ created a system of group ratings for vehicles which put all of these cars into one of 50 groups according to the risk that they present to the insurance companies.
The ABI panel is made up of the ABI (Association of British Insurers) and the LMA (Lloyd’s Market Association)
The group system includes:
- Damage and Parts Cost The likely extent of damage to each car model and the cost of the parts involved in its repair. The lower these costs, the more likelihood there is of a lower group rating.
- Repair Times Longer repair times mean higher costs and the greater likelihood of a higher group rating. Different paint finishes on modern cars are an important factor, so these too are taken into account.
- New Car Values The prices of new cars are taken into account as they are often a good guide to the cost of replacement and repair.
- Parts Prices A standard list of 23 common parts is used to compare one manufacturer’s parts costs to another. The lower these costs, the more likelihood there is of a lower group rating.
- Performance Acceleration and top speed are important factors. Insurers know very well, from their claims statistics, that high-performance cars often result in more frequent insurance claims.
- Safety Cars that are fitted with an Autonomous Emergency Breaking (AEB) system are less likely to be involved in low-speed front to rear accidents, therefore where AEB is fitted as standard this will be taken into account and will reduce the insurance rating.
- Bumper Compatibility The alignment and structure of the front and rear bumpers is an important factor in how cars perform in a front to rear accident. Those cars with bumpers that meet the insurer’s criteria and are therefore compatible receive lower insurance ratings.
- Car Security: features fitted as standard equipment by motor manufacturers can help to reduce insurance claims costs. Such features include high-security door locks, alarm/immobilisation systems, glass etching, coded audio equipment, locking devices for alloy wheels and visible VIN numbers.
These ratings published by the ABI group rating panel are used as a GUIDELINE for insurance companies ONLY and insurance companies are free to move vehicles between groups based on their own claims experience.