Most modern cars are assigned to an insurance group – a denounce between 1 and 50* that indicates the level of risk as seen by the insurers .
insurance group ratings are advisory – insurers do n’t have to follow them .
Insurers take many factors into account when setting premiums but with all else being peer, the lower the group count the lower the insurance premium should be. This means that the indemnity group can give you an mind of relative indemnity costs when comparing different models.
Specials, such as kit out cars, imports and conversions are broadly not covered by the indemnity group rating scheme .
Who decides?
The Insurance Group Rating arrangement is run by the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre ( Thatcham ). The Group Rating Panel ( members of Association of british Insurers ‘ ( ABI ) and Lloyds Market Association ( LMA ) allocates groups based on Thatcham ‘s research .
insurance grouping takes account of :
- price when new
- performance – image, top speed and 0 to 60 time
- repair costs – labour and parts following a standard low-speed crash test
- body shell – availability and price
- parts prices – associated with more severe collisions
Theft deterrents
To encourage car manufacturers to fit better security systems, the group–rating summons besides looks at locks and security devices fitted as standard. Insurers ‘ standards are more screen than the basic legal requirements and get tougher as the group rate increases .
Where security has been rated, the policy group number, from 1 to 50, is followed by a letter, which shows the results of the appraisal .
E = Exceeds the security prerequisite for a car of this type and the group denounce has been reduced – so a group 10 car that exceeds the standard is listed as a 9E .
A = Acceptable security requirements for the car ‘s group .
P = Provisional – incomplete data when the model was launched.
D = Does n’t meet the security necessity for a car of this type and the group rat has been increased as a solution – so a group 8 car that does n’t meet the criterion is listed as a 9D .
U = Unacceptable – the horizontal surface of security is importantly below requirements. The car wo n’t be uninsurable, but some insurers may insist on a security upgrade before they cover you .
G = Import – Insurance Group Ratings and security ratings are presently only allocated to vehicles built for the UK marketplace.
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whip
whiplash to both the driver and to passengers accounts for around 80 % of all personal injury claims following car accidents. Some induct and head constraint designs offer better protection against whip than others.
Insurers here and abroad have developed a rat system that predicts the whiplash electric potential of different designs. This has become region of EuroNCAP ‘s safety ratings but could besides become part of the policy group rating system in the future because whip injuries feature indeed highly in indemnity claims .
( 22 November 2011 )
* This has changed from the old system of groups from 1 to 20 over the past few years. The Insurance Group Rating empanel stopped reporting group 1 to 20 ratings for fresh car models from the begin of 2010 .