Motor Insurance Group Information from the Car
Insurance Supermarket
Note: It is now compulsary for insurance companies to take account of
the 1-50 Thatchem rating system. The 1-20 system was abandonned in Jan
2010. You can check your car's rating here:
ABI
Group Rating
All motor cars in
this country are given a motor insurance group rating of between one
and twenty. The motor insurance group allocated to your vehicle is then
used to determine the appropriate cost of insurance for your car. The
lower the motor insurance group, the cheaper will be the cost of that
insurance. Not suprisingly, the value of your car has a big impact on
your motor insurance group rating.
The Insurance Group Rating
Panel (IGRP) determines this motor insurance
group rating. The IGRP relies on the Motor Insurance Repair
Centre's data for each make and model of car to decide the appropriate
rating. Panel members that decide each motor insurance group come from the
Association of British Insurers and the LLoyds Market
Association. As a result they are, arguably, a good sample of UK
insurance providers, well-placed to make this determination on the
basis of insurance risk.
Each motor insurance group determination is for guidance purposes
alone. Although they are unlikely to do so, insurance companies are not
required to use them to calculate premia. Numerous other considerations
influence the cost of your cover as well. These include your age, sex,
any previous claims on car insurance policies in the past and whether
you live in a low or high risk area.
Knowledge of the relevant motor insurance group in advance
of buying any car makes good sense particularly where you are expecting
costly cover as with the young driver, the new driver, the driver with
previous driving convictions or anyone without a no claims discount.
As well as the value of the car, the car insurance
group rating is
influenced by issues including the engine's capacity and horse power
rating, the cost of parts when the car is involved in a major accident,
or these repairs in a minor collision, the price of the car's outer
shell, the cost of labour, as well as car security devices and the
relative risk of theft of the vehicle.
Clearly, lower cost, less powerful, small motor cars attract the low motor
insurance group numbers. Group 1 includes a Vauxhall Corsa while the
slightly bigger Ford Focus, according to the model, can be found in the
motor insurance group range 4 to 8. Group 20
cars, naturally enough, are seriously expensive supercars.
A related measure is the Thatcham
Security Rating which all new cars are assigned nowadays. This rating
provides a good indication of how much a car will crumple in an
accident. A five star rating is the safest, being associated with
excellent maintenance of the integrity of the driver and passenger
space than the lower ratings.
Obviously, in addition to the motor insurance group rating, this is an
important consideration when buying a family car. Higher Thatchem rated
cars are literally life savers in many more serious accidents.
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