Car Insurance Bands: What do they mean

Author Name – Ben Garner

21 Apr 2022 4 people

The insurance group of your car plays a key part in the pricing of your insurance. Insurance groups will look at what band your car is, and determine the price of your insurance from that. In this article, we’ll discuss what an insurance band is and how they affect the pricing of car insurance.

car insurance groups

What is a car insurance band?

There are 50 car insurance bands, and each of these groups will affect your insurance quote differently. Cars in band 1 will be the cheapest cars to insure, whereas a car in band 50 will be the most expensive. If your car is more luxurious or powerful, it will likely be in a higher group compared to less powerful cars.

Cars in band 1 are usually small cars or city cars with low horsepower, such as a Skoda Fabia or Renault Clio. Cars in band 50 have high horsepower and cost more when factory new, such as a Ferrari or a Bentley.

Do insurance groups go up or down?

It is unlikely that your car's insurance group will change over time. The price may decrease if you build up no claims bonus, but the insurance group of the car will usually remain the same. Young drivers will have to pay more for their insurance, due to a lack of experience in driving. Therefore, they are deemed to be more likely to be involved in a crash.

Is a higher or lower insurance group cheaper?

Insurance band one is the cheapest band, whereas insurance band 50 is the most expensive. There are a few variables that can affect the insurance band of a vehicle:

Performance – powerful cars are deemed as more likely to be involved in an insurance claim. Therefore, horsepower, acceleration and top speed are all considered when determining a cars band
Car value – if a car is more expensive when factory new, it will be in a higher insurance band due to higher replacement costs
Safety – cars with better safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking, will be in a lower insurance band, due to a decreased chance of an accident
Security – cars fitted with alarms and immobilisers will be deemed as harder to steal by insurers, and therefore will be placed in a lower insurance band
Repair parts – should a car cost more to repair, it will be placed in a higher insurance band due to insurers having a higher pay-out. Repair parts include suspension, bodywork, brakes, and more

How to find your car insurance group?

You can use a tool on Parkers to find your car insurance group. Simply select the make and model of your vehicle, and the tool will tell you which band your car is in, ranging from 1 to 50.