New Insurance Groups 1 to 50 Now In Use

The new insurance groups 1-50 have now replaced the traditional groups which ranged from 1-20. Although it was initially announced in 2007, many manufacturers and insurance companies have only just taken up the new ratings since it became compulsory in January 2010.

The new insurance groups have been developed by Thatcham who analyse the cars value, performance, security and the ease of repair. The scheme is aiming to give insurers the ability to offer more accurate insurance premiums by increasing the groups from 20 to 50.

The scale will still work in the same format with the lower numbered cars providing cheaper insurance offers. To give drivers a guideline of the new insurance ratings it can now be seen that a family hatchback will have an insurance rating between 10 and 20.

According to Thatchams website a vehicle´s group rating is also determined by:

• The new car price, reflecting variations in trim level and the cost of settlement in the event of a ´total loss´

• Vehicle performance, both the 0-60 m.p.h. acceleration and top speed

• Parts Pricing from a standard list of 23 parts
  

• A vehicle´s security levels

The Association of British Insurers will now receive nearly three quarters of their information directly from Thatcham as the assessments will be made by Thatcham of each vehicle. The list of group ratings can now be found on their their website on behalf of the ABI.

published: 19/02/2010