At comparison sites like mustard.co.uk, cheap car insurance is quick and easy to find. Plus, with their Cheapest Price Guarantee, you can be confident about getting great value for money. But while comparing quotes helps you get the most competitive quote, which cars are the cheapest to cover in the first place?
Why are some cars cheaper to insure than others?
Fundamentally, this is because premiums reflect how expensive it might be to repair or replace the car. The more it costs, the higher the premium.
To help work this out, insurers use the group rating system, also known as car insurance groups.
How do car insurance groups work?
There are 50 car insurance groups in total and all cars made for the UK belong to one. As a general rule cars in higher insurance groups cost more to insure.
Cars are put into a group based on a number of factors which include:
- Car value
- Cost of car parts and repairs
- Car performance
- Safety and security features
The more powerful and expensive the car, the higher the insurance group. Typically these cars also need more expensive parts and repairs can also take longer or need approved or specialist garages to work on them.
Despite expensive cars usually having more safety features, extra gadgets and gizmos can also mean the car sits in a high insurance group. On the flip side, less expensive cars with cheaper car parts typically cost less to repair and to insure.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that you can have cars of the same model in different insurance groups as the group depends on a car’s specification. So, if one has more features (which makes it more expensive to repair) it’s likely to be in a higher group compared to a basic version of the same model.
Which cars are in the lowest insurance groups?
Cars in insurance group one are the very cheapest to insure. These cars are typically small with less powerful engines and best suited for town and city driving rather than storming up motorways.
Similarly, insurance group two and three cars are also cheaper to insure and may be better suited to your needs as they’ll have a slightly higher specification and more features.
Popular cars in car insurance groups one, two, and three include:
- Volkswagen Polo
- Volkswagen Up
- Kia Picanto
- Kia Rio
- Nissan Micra
- Skoda Fabia
- SEAT Ibiza
- Renault Clio
- Ford Fiesta
If you’re on the lookout for a new car, remember to base your choice on what you actually need rather than just looking at the insurance group. For example, if you regularly drive on the motorway, a group one car that struggles to reach motorway speeds isn’t going to be a practical choice. Instead, focus on finding a car with an appropriate engine size and spec and then compare insurance groups to find which of those cars are in the lowest groups.
Other ways to cut the cost of car insurance
Choosing a car in a low insurance group goes a long way to helping you get cheaper car insurance, but it’s not the only thing you can do.
To make sure you keep premiums as low as you possibly can, consider these money-saving tips:
- Pay for your car insurance annually — paying in instalments costs more as interest will be added.
- Increase your voluntary excess — doing this lowers your overall premium but your excess should still be affordable, otherwise you won’t be able to proceed with a claim.
- Choose telematics insurance — these policies monitor your driving and base premiums on the way you drive as an individual (rather than industry statistics). If you drive consistently well you could be rewarded with lower premiums.
- Improve your car’s security — keeping your car as safe and secure as possible can shave a little off your premium. If you can’t keep it in a garage or on a private driveway, think about upgrading the alarm or buying an immobiliser.
- Tweak your job title — as far as insurers are concerned, some jobs are associated with higher claims so it’s worth seeing what different options exist to describe what you do. For example, hairdresser versus hair stylist or writer versus journalist.
Compare car insurance quotes
Comparing quotes is the quickest and simplest way to ensure you never pay more than you need, and at comparison site mustard.co.uk, you can compare dozens of leading UK insurers in just a few clicks. Or, if you prefer to speak to someone, you can call an expert on 0330 022 8812.