Buying a car in a low insurance group can help keep premiums down. Here’s how groups are determined and the types of cars that can lead to cheaper cover.
What is a car insurance group?
Uness your car is an import, it’ll belong to one of 50 insurance groups. Cars in lower numbered groups tend to attract lower premiums so if you’re after cheap car cover, checking the insurance group is a good place to start.
The groups are based on a number of different factors including:
- Car value — the more expensive the car, the higher the insurance group.
- Cost of parts and repairs — the easier and cheaper it is to source parts, the lower the insurance group.
- Car performance — powerful cars are usually at the top end of the scale as accidents are more likely to mean expensive claims.
- Security and safety — cars in lower (cheaper) insurance groups are usually equipped with numerous safety and security features. In fact, security plays such an important part in insurance groups, that different letters are used to show whether car security is above, below, or at acceptable standards.
What cars are in insurance group 3?
Insurance group 3 cars are some of the cheapest to insure and include:
- Ford Ka
- Ford Fiesta
- SEAT Mii
- SEAT Ibiza
- Skoda Citigo
- Skoda Fabia
- Toyota Aygo
- Toyota Yaris
- Vauxhall Adam
- Vauxhall Corsa
- Volkswagen Polo
For more insurance group 3 cars and details on specific year of manufacture, head to Parkers.
How much does it cost to insure group 3 cars?
On the whole, group 3 car insurance prices will be some of the lowest on offer but insurance group isn’t the only factor that influences premiums; insurers will also consider:
- Your age – young drivers pay some of the highest premiums compared to other age groups. This is because under 25s are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident.
- Where you live – insurance is likely to cost more if you live in an urban area or somewhere with a higher than average crime rate.
- Where you park your car – you’ll usually be asked where you keep your car overnight and if you’re lucky enough to have a garage, you can expect lower premiums.
- Your driving history – if you have any driving convictions or penalty points you can expect to pay higher premiums compared to a driver with a clean driving record.
- The number of miles you drive – the more miles you cover, the greater the risk of an accident occurring which can lead to higher premiums. If you only drive occasionally, low mileage car insurance could mean you pay even less for cover.
What are the cheapest cars to insure?
Insurance group 3 cars are some of the cheapest to insure but if you’re looking for cars that are likely to attract even lower premiums, consider a group 1 car instead, these include: the Citroën C1, Fiat Panda, Hyundai i10, and the Volkswagen Fox.
Some of the models you could also consider are in group 2, these include: the Peugeot Partner Tepee, Vauxhall Corsa, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo, Hyundai i10.
How can I get cheaper car insurance?
Insurance group plays an important part in calculating premiums but there are other ways to keep costs down — for example:
- Pay for premiums upfront — paying in instalments often works out more expensive as interest may be added.
- Choose a telematics policy — also known as black box insurance, these policies base premiums on the way you drive by monitoring your actions behind the wheel.
- Increase your voluntary excess — this will lower your overall premium but it should still be affordable as you’ll need to pay it for a claim to go ahead.
- Build up your no claims bonus — the more claim free years you have, the bigger the discount off your premium so think carefully about what you claim for.
