Finance Insurance

About Insurance Groups

Published at 04/02/2012 20:08:59

Introduction

Car insurance companies will often utilize insurance groups to categorize the policies for different types of vehicles. This makes it easier for the insurance company to produce an insurance quote, once a customer provides the required information. The ratings for insurance groups will vary from one country to next. In the UK the ratings used by insurance companies will range from 1 to 50. The lower the number, the cheaper the policy will be. In the UK, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is tasked with the responsibility of determining the number of insurance car groups, and the cars that fit in with each group. Each new passenger car built to UK specifications is rated by the ABI, who meet on a monthly basis. This type of ranking system that is used by professionals in the insurance industry to come up with an appropriate insurance quote for any particular car. Owning a car with a low insurance group is good way to reduce your insurance costs. Therefore, it is more than worthwhile to understand how insurance car groups work and finding out which models sit in which insurance groups.

History

Car insurance companies will categorize car insurance groups by the amount of damage a car would stand to sustain in the event of an accident and how much it would cost to repair it. High performance cars (sports cars) have a higher probability of being involved in an accident, than low performance cars and often more expensive to repair. You will therefore pay higher premiums for cars with a fast engine and high performance speeds. They will also take into consideration a car’s security in coming up with the proper rating for it. The car alarm and security system installed in car will determine the probability of theft. The better equipped your car’s security system is, the lower its ranking will be.

Features

Car insurance groups use a number of factors to determine the proper ranking for a vehicle. However, car insurance companies will also consider a driver’s age and driving history while coming up with an insurance quote. Insurance companies will often rank drivers into two basic groups: high risk and low risk drivers. Teenagers are typically ranked as high risk drivers, especially if they have a history of arrests or accident claims. Due to the higher risk involved, insurance companies will typically charged teenagers a high rate on their insurance quotes. However, teenagers can improve their chances of obtaining a cheaper rate on their car insurance, by selecting a car in lower group rating and cleaning up their driving record. Mature drivers are often ranked as low risk drivers, especially if they have a clean driving record with no or small number of claims. However, they can add on to or reduce their cost of insurance by their choice of vehicle. Choosing a low-rated vehicle coupled with a good driving history, will help to reduce the cost of insurance, by a few hundred dollars.

Tips and comments

These factors, together with the right selection of insurance group will help to dramatically reduce your car insurance premiums.

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