Car Insurance Groups

It is hard to imagine a time when the roads were not busy with cars and people either walked or relied on public transport to get them to work. People depend upon their motor cars so much these days and without the use of a car most people would find life very difficult. Having the convenience of being able to drive to work and back, drop the kids off at school, day trips out and doing the weekly shop is so much taken for granted. However, the convenience of having your own car does not come cheap particularly with the rising cost of petrol. Also the cost of insuring a car is very expensive particularly depending upon the type of car that you drive. Someone who drives a high performance car will pay much more for insurance than someone who drives a standard car with a small engine. Also a young person or someone who has only just passed their driving test is going to pay more for car insurance than someone who is an older more experienced driver. By law every car on the road must have at least third party insurance cover. This covers the owner for any accident they might have themselves or one that involves a third party. Third party fire and theft insurance will cover for if the car catches fire or if your car sets some other person's car on fire. Fully comprehensive insurance covers for almost everything such as a broken windscreen and protecting your no claims bonus.

All motorists want to try and reduce their motoring costs and one way is to try and pay less for their car insurance premium. There are a number of ways that can help to reduce the cost and one is to check the car insurance bands before buying a particular car. The Group Rating Panel meet each month and recommend to insurers which band of rating a car need to be insured for. The rating scale is from 1 to 20 and a standard car with a small engine is more likely to be in group 1 whereas a high performance car will be classed as group 20. The Group Rating Panel categories will depend upon certain facts such as how much the car costs brand new and how much it would cost to have it repaired. How much the parts cost for the car and is it likely to attract vandals or thieves. Is the car a high performance car that reaches very high speeds? All these facts are taken into consideration by the Rating Panel who will then pass on the grading to the Insurance Companies. So bare in mind when purchasing a new car that the group rating of the car will certainly affect the price of the yearly insurance premium. Check out the group ratings by going on-line where it is possible to see a list of cars and the insurance band they fall in. If the car you are thinking of purchasing is a Fiesta in group 4 it is definitely not going to cost as much to insure as it would to insure a Focus St which is in a much higher category.

There are other ways you could reduce your car insurance premium such as fitting your car with an alarm and immobiliser. Keeping it in a garage if possible and agreeing to a low mileage limit. For a motorist who has built up a no claims bonus by driving safely this will also reduce the cost of the insurance premium. A motorist with a no claims bonus for five years could make a 75% reduction to their premium. Also by checking out the comparison web sites and getting as many quotes as possible is a good way of getting cheaper insurance cover. Be careful to read the small print of any quote before making a decision. What might seem like a good deal at first glance could be because many essential aspects are not covered. Make sure the no claims bonus is covered and what the level of excess is. Take your time and by taking some small measures it is possible to get the cover you need without having to pay more than you need to.

Summary

Motorists buying a new car could save money on their car insurance by checking the car insurance bands. This will enable them to make a decision as to which car to buy and which model will cost them the most in insurance cover. Insurance cover for a car in group rating 1 will be far less expensive than a car at the top of list in group rating 20.