Car Insurance Groups in the UK being REPLACED by a new 1-99 Vehicle Risk Rating system

The familiar 50 car insurance groups are being replaced a new Vehicle Risk Rating to better categorise risk.

Anyone who has been a driver for the last 15 years will be familiar with Car Insurance groups 1-50, designed to categorise the risk for insurance on any particular model of ar.

But until 2009 there were actually just 20 groups, but it was decided that wasn’t enough to properly categorise the ever-widening variety of cars available so it was upped to 50.

Now, Thatcham Research has announced that a new Vehicle Risk Rating is replacing the current 50 car groups for much the same reasons as saw the increase to 50 groups 15 years ago.

Based on five interconnected assessments designed to give a holistic view of a risk profile and rated from 1 (low risk) to 99 (high risk) better able to take into account EV powertrains, software functionality, cybersecurity and more, the categories are:

Performance
Performance and vehicle characteristics, including acceleration, top speed, and list price, as well as the impact of innovative drivetrains and power systems and associated insurance risks.
Damageability
Damageability assesses how vehicle design, materials, and construction techniques affect the severity and cost of repairs based on rigorous testing protocols.
Repairability
Repairability, examines the availability of a transparent and accessible repair strategy including cost of parts, encouraging vehicle technology advancements to feature practical, cost-effective repair processes.
Safety
Safety encompasses an in-depth analysis of crash avoidance systems and other relevant attributes such as kerb weight to provide a view of a vehicle’s active safety profile.
Security
Security stems from Thatcham Research’s New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), an internationally recognised and understood measure of systems and technology implemented to protect vehicles from theft and unauthorised access, considering both physical anti-theft devices and digital security protocols.