The group rating panel, managed by Thatcham Research, assigns new car models to an insurance group from 1 (the cheapest to insure) to 50 (the most expensive). Insurance costs continue to rise, no matter what type of car you drive, but buying a car in an extremely high insurance group won't do you any favors. This gigantic SUV is powered by a wide range of engines, many of which manage to escape the highest category of insurance. To be fair, buying most of these cars is so expensive that insurance costs are hardly a consideration for the typical purchaser.
Car safety The safety features installed by car manufacturers can help reduce the costs of insurance claims. Vehicles with bumpers that are compatible with the insurer's criteria will be entitled to lower insurance ratings. It's generally balanced, as you'd expect from a Lotus, and it's also relatively cheap for such a high-performance car, but insurance costs can be annoying and the +2 isn't big enough for passengers. Safety vehicles equipped with AEB as standard will have a lower insurance rating, as they help reduce low speed.
Insurers can use the panel's recommendations to calculate auto insurance premiums, or they can choose to use their own groups. Cars in the higher groups, generally high-performance models, are likely to cost insurers more in insurance claims. If you really want to annoy insurers, you can get a speed package, which increases the top speed to 174 mph. According to the Association of British Insurers, the cost of motor vehicle repairs represents more than half of all the money paid in car insurance claims, so repair costs figure high in how groups are defined.
In the United States, they tend to offer good value for money, but import costs, taxes and an often inflated insurance premium mean that cars like the Cadillac CTS-V rarely win the hearts of UK buyers, even if they have impressive performance and engines with a lot of character. The last two models belong to the insurance group 50, as does the hyperexclusive and expensive FX50 Vettel Edition, which bears the name of the F1 driver Sebastian Vettel and features details such as carbon fiber spoilers. Car insurance groups are established by the Group Rating Panel, which includes members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Lloyds Market Association (LMA). It's extremely well built, it's incredibly capable and it's gloriously opulent, but it's a little expensive in fuel and safe.
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