Van Insurance Groups Explained

It’s worth getting to grips with these if you’re buying a van because your insurance group will be a major factor in how much you end up paying for your insurance.

There are 50 different van insurance groups set by a governing panel that includes members of the ABI (Association of British Insurers).

To establish the groups they take into account a range of factors from engine size to how secure the van is.

Insurance Groups

How policy decisions are made

The criteria used to determine insurance groups are open and straight forward and the governing panel make sure all insurers have solid foundations behind their policy decisions.

There are six main factors the panel consider when fitting a van into the right insurance group:

• Parts - The lower the cost of parts the more likely the van will be entered in a lower cost group.
• Cost of repairs – This factor is related to the costs of parts. Simply put, the cheaper the repairs the lower the group.
• Performance – Statistics show that the faster the vehicle the more likely there will be an insurance claim. So, if your van is capable of high speed it's likely to be in a higher van insurance group.
• Engine size - The larger the engine the more powerful the vehicle and this increases the chance of an accident. Meaning that the van is much more likely to be in a higher insurance group.
• Weight - The heavier the vehicle the more difficult it is to drive, so the higher the group it will be in.
• Security - If the van is fitted with security features as standard, the premium will be lower.