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Mercedes CLA Insurance Cost UK (2026)

A Mercedes-Benz CLA costs roughly £1,150 a year to insure comprehensively in 2026, sitting in insurance groups 22–39 — a clear step up from the A-Class it shares its underpinnings with. The four-door coupe styling and sportier positioning push the groups higher than the practical hatchback, even where the engine underneath is the same.

See cost by age All vehicles

22–39

Insurance group (of 50)

~£1,150/yr

Typical comprehensive premium

£880–£2,050

Composite premium by driver age

Direct answer

What does it cost to insure a Mercedes CLA?

The typical fully comprehensive premium for a Mercedes CLA in the UK is around £1,150 a year, or roughly £102 a month if you spread it. That's a Car Insurance Expert composite estimate rather than an insurer-supplied quote — there's no single published CLA average, so we've placed it between the two Finder UK figures that bracket it: the Mercedes A-Class it's based on averages £911 a year, and the larger C-Class averages £1,538. The CLA sits nearer the A-Class but above it, which is exactly where its insurance groups fall.

Against the wider market that's a fair bit above the £719 average quoted premium in the Confused.com Price Index for Q2 2026, and well above the £566 average premium actually paid reported by the ABI over the same window. Most of the gap is the badge and the styling, not raw speed. Four things move the number most:

Insurance group. Parkers rates the current (2019-on) CLA Coupe at groups 22 to 39; the CLA 180 Sport Edition anchors the bottom, the CLA 250e AMG Line Premium Plus the top. Finder's data across all generations runs a touch wider, up into the mid-40s for the hottest AMG cars. The everyday CLA 180 and CLA 200 petrols in Sport trim are the cheapest to cover.
It's the style-led sibling of the A-Class. Under the skin the CLA shares much of its mechanicals with the A-Class hatch, but the four-door coupe body, lower roofline and more premium trim push it a few groups higher. You pay for the shape.
Parts and repair cost. Mercedes panels, the swooping bodywork and the driver-assist tech on higher trims are dearer to put right after a knock, and insurers price that in.
Who's driving, and where. Age, postcode, annual mileage and no-claims history routinely matter more than the model — a settled forties driver and a newly qualified 19-year-old can be quoted several times apart for the identical CLA.

The numbers

Mercedes CLA insurance cost by driver age

These indicative figures are a Car Insurance Expert composite estimate: we take the bracket set by the Finder A-Class and C-Class averages and scale it across the age bands using the published age relativities behind the Confused.com and ABI data. The CLA appeals to younger buyers more than the practical B-Class does, and that shows up in the top band — a driver in their early twenties can pay well over double a settled driver in their forties.

Mercedes CLA typical comprehensive premium by driver age — UK 2026

Under-25s pay the most by a distance; premiums settle from the mid-30s, then drift up gently in retirement.

Car Insurance Expert composite estimate, informed by the £911.07 Finder UK A-Class and £1,537.53 C-Class averages, Parkers group data and Confused.com / ABI Q2 2026 age relativities (£719 quoted, £566 paid all-ages). Not insurer-supplied quotes.

Driver age band	Indicative annual premium	Notes
17–24 (young / new)	£1,600–£2,600	Highest band by far — the sporty styling doesn't help, and a CLA 250e or a CLA 45 AMG for a young driver can run well past £2,600
25–34	£1,050–£1,450	Around £1,200 on our composite; the premium falls quickly once a couple of no-claims years are on record
35–64	£780–£1,050	The cheapest years — roughly £880 for a settled driver with clean history on a CLA 180 or 200 petrol
65+	£900–£1,250	Creeps up gently with age; still comfortably below what a young driver pays for the same car

Indicative figures — a Car Insurance Expert composite estimate, not insurer-supplied quotes. Built from the £911.07 A-Class and £1,537.53 C-Class averages published by Finder, the Parkers group data (22–39), and Confused.com and ABI Q2 2026 age relativities (£719 quoted, £566 paid all-ages). Your own quote will vary by postcode, engine, trim, mileage and claims history.

By engine & trim

Which Mercedes CLA is cheapest to insure?

Because the CLA spans a wide group band, engine and trim choice is the biggest lever you control before you've even had a quote. The pattern holds across the current model (2019-on) and the earlier car:

CLA 180 / CLA 200 petrol, Sport or Sport Edition trim — the friendliest end of the range, with the Sport Edition sitting right at group 22. These are the ones to aim for if the insurance line on the spreadsheet matters.
CLA 180d / CLA 200d diesel — broadly similar groups to the petrols, occasionally a notch higher. Worth it only if you cover the miles to use the economy.
AMG Line and AMG Line Premium Plus trims — the bigger wheels, body styling and kit push these up towards group 39, even on the same engine.
CLA 250e plug-in hybrid and the CLA 35 / CLA 45 AMG — the top of the range for insurance. The plug-in hybrid's higher value and battery-repair complexity, and the AMG cars' genuine performance, put them in the highest groups the CLA reaches.

We see this a lot with the CLA: someone stretches to an AMG Line 250e for the look, then finds the insurance, the tyres and the servicing all cost noticeably more than the CLA 200 Sport they first sat in. If your mileage is modest and the premium matters, the plain petrol in Sport trim is usually the smarter total-cost buy. Check the exact group for your registration against our insurance groups guide before you commit — trim alone can move a CLA the best part of ten groups.

Save money

How to cut the cost of Mercedes CLA insurance

None of these bend the rules; they're the levers that actually shift a style-led premium car's premium.

Buy the lower-group engine and trim. A CLA 180 or 200 petrol in Sport spec is materially cheaper to insure than a 250e or an AMG car. Between two CLAs, the group number is worth real money every year.
Build and protect your no-claims discount. On a group-22-plus car the NCD counts for more than on a city runabout; several protected years can knock hundreds off.
Raise your voluntary excess to a figure you could genuinely find after a claim. It lowers the premium — but only take the saving if you could actually pay the excess.
Pay annually rather than monthly. Monthly instalments carry interest, often an APR of 20–30%, so paying up front typically saves £70–£110 a year on a car at this price.
Keep mileage realistic and park it securely. An honest lower annual mileage and a garage or driveway both pull the price down.
Shop the whole market at renewal. Loyalty rarely pays. The biggest saving most CLA owners leave on the table is simply not comparing when the renewal lands.

FAQs

Mercedes CLA insurance: your questions answered

What insurance group is the Mercedes CLA in?

Parkers rates the current (2019-on) CLA Coupe at insurance groups 22 to 39 out of 50. The CLA 180 Sport Edition sits at the bottom on group 22; the CLA 250e AMG Line Premium Plus tops the standard range at 39, and the CLA 45 AMG runs higher still. Finder's data across all generations spans a slightly wider band. The everyday CLA 180 and CLA 200 petrols in Sport trim are the cheapest to cover. See our insurance groups guide for how the scale works.

How much does it cost to insure a Mercedes CLA per year?

On our composite estimate, about £1,150 a year for fully comprehensive cover, or roughly £102 a month. That places it between Finder's £911 A-Class average and its £1,538 C-Class average, and above the £719 UK quoted average. It's a composite figure rather than an insurer quote, and your own price swings widely with age, postcode, engine, trim and no-claims history — so treat it as a starting point, not a promise.

Why is a Mercedes CLA more expensive to insure than an A-Class?

They share a lot underneath, but the CLA's four-door coupe body, lower roofline and more premium trim push it a few insurance groups above the equivalent A-Class hatch — and the higher trims and the AMG cars widen that gap. Finder puts the A-Class average at around £911 a year; the CLA sits above it. You're paying for the shape and the positioning more than for extra speed on the base engines.

Which CLA engine and trim is cheapest to insure?

The CLA 180 or CLA 200 petrol in Sport or Sport Edition trim, which sit at the bottom of the group range around group 22. Avoid the CLA 250e plug-in hybrid and the AMG Line and AMG models if premium is your priority — the hybrid's higher value and battery-repair cost, and the AMG cars' performance, push them into the highest groups the CLA reaches. For most owners the plain petrol in Sport trim is the smarter total-cost choice.

Is the CLA 250e plug-in hybrid more expensive to insure than the petrol?

Generally yes. The 250e carries a higher list value than the CLA 180/200 petrols and its battery and hybrid system add repair complexity, so it sits in higher insurance groups and costs more to cover. The running-cost savings from plug-in driving can offset that if you do plenty of short electric trips and can charge at home, but on the insurance line alone the petrol is the cheaper car.

Is the CLA expensive to insure for young drivers?

Yes, more so than the practical Mercedes hatches. On a composite basis a driver in the 17–24 band pays roughly £1,600–£2,600, and a CLA 250e or a CLA 45 AMG can push a young driver well beyond that. A new driver set on a CLA should stick to a CLA 180 petrol in Sport trim, add a black box and keep mileage modest — though a smaller, lower-group car would be cheaper to start out on.

Do modifications increase CLA insurance?

Yes. Performance, cosmetic or wheel modifications usually raise the premium and must always be declared — failing to disclose one can void a claim or even the whole policy. A standard, unmodified CLA is always the cheapest to insure. If you've bought a car with existing mods, or you fancy aftermarket AMG-look wheels, tell the insurer exactly what's fitted before you take out cover.

Will a black box policy make a CLA cheaper?

For younger and newer drivers, usually yes. A telematics policy prices you on how you actually drive rather than age alone, which can meaningfully cut a 17–24 premium even on a sporty-looking car like the CLA. For settled 35–64 drivers with several years of no-claims, the saving is smaller and often not worth the curfews and mileage limits that come with a box.

Our sources

Sources & methodology

Parkers — Mercedes CLA Coupe (2019-on) insurance groups (groups 22–39, from the CLA 180 Sport Edition to the CLA 250e AMG Line Premium Plus)
Finder UK — Mercedes-Benz insurance costs (the £911.07 A-Class and £1,537.53 C-Class averages that bracket our CLA composite; data updated April 2026)
Confused.com Price Index and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) — Q2 2026 UK average premiums (£719 quoted, £566 paid) and the age relativities behind our composite
Thatcham Research / ABI Group Rating Panel — the 1–50 insurance group scale used throughout

Figures are indicative and for guidance only; the headline and age-band premiums are a Car Insurance Expert composite estimate, not insurer-supplied quotes. Your own quote depends on age, postcode, engine, trim, mileage, claims history and cover level. Compare the whole market for the most accurate price. See also all vehicles, our UK car insurance cost index, the sibling Mercedes A-Class insurance cost and Mercedes C-Class insurance cost pages, and insurance groups explained.

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team. Our motoring editor checks each model page against current Finder and Parkers data and the ABI/Confused.com Q2 2026 averages. Questions: use our contact form.

Last updated: 13 September 2026

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