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Insurance Groups · Group 1

What is insurance group 1, and which cars are in it? (UK 2026)

Insurance group 1 is the cheapest of the UK’s 1–50 rating scale, and cars in it insure from around £385 a year in 2026 — well under the £579.52 UK average. Group 1 is reserved for small, low-powered, cheap-to-repair city cars like the Hyundai i10, VW Up! and SEAT Mii. Choosing a group 1 car over a group 20 one can save a new driver more than £1,500 a year. Here is exactly how group 1 is decided and which cars qualify.

Group 1 cars → All insurance groups
Direct Answer

What “insurance group 1” actually means

Every car sold in the UK is placed in one of 50 insurance groups, 1 to 50, and group 1 is the cheapest to insure. The ratings are set by the Group Rating Panel — made up of members from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Lloyd’s Market Association — using research from Thatcham Research. A car lands in group 1 when it is cheap and quick to repair, low-powered, inexpensive to replace and well protected by security and safety equipment. In practice that means small petrol city cars with sub-1.2-litre engines. The group is only one ingredient in your quote — your age, postcode, mileage and claims history matter too — but starting in group 1 gives you the lowest possible base. For brand-new models registered since August 2024, insurers increasingly use the newer Vehicle Risk Rating (VRR) 1–99 scale, but the familiar 1–50 group system still drives the quote for the small, affordable cars most group 1 buyers are looking at.

CarEngineInsurance groupTypical premium
Hyundai i101.0 petrol1–2~£385
Volkswagen Up!1.0 petrol1–2~£400
SEAT Mii1.0 petrol1–2~£395
Skoda Citigo1.0 petrol1–2~£400
Fiat Panda1.2 petrol1–3~£420
Smart ForTwo1.0 petrol1–3~£430
Citroën C11.0 petrol2–4~£440
Kia Picanto1.0 petrol2–4~£450
Toyota Aygo1.0 petrol3–7~£470
UK average (all cars, Q1 2026)——£579.52

Sources: ABI/Thatcham Group Rating, Confused.com Q1 2026 Price Index (UK average £579.52), Quotezone insurance-group data and Car Insurance Expert composite quote sample for a 35-year-old driver with full no-claims. Exact group varies by trim, gearbox and model year — only specific versions of each car sit in group 1. Refresh: 2026-09-14.

How a car earns it

What puts a car in insurance group 1?

The Group Rating Panel scores every car against a consistent set of factors. The cars that end up in group 1 score low on cost and risk across all of them:

  1. Cost of repair and parts — cheap, widely available panels and parts keep claims small.
  2. Repair time — the labour hours to return the car to its pre-accident state; simpler cars are quicker.
  3. New car price — the list price drives the settlement an insurer pays in a total loss, so cheaper cars rate lower.
  4. Performance — 0–60 mph time, top speed and power-to-weight; low-powered city cars score lowest.
  5. Car body shells — availability and cost of a replacement bodyshell after a serious accident.
  6. Safety and security — alarms, immobilisers, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and other crash-avoidance tech reduce theft and injury claims.
  7. Bumper compatibility — how well bumpers match across cars in low-speed shunts, affecting repair bills.
  8. Courtesy car cost — the cost of providing a like-for-like replacement while the car is repaired.

Because group 1 demands low scores on all of these, the list of genuine group 1 cars is short — mostly 1.0-litre city cars, and often a specific trim or gearbox of a model rather than the whole range. Add a sportier engine, a turbo or a premium badge and the group climbs fast.

What you save

How much does a group 1 car save you?

The insurance group is one of the biggest levers a driver controls, because you choose it when you choose the car. Two cars that cost the same to buy can be hundreds — or thousands — of pounds apart on insurance because of their group.

  • Group 1 vs the average: a group 1 city car insures from about £385, against the UK average of £579.52 in Q1 2026 — roughly a third cheaper before any other discount.
  • Group 1 vs group 20: for a new or young driver, moving from a group 20 car to a group 1 car can cut the premium by more than £1,500 a year, because young-driver premiums multiply the group effect.
  • Knock-on savings: lower-group cars are also usually cheaper to tax, fuel and service, so the saving compounds beyond insurance.

If you are buying specifically to keep insurance down — a first car, a second household runaround or a learner’s car — checking the insurance group before you buy is the single most effective move. A group 1 choice protects you whatever happens to your age or postcode. You can compare exact figures by model on our car insurance by vehicle pages.

Common Questions

Insurance group 1 FAQs

Group 1 is the cheapest of the UK’s 50 insurance groups. Cars are rated from 1 to 50, and the lower the number the cheaper the car is to insure, all else being equal. Group 1 is reserved for small, low-powered, cheap-to-repair city cars — the kind that insure from around £385 a year in 2026, well below the £579.52 UK average. There is no group 0; group 1 is as low as the scale goes.
Genuine group 1 cars are small 1.0-litre petrol city cars, and often only a specific trim or gearbox of a model qualifies. Common examples include the Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Up!, SEAT Mii, Skoda Citigo, Fiat Panda 1.2 and Smart ForTwo. The Volkswagen Up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo are now discontinued but widely available used. Always check the exact version: a different engine, a turbo or a sportier trim of the same car can sit several groups higher.
The Group Rating Panel sets the groups. It is made up of members from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Lloyd’s Market Association, and it uses data and testing from Thatcham Research. They assess each new car on repair cost and time, parts prices, new-car value, performance, bodyshell cost, safety and security equipment, bumper compatibility and courtesy-car cost, then assign a group from 1 to 50. Insurers are not obliged to use the group exactly, but almost all start from it.
A group 1 car insures from around £385, roughly a third below the £579.52 UK average in early 2026. The gap widens dramatically for higher-risk drivers: for a new or young driver, switching from a group 20 car to a group 1 car can save more than £1,500 a year, because young-driver premiums amplify the group effect. The exact saving depends on your age, postcode and mileage, but group 1 always gives you the lowest base premium available.
Only certain versions. The Hyundai i10 1.0 sits in group 1 or 2 depending on the trim and gearbox — the lowest-powered automated-manual version tends to be group 1, while the standard manual is group 2. Higher trims and the more powerful 1.2 and N Line versions climb into higher groups. It is consistently among the cheapest new cars to insure, but if group 1 specifically matters to you, confirm the exact derivative before you buy.
Generally no. Electric cars rarely sit in group 1, because their battery packs, instant torque and specialist repair requirements push repair costs and performance scores up. Even small EVs tend to start in the teens or higher. EVs have other running-cost advantages, but if your goal is the lowest possible insurance group, a small petrol city car still wins. Newer models are also increasingly rated on the 1–99 Vehicle Risk Rating scale rather than the 1–50 group system.
The traditional system rates cars 1–50, with group 1 the cheapest. From August 2024, Thatcham introduced the Vehicle Risk Rating (VRR), which scores newer cars on a 1–99 scale across five areas — performance, damageability, repairability, safety and security — to reflect modern technology like driver-assistance systems and complex sensors. For older and cheaper cars, including most group 1 candidates, the 1–50 group still applies. Over time, VRR will replace the 1–50 groups for new models.
It gives you the lowest possible base, but not a low absolute price on its own. A 17-year-old in a group 1 car still pays far more than a 40-year-old in the same car, because age and inexperience are powerful rating factors. The group sets the floor; your age, postcode, mileage, security and whether you use a black box do the rest. Pairing a group 1 car with telematics, a higher voluntary excess and secure overnight parking is how new drivers get the cheapest realistic quote.

Our sources

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team

Group ratings are taken from ABI/Thatcham Group Rating data and the average premium from the Confused.com Price Index, cross-checked against our own multi-insurer quote sampling, refreshed quarterly and reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team. Methodology: example premiums are sampled for a 35-year-old driver with full no-claims unless otherwise stated. Questions: editorial@carinsuranceexpert.co.uk.

Last updated: 2026-06-14 · Next scheduled review: 2026-09-14