The Hyundai i10 is a fantastic choice for young drivers looking to save money on their insurance
The Hyundai i10 is a fantastic choice for young drivers looking to save money on their insurance
When you’re thinking about buying your first car, it’s important to consider how much your insurance is going to cost.
Young drivers (aged 17–24) are considered to be a higher risk to insurance companies, so often premiums are much higher. This is because young drivers are inexperienced, and are statistically more likely to demonstrate over-confidence and risky driving behaviours.
In order to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible, it’s a good idea to pick a car that’s in one of the lower insurance groups.
You might also consider getting a telematics box, which monitors your driving style and speed, and passes the information back to your insurer. The advantages of this are that your insurer will provide you with feedback so that you can reduce your premiums and also increase your awareness of how to drive safely.
Car insurance groups are scaled from 1–50, with 50 being the most expensive group of cars to insure.
In the lower groups, you’ll usually find lower-specification models with smaller engines. There’s a whole host of other factors that contribute to a car’s insurance grouping, such as repair times, parts prices, performance, safety and security features.
Most Ford Ka models come under insurance group 3, although you’ll pay a little more for some of the sportier models, such as Grand Prix or Metal, which fall under groups 5 and 6.
S, S Air, SE and Premium models are more likely to be in insurance groups 1–4, meaning they are incredibly cheap to insure.
Expression and Life models are in insurance groups 1–3, providing you opt for the smaller engine option.
ŠKODA offers a 1.0-litre engine option with all Fabia trims, placing each one in groups 1–3.
The S, SE (manual) and Ecomotive models are all in insurance group 1.
If you need a little more room, the 1.2 16V Access, Ambient and Laureate Sandero models come under insurance group 2, which is really impressive for a car of this size.
Fiat Panda 1.2 Pop and Lounge models are in insurance group 3, which is a little higher than others on this list, but running costs are extremely low.
Pick any car in the ŠKODA Citigo range and you won’t pay much for insurance. All new models are in insurance groups 1–4. For ultimate savings, opt for the S, SE or Sport trims, all of which are all in group 1.
The new Kia Rio 2 1.4 CRDi 76bhp model falls under insurance group 2.
We know that buying your first car can be pretty confusing, so we’ve compiled a helpful guide that covers everything from finance to VED and breakdown cover, so you can make sure you’re clued up on all of the finer details of car ownership.
