Insurance Group 42: Cost, Cars and Meaning

Group 42 at a glance

Where it sits on the industry's 1 to 50 scale, and what that has meant in real premiums.

Position on the scale	42 of 50 (1 is cheapest to insure)
Broad verdict	Very high
Its neighbourhood	Groups 41–45: sports cars and luxury models
Median premium, groups 41–50	£791 a year (MoneySuperMarket policies sold, July 2026)
Who sets it	The Group Rating Panel (ABI and Lloyd's members), administered by Thatcham Research. Advisory, so insurers can depart from it.

What kind of cars sit in group 42?

Genuinely quick, genuinely expensive machinery. High values, high repair bills and high performance stack the rating up.

Typical residents of groups 41 to 45 include variants of the Porsche Cayman, Jaguar F-Type, Ford Mustang, BMW 5 Series, Tesla Model Y and Land Rover Defender.

The word variants matters. Ratings are set for each engine, trim and security combination separately, so the same badge can span several groups.

A car that is cheap to fix and hard to steal earns a lower group than its price tag would suggest, which is how the panel scores every model.

Where group 42 sits on the scale

41 groups are cheaper to insure than group 42, and 8 groups are dearer, so it sits about 84% of the way up.

A single step either side is rarely worth agonising over. Group 41 and group 43 sit in the same part of the market and usually quote within a few pounds of each other. It is the jump between bands that shows up at renewal.

What group 42 costs in practice

The group is only one input into a premium. As a yardstick, the median annual price of comprehensive policies sold through MoneySuperMarket in July 2026 was £428 for groups 1 to 10, rising to £791 for groups 41 to 50.

Cars in groups 41 to 50 came in at £791 a year on the same data.

Treat those as landmarks, not quotes. Your age, postcode, occupation, mileage, excess and claims history each move a premium more than a single group step does, which is why two drivers of the same group-42 car can pay wildly different amounts.

Group 42 with a letter after it

A rating like 42E or 42A is not a different scale. The letter is Thatcham's verdict on the car's security, and two of the letters change the number you see.

42E means security exceeds the standard, so the group was reduced by one (it would otherwise be group 43).
42A means security is acceptable for the group. No adjustment, and the most common suffix.
42D means security fell short, so the group was raised by one (it would otherwise be group 41).
42P marks a provisional rating, set before complete data was available.
42U means security is significantly below standard. Some insurers ask for upgrades before covering the car.

How to check a specific car

The group is an industry rating, not a government record. It is not on the V5C and not on the DVLA file, so no reg check, ours included, can read it back.

Thatcham Research runs the official lookup, the big comparison sites offer free group checkers, and any insurance quote will state it too.

What a vehicle report does tell you is the spec the rating is built from, the engine size, fuel and model details on record, plus the history that matters when any insurer prices the car. Our guide to how insurance groups work covers the system end to end.

Groups either side

One step on the scale rarely moves a premium much; compare the neighbourhood.

Group 39 · Group 40 · Group 41 · Group 42 · Group 43 · Group 44 · Group 45

The full 1 to 50 list, and how the system works

Insurance group 42: common questions

Is insurance group 42 high or low?

Very high. Group 42 sits at position 42 of 50, which puts it near the top of the scale. Groups 41 to 45 broadly cover sports cars and luxury models.

How much does group 42 insurance cost?

As a guide, MoneySuperMarket put the median annual price of comprehensive policies sold through it in July 2026 at about £791 for cars in groups 41 to 50. Your own age, postcode, claims record and mileage move the real figure far more than one group step does.

What does 42E or 42D mean?

The letter is Thatcham's security rating. 42E means the car's security is better than the standard expected, so the group was reduced by one from 43 to 42. 42D means it fell short, so the group was raised by one from 41 to 42. 42A means the security simply matches the group.

Which cars are in insurance group 42?

Groups 41 to 45 are typically sports cars and luxury models: think variants of the Porsche Cayman, Jaguar F-Type, Ford Mustang, BMW 5 Series. Ratings are set per variant, so one model can span several groups depending on engine, trim and security kit. Always check the exact car.

Where does group 42 sit on the 1 to 50 scale?

41 groups are cheaper to insure than group 42, and 8 groups are dearer, so it sits about 84% of the way up. A single step either side rarely changes a premium much. The distance between bands is what shows up at renewal.

Figures last checked against the official source on 2 September 2026. Check the source yourself.

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Insurance group 42 explained