Ford Car Insurance

Published 27th December, 2006.

At the beginning of the last century Henry Ford had a vision, he wanted to create affordable cars for the masses, and ever since the first Model T rolled off the production line the Ford Motor Company has strived to accomplish this. As one of the UK's most popular motoring brands it means that no matter where you are on this island of ours you are bound to see a Ford of some kind tootling along.

The Ford car is the ideal choice for the average buyer. The range of models on offer is large enough to cater for all manner of tastes and requirements, and the varying prices will suit any budget. There's small city runabouts like the Ford Fiesta and Ka, more sporty models like the Ford Mondeo ST and Focus ST, and the family friendly models somewhere in between. With such a large number of Ford cars on the road there is a big incentive for car insurance companies to try and attract their custom, and as car insurance is our main interest we decided to take a look at what the implications were Ford owners looking to buy car insurance.

Ford Group Ratings

One of the main factors car insurers take into account when costing insurance premiums is the group rating of the car. This rating system applies to all mass produced cars in the UK, each of which is assigned a number between 1 and 20. The higher the number the more expensive the car insurance is likely to be. Of course, there are other factors taken into account such as a person's age and driving history for example, which is why car insurance quotes can vary so much.

You will rarely find two people quoted the same amount for their car insurance, even if they do happen to have the same car with the same group rating, as the other contributing factors will all influence the final cost of the insurance. But, as a general rule of thumb, you would expect to find insurance costing substantially less for Group 3 rated cars than it is for say group 12, which in Ford terms is the comparison between the Fiesta Studio and Focus C-Max Ghia.

As Ford's entire range has been group rated in this way, it's easy to see which models are most likely to receive the cheapest insurance quotes. Going on ratings alone the Ford Ka is clearly a winner with its economical Group 2 rating. The Ford Galaxy Ghia, however, attracts a hefty group 16 rating which would probably attract quite an expensive insurance premium. Fortunately, the majority of Ford cars do tend to be rated somewhere around the mid to high single figures, ensuring ample opportunity to pick up a decent model that should not cost the earth to insure.

The mass market appeal of the Ford car does mean that repairs and parts are very easy to obtain, which from an insurers point of view is always beneficial. Cars with expensive or hard to source parts are more of a liability as the insurer will have more to payout in the event of a claim, whereas the widespread availability of Ford parts is a positive bonus. Consequently, most mainstream insurance companies will be happy to give insurance quotes for Ford cars, no matter what model, engine size or group rating it is.

This means the average Ford driver has an incredible amount of choice when it comes to car insurance, making it easier for them to get multiple insurance quotes that they can then compare.

Insurance Quotes For a Ford Car

Spending some extra time to get more than one car insurance quote can pay off, as the difference in cost from one insurer to the next can be quite staggering. Although Fords are one of the UK's most popular brands, it would be easy to think that each model falls into a certain insurance band, with all insurers giving similar quotes throughout the country. This is not the case, however, as each insurance company will have different criteria to draw from when calculating their premiums. Only by getting various quotes from different insurance companies will the savvy Ford driver ensure they have the best chance of getting the best possible deal.

Multi quoting in this way is particularly important to those reaching the end of their first year of car insurance. Assuming the insurance premium will remain the same (or less) on renewal date can be foolhardy, as it's possible it might even increase. This is because insurers often run special offers or discounts to attract new clients, and an insurance policy might have been bought during this discount period, which would give the policyholder a distorted view of the true cost of their car insurance. Come the renewal date the policyholder might be deemed an established customer and not eligible for any discount, forcing the car insurance premium back to its pre-offer level.

With this in mind, it can often be beneficial to apply for a new quote whenever car insurance is due for renewal, even if the intention is to stay with the same insurance company. This way you will appear as a brand new customer again and be in the position to benefit from any first-time buyer incentives or special offers they might be running.

Ford Cars and Insurance Groups

Looking at the Ford range of cars on an individual basis it's clear to see that, from an insurance point of view, the Ford Ka and Ford Fiesta are outright winners. The magical Group 2 rating of the Ford Ka Studio would ensure that the average driver would receive a very competitive car insurance quote. Likewise with the Ford Fiesta, which starts at an economical Group 3. It's highly likely that owners of these two models could easily afford a Fully Comprehensive Policy over the cheaper Third Party Fire and Theft type insurance. Of course, a slight stray from standard specifications can result in higher insurance group ratings and no doubt higher insurance premiums, which is exactly what happens with the StreetKa luxury and the Fiesta 1.6 Ghia. Their deviation from standard Fiesta Studio and Ka Studio result in both cars being categorised as insurance group 7.

At the other end of the scale the Ford S-Max and Galaxy models start at group 10 and 11 respectively. The all frills Ford S-Max Titanium will guarantee your Ford insurance costs reflect the whopping group 14 that it's been assigned. The V6 Galaxy Ghia is one of the highest rated cars in the Ford range at group 16. The worthy winner for title of highest group rating, however, goes to the Ford Focus ST which gets a group 17 rating. The no-frills version of the same Ford Focus only attracts a paltry group 4 insurance rating, though. The full range of Ford cars and their insurance group ratings can be seen below. For more guides on insurance please have a look in our insurance articles section. For further reading on the topic of insurance groups, we also have an overview of Vauxhall Insurance groups

The Ford Range and Their Insurance Groups

Ford Ka - Ka Studio, Ka Style, Ka Style Climate, Ka Zetec, Ka Zetec Climate, Ka Luxury, SportKa SE.
Insurance Groups - Ford Ka - Group 2 through to 6

Ford Fiesta Range - Fiesta Studio, Fiesta Style, Fiesta Silver, Fiesta Style Climate, Fiesta Freedom, Fiesta Zetec Climate, Fiesta Ghia, Fiesta Zetec S, Fiesta Zetec S (30th anniversary edition), Fiesta ST
Insurance Groups - Ford Fiesta - Group 3 through to 13

Ford Fusion - Fusion Style, Fusion Pursuit, Fusion Style Climate, Fusion Pursuit Climate, Fusion Zetec Climate, Fusion +
Insurance Groups - Ford Fusion - Group 4 through to 7

Ford Focus - Focus Studio, Focus LX, Focus Sport, Focus Sport S, Focus Zetec Climate, Focus Ghia, Focus Titanium, Focus ST
Insurance Groups - Ford Focus - Group 4 through to 17

Focus C-Max - Focus C-Max Studio, Focus C-Max LX, Focus C-Max Style, Focus C-Max Zetec, Focus C-Max Ghia
Insurance Groups - Ford Focus C-max - Group 5 through to 12

Mondeo - Mondeo LX, Mondeo Edge, Mondeo Zetec, Mondeo Ghia, Mondeo Ghia X, Mondeo Titanium, Mondeo Titanium X, Mondeo ST TDCi, Mondeo ST 220
Insurance Groups - Ford Mondeo - Group 8 through to 16

S-Max - S-Max LX, S-Max Zetec, S-Max Titanium
Insurance Groups - Ford S-Max - Group 10 through to 14

Galaxy - Galaxy LX, Galaxy Zetec, Galaxy Ghia
Insurance Groups - Ford Galaxy - Group 11 through to 16

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