Insurance group 26: what it means & typical cost

What does group 26 mean?

Mid-size family cars, warm hatches and compact SUVs sit in this band, with average performance, value and repair complexity. Ratings on this 1–50 scale come from the Group Rating Panel — run jointly by Thatcham Research and the ABI — so group 26 means the same thing whichever car carries it, whether it's a compact hatchback or a performance model. Read our insurance groups explained guide for how the panel scores every car.

Groups 24–28 sit closest to it in cost, so they're worth comparing if you're weighing up a slightly cheaper or slightly pricier trim.

How much is insurance group 26?

On our published methodology, the insurance group 26 average cost is about £760 a year for a driver aged 30–49 in a medium-risk postcode on comprehensive cover, with most quotes falling between £605 and £950. That is the insurance group 26 cost before any no-claims discount is applied, so a settled driver with several claim-free years should expect to pay less than the midpoint. Age changes the picture completely: the same car gives a group 26 insurance cost of roughly £2,045 for a 17–20-year-old.

So is group 26 insurance expensive? Measured against the rest of the scale, it is about average — close enough to the midpoint of the scale that the car is rarely the thing making a quote painful. For context, our estimates put group 1 at around £220 a year and group 50 at around £1,275 on the same assumptions, which places group 26 in the medium band. The insurance group 26 price you are actually quoted will also move with your postcode, mileage, claims history and excess — the group sets the car-side base rate, not the final figure.

You will often see this written with a letter on dealer listings and quotes, as group 26E. The insurance group 26E cost is identical to plain group 26: the letter identifies which derivative was rated, not a separate price band. However you phrase it — an insurance group 26E average cost, an insurance group 26E price, or a 26E insurance group cost — you are asking about the same figure above.

Prefer to run the numbers on your own circumstances? The car insurance group 26E cost calculator on our pricing page lets you change the age band, postcode risk and cover type rather than accepting our midpoint. One thing we cannot give you is a car insurance quote for group 26E itself — no one can, because a quote prices the driver as well as the car, and the group is only the vehicle half of it.

The estimator sits on our group-by-group pricing page, and the insurance group prices table shows all fifty groups side by side. For the factors that sit outside the car entirely, see what affects car insurance price.

Example cars in insurance group 26

These models from our dataset typically fall in or around group 26 — trim and engine choice can move a specific car up or down within its range, so always check the variant table on each model's own page:

• Ford S-Max — typically groups 17–30
• Mini Cooper — typically groups 15–30
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class — typically groups 19–35
• Nissan Qashqai — typically groups 13–26
• Toyota Celica — typically groups 24–32
• Toyota MR2 — typically groups 26–33
• Toyota RAV4 — typically groups 17–28
• Volkswagen Passat — typically groups 15–26
• Audi A3 — typically groups 13–32
• BMW X3 — typically groups 21–35
• Honda Civic — typically groups 10–32
• Honda CR-V — typically groups 17–28
• Mazda CX-5 — typically groups 17–27
• Skoda Superb — typically groups 16–27
• Subaru Impreza — typically groups 14–30
• Volvo V60 — typically groups 17–29
• Land Rover Discovery Sport — typically groups 26–37
• Volkswagen Golf — typically groups 10–37
• Ford Focus — typically groups 9–33
• Ford Puma — typically groups 11–28
• BMW 3 Series — typically groups 22–43
• Ford Kuga — typically groups 14–27
• Volkswagen Tiguan — typically groups 15–28
• Kia Sportage — typically groups 14–27
• Nissan Leaf — typically groups 20–26
• MG MG4 EV — typically groups 24–32
• Audi A4 — typically groups 24–43
• Audi Q3 — typically groups 20–42
• Mercedes-Benz GLA — typically groups 25–46
• Mercedes-Benz CLA — typically groups 26–45
• BMW 1 Series — typically groups 18–36
• BMW X1 — typically groups 21–36
• Land Rover Range Rover Evoque — typically groups 25–36
• Skoda Octavia — typically groups 12–29
• Peugeot 3008 — typically groups 15–26
• Mini Countryman — typically groups 18–35
• Mini Clubman — typically groups 17–35
• Volkswagen ID.4 — typically groups 21–34
• Kia Ceed — typically groups 10–26
• Kia Niro — typically groups 15–26
• Kia Sorento — typically groups 22–32

Why some group 26 cars show a letter, like 26E

You may see group 26 written with a letter suffix, such as 26E or 26D — the letter flags a specific trim or derivative, not a different cost scale. See our insurance group letters explained guide for what that means in practice.