The rapid pace of technological advance in motor car design has led to the imminent redrawing of the way in which motor insurers price their policies – and added urgency to the need for motorists to compare car insurance at every opportunity.

The new categories will mean more expensive cover for many motorists, as the existing classification of risk into 20 groupings – identifying factors like engine power, make, age and model – will be increased to 50 categories to reflect the increasing types of car on the roads.

The categories are the responsibility of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and have been unchanged since 1992, based on the maximum speed and acceleration of a car, and making it a fairly even playing field on which motorists can compare travel insurance.

Malcolm Tarling of the ABI said: “The changes have been made to take into account the fact that there are now 6,000 models on the road.

“The technology in cars and the techniques needed to repair them have become much more expensive, and that makes claims more expensive to meet.”

The new classification system takes into account the weight of a car, bad news for 4×4 drivers, and for these motorists it is more important than ever to compare car insurance.

“Having a bigger, heavier car might make the driver feel safer but the greater the weight of the car, the more the damage they do if they hit anything and the more expensive the claim,” said Tarling.