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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.5 (956 reviews)

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1.50

Based on 956 reviews, last reviewed 10th Apr 2026

No new 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

20% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

11%

80%

Latest highest rating:

5

Good and not too expensive Was looking for good value car insurance and found this one. Not too expensive and so far can’t say anything bad. Very easy to sign up. Reviewed on: 5th September 2025

Latest lowest rating:

1

Do not use this provider for your car insurance I’ve had a very poor experience with this insurer. They failed to respond to three or four of my emails, and despite requesting a call from management... Read more Reviewed on: 10th April 2026

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About this product

With 1st Central, you can insure a single car or opt for a multicar policy. There’s also a telematics policy.

As standard, you get up to 90 days free cover when driving in Europe. There are five policies to choose from giving different levels of cover: ValueOnline, Online, LegalOnline, PlusOnline and PremierOnline.

1st Central car insurance reviews help you find out what it’s really like to be a customer. If you’ve used 1st Central before, you can also leave a review and share your experience.

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1st Central Car insurance reviews (956)

Do not use this provider for your car insurance

I’ve had a very poor experience with this insurer. They failed to respond to three or four of my emails, and despite requesting a call from management, I’ve heard nothing back. After updating my address and paying the increase in the premium and the remaining 3 months in full, I was asked to make an additional payment even though my policy had already been fully paid. They later admitted that the direct debit would have updated on my account and I shouldn't have paid this... but haven't helped at all with issuing me my money back for the over payment (Colleagues error on the phone). Ive chased numerous times, and they have stopped responding altogether. The lack of communication and accountability is extremely frustrating. I would not recommend this company based on my experience. I am now going through Finance Ombudsman Reviewed on: 10th April 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi 1st Central is committed to providing you with the best possible service, however, we realise there may be times when we do not meet your expectations. If you'd like to talk to us about a general query, you can call us on 0333 043 2085. Alternatively, our Complaints team are available: Mon - Fri: 9am to 5pm Saturday: CLOSED Sunday: CLOSED Bank Holidays: CLOSED They can be reached directly 0333 043 2077 Or via email on [email protected] Emily Response date: 13th April 2026

Worst insurance company I have ever dealt with.

Worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. 1st Central have the incorrect date of passing my test, they told me to contact the DVLA as the information comes from them and it's wrong their end. I contact the DVLA who confirm they have the correct date on their system and the insurance company need to update on their side. Contact 1st Central again to be told this is incorrect and there is nothing they can do but they might be able to update it in 2 months time? No reason as to why? No answer as to where the 2 month time line comes from, nothing. Rude customer service staff who do not want to even attempt to help or make sense of the situation. Kept speaking over me, repeating the same thing over and over again and raising their voice. Don't even bother with the chatbot or chat service as even when you get through to a person you get preprepared AI responses. You can guarantee they will use the incorrect date as reason to not payout if I ever have an incident on the road. Absolute waste of time and will not be renewing with them in a few months. Reviewed on: 24th March 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. We're sorry to hear about the incorrect information regarding your test date and the difficulties you faced with our customer service. We'll review this internally to improve our processes and training. We value your feedback. Emily Response date: 25th March 2026

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THEM IF YOU WANT...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THEM IF YOU WANT PEACE AND WANTS TO AVOID STRESS AND HEADIQUE THEY ARE ROBBERS I would strongly advise others to carefully consider their options before choosing this company, particularly if you value peace of mind and a stress-free experience. Based on my experience, the overall service was very disappointing and caused significant inconvenience. My experience with 1st Central Car Insurance has been extremely disappointing and frustrating. The customer service is very poor—staff are often unhelpful, and on several occasions I found them to be quite rude. There were instances where calls were abruptly cut off during conversations, which is completely unacceptable when you are trying to resolve an issue. I was also unhappy to discover additional charges that were not clearly explained at the start. It felt like there were unexpected costs appearing along the way, which made the whole experience even more stressful and lacking transparency. Trying to contact them is difficult, and when you do get through, it rarely leads to a clear resolution. I am particularly concerned about how challenging it would be to make a claim, as even basic communication has been such a struggle. Additionally, I was surprised to find that there is no clear physical office presence in London, which makes it harder to get support or feel reassured as a customer. Overall, this has been a very negative experience. I would not recommend this company, especially if you are looking for reliable customer service, transparency, and support when you need it most. I will be sharing my experience on various platforms to help raise awareness for others who may be considering this company, so they can make informed decisions and stay safe. Reviewed on: 18th March 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hello, Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. Let’s see if we can help put this right for you. Just give our team a call on 0333 043 2055 or speak to us on web chat which can be found on our website. We’re here to help from Mon-Fri: 8am to 8pm, Sat: 9am to 5pm, Sun: 10am to 2pm. Emily Response date: 20th March 2026

I cracked my windscreen at the weekend so rang them...

I cracked my windscreen at the weekend so rang them to get it sorted. Despite having fully comprehensive insurance apparently they wont cover it. First time ever in my life Ive seen that. Have cancelled my policy and will never use them again!! Reviewed on: 16th March 2026

Charged twice for same car insurance

Due to a mix up I was charged twice for my car insurance. I contacted the company and they agreed and said the would reimburse me the overcharge. Despite several protracted phone calls and an email to customer services I still am waiting for a cheque. Not very happy. Reviewed on: 4th March 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi Thank you for your feedback and we’re sorry to hear that, on this occasion, your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. A refund can usually take up to 10 working days. Once a cheque has been issued it will arrive with your shortly. Emily Response date: 5th March 2026

FRAUDSTERS!!!!!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!! DO NOT BUY!!!!

In 35 years of using car insurance companies, I have NEVER been robbed/conned like this before! This company comes up as cheap but I can now see why, they manipulate everything, then charge excessive fees that are not even realistic £50 cancelation fee, £50 arrangement fee! Do not fall for the cheaper car insurance scam they use like I did. Customer service is rude, unhelpful and unfriendly, customer complaints are exceptionally one sided and just brush everything off. I hope no customer has to experience what I did with these FRAUDSTERS hiding behind a company name. I think it is only fair I explain a little of my case. I had a policy with them already live from July 2025, and recently purchased a 2nd policy with them both cheaper than most other companies. Last year they asked for more info on the live policy and I sent them all the details, no problem. 3 weeks in to the new policy they asked for the same proofs but this time they also wanted a call. I did the required and called them the same day. They asked my job title and I told them SALES EXECUTIVE/ SALEMAN, they said oh you have Chief Executive down (I wish), I disputed this and they said yes, I can see your details as Sales Executive when you quoted through Confused.com but it shows as Chief Executive. Anyway after some back and forth and the lady trying to make me out to be an idiot, she said they would need to adjust my premiums on both policy £107 on one and £105 on the other both had amendment fees of £50 each. They gave me 7 days to make a decision or the policies would be cancelled. I decided to cancel, this is where it actually gets worse! To can the policy that had being running for 22 days cost me £13.28 but £50 cancelation fee and get this a £50 arrangement fee! What exactly had been arranged I do not know! A policy costing £270.11 for a whole year cost me £113.28 for 22 days absolutely criminal, if ever I have heard of unfair fees then this is it. Same with my 2nd policy 208 days cost £95.73 cancelation fee £50, arrangement fee £50 and also personal accident of £15 which surely would have already been charged at inception of the policy! Again the whole policy for 365 days cost £233 unproportionate fees is where this company make their money. Genuinely buyers beware! Reviewed on: 13th February 2026

Absolutely appalling.

Absolutely appalling. I have cancelled a policy with them and they proceeded to issue me a refund. Then they started hounding me with calls that I have an outstanding balance and added on a late payment charge. They are just hiding their incompetency instead of realising a member of their staff made an error and take accountability. Embarrassing. I do not recommend. Avoid. Reviewed on: 12th February 2026

Claims history being ignored

Theyhave received a claims history from previous insurers, which state a single claim in 2023. When I made the application I entered the wrong year, I sent along a copy of claims history that showed only one claim, but it appears as I gave a second claim date (which subsequently was corrected) they have levied another premium of £175.00. They refuse the information from previous independent insurers and action an error, despite no evidence of a second claim. They offer no positive assistance- stay well away or get ready to go to ombudsman Reviewed on: 12th February 2026

Worst experiwce in my 35 years of driving amd getti...

Worst experiwce in my 35 years of driving amd getti g drivers insurance. They were cheapest on comparison site.. purchased.. then on my policy details it had my pass date for driving as exactly 25 hears to the day.. this was incorrect as they initially asked if i had passed my driving licence over 25 years ago, not a date. I called straight away Was on hOLd for 1hr, then person said they cant change the date as its from the dvla. I contacted dvla who said they were incorrect. Its theor system which added the incorrect date. I called 1st central back and they still said they cannot change the date for me as its foxed even though its incorrect.. I then asked for cancellation.. they then said why do i want to cancel whoch firther made me angry.... it was like talking ti robots who were reading from a script Im sure its an overseas line... terrible. I was even charged 25 poumds to cancel. Had not even been 12 hours since i purchased the policy.. avoid avoid avoid, i tho g it was a luck escape as god knows what would have happened of i had to claim. Reviewed on: 4th February 2026

Bait-and-switch insurer

Feels like a scam – stay away Quoted one price, then after the policy started 1st Central changed things retrospectively, increased the premium and added a £50 “admin” fee. This is not transparent insurance — it feels scam-adjacent and designed to extract more money after the sale. Judging by the volume of similar complaints online, this is clearly not a one-off. Avoid. Choose an insurer that doesn’t play these games. Reviewed on: 23rd January 2026

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