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1st Central: Car insurance reviews

Name: Car insurance
Rating: 1.72 (961 reviews)

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1.72

Based on 961 reviews, last reviewed 26th May 2026

100% increase in 5 star reviews

in the past 90 days

50% decrease in 1 star reviews

in the past 90 days

11%

80%

Latest highest rating:

5

Just started my third year of car insurance cover wi... Just started my third year of car insurance cover with 1st Central. Good value for money, helpful customer service, clearly laid out website and easy ... Read more Reviewed on: 17th April 2026

Latest lowest rating:

1

Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging... Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging me on a vehicle that’s is not in use refusing to swap my policy to another car that is in use with... Read more Reviewed on: 26th May 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 (961)

Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging...

Honeslty worst insurance company ever over charging me on a vehicle that’s is not in use refusing to swap my policy to another car that is in use without charging me a fee of 1k to 2k. I tried to cancel the policy as they are already charging me 200 and something a month for a car I have told them about months ago is not driveable!!!!!!! Regardless of that they continued to keep charging me. I will now be taking this up with financial ombudsman. Reviewed on: 26th May 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi, Thank you for your feedback and for choosing 1st Central. We’re sorry to hear on this occasion your experience with us hasn’t been as positive as we’d hoped it would be. We'll use your review to help improve our services. Emily Response date: 27th May 2026

Quote price is competitive but making contact with a...

Quote price is competitive but making contact with anyone is extremely difficult. AI chat is next to useless, just go round around in circles. Talking to a person seems to be impossible, wait for a long long time and then call centre is in South Africa. Took days to cancel the policy and then was charged a lot of money. Sad because have used 1st central in the past but they seem to have gone downhill a lot. Not at all confident if insurance was needed so had to cancel the policy. Went to Hastings who sorted out in five minutes. Reviewed on: 26th May 2026

I explained a few things to them over the phone and...

I explained a few things to them over the phone and they charged me £155 for that call. Reviewed on: 21st May 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: 22nd May 2026

Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a...

Cancelled my policy without warning and charged me a cancellation fee. Impossible to get hold of, and when I finanally did, they refused to reinstate my policy or refund the money Reviewed on: 13th May 2026

Just started my third year of car insurance cover wi...

Just started my third year of car insurance cover with 1st Central. Good value for money, helpful customer service, clearly laid out website and easy to access documents. Excellent communication and really helpful when I've had to make a claim Reviewed on: 17th April 2026

Reply from 1st Central Hi Thanks for your great feedback! We always aim to make things easy and straightforward for our customers Response date: 20th April 2026

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

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

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